LEAVE IT TO BEAVER
US, 1997, 84 minutes, Colour.
Christopher Mc Donald, Cameron Finley, Janine Turner, Eric von Detten, Adam Zolotin, Barbara Billingsley, Ken Osmond.
Directed by Andy Cadiff.
Leave it to Beaver began its life on television in 1957, lasting for six seasons with 235 episodes. It was extremely popular for family entertainment, focusing on a family in Ohio, the ups and downs in family life, at school, in the neighbourhood.
In the 1990s, Hollywood decided to make movie versions of many of the popular television shows, Sgt Bilko, Mr Magoo, The Brady Bunch… This is the version of Leave it to Beaver, which pleased a number of audiences but also put off many who remembered the television series.
It is very American in its presentation of family, affirmation in the family, yet highlighting the difficulties, especially in parenting and the reactions of young boys. It may be life in the American midwest but it is a sweetened version.
The interesting feature of the film is the presentation of Theodore “Beaver� Cleaver. He is played by Cameron Finley, a very little kid, sometimes in the shadow of his older brother, Wally, always messing things up – as is illustrated in the farcical pratfalls in the opening credits with the boys delivering papers and everything going wrong, a catalogue of comic errors.
Christopher McDonald? plays the father and Janine Turner are somewhat glamorous suburban mother. Beaver is always wanting to please his father and interpreters his look as being judgemental. When he wants a bike for his birthday, he is advised by the mutual no-it-all friend, Eddie, to suck up to his father and make a good impression. Beaver then carries his case, decides to sign up for football, with his father remembering his career at college. there are quite a number of football sequences with the tiny beaver, and the harangues of the coach.
Interspersed are some flirtatious moments for Wally and his friend, Eddie, who is looked down on by the girls.
There are also some bullies, especially after Beaver has a happy birthday party and is given the gift of a bike. The bullies steal the bike and dare Beaver to climb up into an advertisement hoarding with a coffee cup to see whether there is coffee actually in it – he does so and then refuses to come out, his father finally coming with the fire brigade to get him, taking the opportunity to have a talk to his son and listen to Beaver’s comments about his stern look (something which Beaver’s father did for him).
Happy endings all round as would be expected in this middle American town.
