Vancouver Toy Junkies Show 2016

The fall season is in full swing and that means it's time again for my favorite toy show of the year!  I don't go to many "shows" for toys or anything that I collect. We do hit a couple of comic cons and local toy shops here and there but this is the premiere show to buy vintage toys in Oregon. It's the one that I can go to and know that I will be coming home with something that fits my unique interests. There are vendors that sell more modern toys but this is mostly made up of folks that have a big passion for old school items.

The Vancouver Toy Junkies and Record Show is held in Vancouver, Washington at the Pearson Air Museum at Fort Vancouver National Park.  It's about a 90 minute drive north for us but worth the trip. We have been visiting this event for a few years now and attend the "early bird" opening of the show to get first dibs on all the amazing items that many of the vendors have.  Mike McLaugherty is the spearhead of this show.  He has really managed to bring together many of the local toy shops and various private collectors to come to one place in unison.  It's the most easy going and friendly show that I attend.  I'm sure it's not an easy thing to do but it comes off to the patrons as a well oiled machine.

What else can I say about this show?  Well how about some of the great items I was able to find. I am a HUGE lunch box collector.  I look for everything from the super old metal boxes to the newer plastic boxes.  I purchased about 6 boxes through out the day and a couple are below.

I couldn't say more about the lunch boxes.  I believe The Karate Kid is from a short lived cartoon. We all remember Tiny Toons and the Wonderful World of Disney is just pure classic.  I love the old man from the Haunted House attraction.  So old school!  Most of these boxes came with thermoses also!  Anymore the thermoses are harder and generally more expensive than the box itself.

Being a collector in his 30's I think I can speak for a lot of people my age that tend to look for toys that they either had when they were kids or had wanted as children.  You are more than likely guaranteed to find something from your child hood at this show.  An example above are a couple of Terminator 2 action figures I owned as a child.  Their is nothing special about them.  I don't even know how successful the line was overall even.  I ended up purchasing 4 in the set but these 2 are the coolest.  They look as if they hadn't even been pulled from the original plastic shell.

I could go on and on about this show.  It's something I highly recommend experiencing for yourself. In all their is a part of us that still has that child inside.  A part of you that sometimes you want to revisit and connect with.  This show is a place for that.  It's a place to see old friends and make new pals.  It's a place to take your 6 year old son who is only really learning about life.  A place to bring your 22 year old daughter who hasn't quite let go of the child hood spirit we all have.  It's a place to make memories and be fond of for years to come.

**Update 9.28.16 - Check out Krystal D's review of the show by clicking here!  It's a great read!

Oddities

If you know anything about me or have read anything on this website then you know first and foremost I am a collector.  My collections have ebbed and flowed over time.  Looking back on some of my old posts on here I see toys that I have parted with many moons ago.  As I grow older I tend hold onto things for a while and then let them go to only desire them again later on.  It's that eternal hunt over and over for the goodies.  I love sharing my collection with people and the many cool stories that come along with the many items that I own.  Tonight I thought I would share with you a few random or perhaps odd items that are currently being stored.

Who doesn't know or love this guy?!  Yes, it's Freddy Krueger from the Nightmare on Elm Street series of films. I'm not the worlds biggest fan of horror but I do enjoy a good scary film.  These films are classics to me so when I saw the doll I knew I had to have him.  He came with no box but seemed to be in good shape otherwise.  He does have a pull string and speaks which is cool.  I really thought the likeness was very close to the movie and his hat even comes off.  His sweater is in great shape and he stands with the help of a doll stand. He's about 12 inches in height all together though he is slightly hunching over in this picture.  I picked this up at a local toy show and considered it a great find for the collection!

Next is this creepy Ronald Mcdonald.  What can you really say about this ugly thing.  I have never been a fan of clowns ever and never too fond of Ronald Mcdonald in general. When I saw him in a friend's toy shop it caught my eye and frankly made my spine slightly crawl. It is so different and strange that I had to have him.  He was already sold.  Turns out the original person it sold to didn't want it and when I returned to the toy shop a few weeks later there he was standing up on the window seal just scratching to get out and go home with someone.  He's pretty clean for his age with no rips or tears in the clothing.  His face is hard plastic and very clean with no smudging or scratches.  He's close to 15 inches in height and never sits still in the right spot.

This guy is a newer toy but as odd and creepy as the rest of them.  This is "Billy" the doll from the Saw film franchise. He stands about 16 inches and literally scares the crap out of my children.  They absolutely hate him and would not be sad if I sold him to someone else.  I don't recall off the top of my head who made him originally but he stands on his own and his red ugly eyes makes you think he is really watching you. With that being said he is super cool and brings a little flavor of something different to the collection.  I enjoyed most of the Saw films so I am pretty proud to have him standing guard to sway away any children who think they might be able to sneak in and snag a random toy for their liking.  Sweet dreams.

Old School Review by KDV: Kingpin

Real champions aren’t made—they are born. Roy Munson is one of those extraordinary examples. Hailing from the small town of Ocelot, Ohio, his skills as a natural born bowler made him into a local legend. Unfortunately for Munson, life can hit you hard, and it’s not so easy to get back up once you’ve been knocked down.  Kingpin, directed by the Farrelly brothers, Bobby Farelly and Peter Farelly is a  the comedic tale of a man (Munson--played by Woody Harrelson)  who’s life goes to pieces after falling victim to a tragic “accident” that resulted in the amputation of his bowling hand, and the end of his dream as a professional bowler. Seventeen years after the incident, his chance at retribution is handed to him when he stumbles across a young, naïve Amish man by the name of Ishmael Boorg (Randy Quaid), who has the skills to win the million dollar grand prize in a bowling contest in Reno. Along the way they meet the beautiful and promiscuous Claudia (Vanessa Angel), a woman with her eyes on the prize, and together they set off on a journey of sinful behavior, self-discovery, and lots of bowling.

Perhaps one of the funniest and most memorable aspects of this film was the presence of Munson’s long-time rival, and international bowling champion, Ernie “Big Ern” McCracken, played by none other than Bill Murray. Munson blames McCracken for the incident that lost him his hand, and has held a grudge against ever since. And McCracken is certainly no innocent saint. Bitter with the loss of his record, he definitely had had it out for the young Munson, and convinced him help him con some bowlers at a local alley. Their guise was called, and McCracken made a run for it—leaving Munson to fend for himself against the angry mob of amateur bowlers. The next time we would see Munson, he would be handless, with a prosthetic hook protruding from the stump where his hand should have been, and a plastic rubbery hand that he used to cover the hook in his possession.  The background information aside, Bill Murray was hilarious. McCracken is egotistical, eccentric, dazzling, and cocky, and Bill Murray was perfect for the part. He often adorned bizarre fancy “bowling” clothes, and had a special custom-made bowling ball that he uses during contests that is completely clear with a rose encased suspended within the center. He had a hand piece that he wore on his bowling hand, presumably to keep his fingers from being injured, similar to wrapping tape around you fist. More likely than not, the piece was merely for show, since he was determined that everyone everywhere thought he was a serious bowler, and that professionalism was the only way to go.

The irony in this is the unprofessional nature of his reality, that Munson easily sees but the public audience somehow buys. In one scene Munson is sitting at a bar having a glass when a commercial comes on the small television talking about McCracken’s “community work”. The commercial shows McCracken playing with small children as he talks about all of the fatherless family’s in America that needs support. “I’ll be sponsoring four families,” McCracken exclaims, as these women and their children walk on screen. Each woman is questionably skanky, or shamefully attractive, wearing skimpy outfits and hanging all over McCracken as he talks about the money he’s spending on these “Father-less families” so he can help support them. One of the children, a little boy, looks up to the camera and says smiling, “sometimes when I wake up in the morning, McCracken is already here.” McCracken gives a fatherly chuckle as the little boy and his mother smile. As the commercial ends, the bowling sports commentators are back on and they start talking about what a great family role model McCracken is for young Americans. As if.

There were many, many other funny aspects to this film, such as Munson’s inability to exist in an Amish village, which we discover when he goes to convince Ishmael of entering the contest with him. He tells Ishmael’s family that he is too Amish, and that he is family visiting from out of state. This lie leads him to countless terrible incidents, that are hilariously embarrassing, almost to the point that you feel bad for him, such as when he is told to remove the horse shoes from their prize horse and he comes back with it’s hooves chopped off. Or when he’s up at the crack of dawn so as to make a good impression, and exclaims that he has just finished milking their cow. Come to find out they don’t have a cow- just an aged old bull.

Randy Quaid’s character, Ishmael, was also good for a laugh. His ignorance of the outside world sets him up for some awkward situations and terribly hilarious jokes. My personal favorite is when he ends up being an entertainer at a strip club type joint, and Munson and Claudia find him dolled up in enough make-up for a prostitute and a skimpy women’s bikini outfit. He even had some faux lashes. Classic.  Another character that made an appearance in this film and made it just a little bit better was Munson’s crazy property owner (Lin Shaye).

The storyline in this film was good, fairly straightforward, but with enough little tweaks that it was still interesting. The characters were funny, interesting, and colorful. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this film, and will probably watch it again.

Old School Review: The Hangover by K-D Van!

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. In the classic 2009 comedy film, the Hangover, that is exactly how four best buddies pray their trip will be- one crazy night of outrageous shenanigans before they head back home with memories of “the night that never happened.”  Unfortunately, things don’t always go as planned.

The movie starts out with average guy Doug Billings (Justin Bartha) and his fiancé, Tracy Garner (Sasha Baresse) amidst the last minute planning of what will be their beautiful and ceremoniously perfect wedding. Its two days before the big day and Doug has planned a trip to Vegas as a bachelor party of sorts for that very night. He of course invited his two best friends, socially awkward, aptly nicknamed Stu “Dr.faggot” Price (Ed Helms) and pretty boy Phil Wenneck (Bradley Cooper), but also his new brother in law to be, Alan Garner (Zach Galifianakis). Together they leave in Tracy’s father’s favorite car, a silver 1969 Mercedes-Benz cabriolet, at his suggestion, not at all prepared for the night of their lives.

As you might suppose from this movie’s title, they all wake up with a raging hangover. Their hotel room is thrashed, Alan is half-naked, Stu’s missing a tooth, Phil’s wearing a hospital bracelet around his wrist, there’s a tiger in the bathroom and Doug is missing in action. The best part? They remember nothing. Together, they must retrace their steps and search for clues that might not only tell them what happened, but tell them where Doug might be.

In all honesty, the film was pretty darn hilarious. Galifianakis’ character Alan, especially, was great. His character was some sort of crazy, yet innocent eccentric goofball dork. In the scene before they wake up hung over, they are all four standing on the hotel rooftop preparing to drink some shots before hitting up some casinos. In this scene, Alan reveals that he had prepared a speech for the occasion, and continues to read to them an emotional sentiment where Alan refers to himself as “a one man wolf pack,” then continues to say that since these people have entered his life, his pack has grown by three. The awkwardness on the faces of the other characters was absolutely priceless.

I was impressed with the other characters as well. The audience can easily identify with them and their unique nuances made the film enjoyable from beginning to end. Helms’ character, Stu, is somewhat of a geeky prep, if possible. You know the kind. The sort of guy in films that’s usually teased as a homosexual? Same happens here. In one of the scenes, I distinctly remember him wearing a sweater tied around his neck, like a cape, the way guys in movies are depicted when they’re supposedly really sophisticated and what not. In the beginning of the film, the audience watches him have a conversation with his girlfriend. Its obvious she’s a control freak and wants nothing more than for him to do whatever she says whenever she says and for whatever reason she gives, while she goes around doing whatever. He doesn’t even tell her they’re going to Vegas, but that instead he’s going to somewhere he described as a “quaint” wine country for a quiet relaxing evening.

This dishonesty sets up one more layer of difficulties between the guys and their struggle to fix the damage done during their stay, due to the fact that she calls relentlessly and assumes the worst when Stu lets the her calls go to voicemail.

Cooper’s character, Phil, involves the guys in plenty of trouble. Despite having a wife and child back home, Phil is convinced his life as a middle school teacher is the worst thing that could have ever happened to a guy. Determined to have the most fun he possibly can while he’s away, he tends to lead the others somewhat astray before they’ve even arrived in Vegas. In fact, it was he who shouted at Stu at the most inopportune moment during which Stu was explaining to his ward that his friends were really quite mature once you’ve gotten to know them. Precisely at that moment a monumental summoning from the front of his house referred to Stu as “Dr. Faggot”- a clever play on the fact that Stu will tell anyone who listens that he’s a doctor, when really he’s just a dentist. Phil is also seen in the opening scenes of the film collecting money from his students for a filed trip to a “planetarium” of some sort. Teacher of the year? Hardly. Somehow he manages to use his charisma to cheat extra money out of students for his own personal “Vegas” trip fund.

The appearances of other great characters, such as part-time stripper Melissa (Michelle Graham), psychotic Asian mafia man Mr.Chow (Ken Jeong), and Mike Tyson in the flesh, really kept this film interesting and entertaining. Overall, the film was an all around awesome, funny movie. I highly recommend it to those who love funny stuff; adults, and probably young adults as well. I mean, anyone who’s anyone has already seen this flick pretty much, right? If not-- watch it! I insist! If you’re looking for laughs, you will not be disappointed.

Old School Review: Harold and Kumar

The past few weeks I have watched quite a few "buddy comedies".  My wife and I recently watched Paul.  I wrote a review of the film which you can read here.  I also recently watched one of the great buddy comedies of the past few years, Superbad.  I need to write an old school review of that film!  Tonight though, I bring you a review of one of the greatest buddy comedies to come to the big screen in a long time, Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle. You may be wondering why the photo above states that they get the munchies?  I'm not exactly sure why it says that other than that may be from when the movie was approved by the MPAA and perhaps it was changed at the last second?  Further reading revealed that this title was the European title.

The movie's tagline says "Introducing the Asian guy from American Pie and that Indian guy from Van Wilder directed by the guy that made Dude Where's My Car".  The Asian guy is John Cho and the Indian is Kal Penn.  John Cho has gained more fame since starring as Sulu on the newest Star Trek films and Penn was a regular on the tv show House and now works for the White House. Danny Lenier directed the film.  He also directed such shows as Arrested Development and Freaks and Geeks.  Also starring is Paula Garces as Cho's love interest Maria and Christopher Meloni as Freakshow.  I will not say anymore about Freakshow.  You will have to find out more for yourself. How could I forget.  The real star of this movie is Neil "Doogie Howser" Patrick Harris.

The story is simple.  You have 2 guys, Harold and Kumar.  Did I mention that this is a stoner flick? I think I have mentioned this before.  I do not and have never ever done any kind of drugs but I find the movies about that subject freaking hilarious.  Harold and Kumar are both 2 very smart guys. Harold is an accountant for a firm that crunches numbers all day and Kumar is a very smart student that could be a doctor if he wanted but chooses to sit around and smoke weed all day. After an evening of smoking weed they "get the munchies".  They decide to take a short drive to their local White Castle.  This is where all the fun begins.  If you've read this far into the review then you probably know where it is going from here.  They come across rabid animals, college students with diahrea, literally a freak show, beat up white trash rednecks and take a little ride on a cheetah for fun.  They eventually pick up a stranded hitch hiker, Neil Patrick Harris.  NPH takes the movie and adds nothing but pure laughter.  He plays himself high on crank and looking for nothing but women.  It's cool and surprising that an actor like himself would do a role like this but makes it even better.  You can decide for yourself and watch the film to figure out if they make it to White Castle or get mauled to death by a cheetah.

I never watched this film in the theater nor do I think many people did at all.  I think it was released at the wrong time when a lot of crappy low budget comedies were all coming out and unfortunately Harold and Kumar was flushed down the toilet with them.  From what I understand it really picked up when it was released on DVD.  It then began to have a cult following and even warranted 2 sequels, Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantonomo Bay and A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas to be released this fall.  Are these films crude and dirty?  Yes!  Are they funny as hell?  Yes but they are a good time to watch and relax and especially if you have the munchies, high or not!

Old School Review: Dreamcatcher

Every once in a while I re-visit a film and it becomes even better than what I had originally remembered it being.  This rings true with Dreamcatcher.  I believe I first saw it when I was living in China then my wife and I watched it a few years back and then last night it came up in line on the Netflix cue.  I could go on forever on how much better the content on Netflix is getting.  I feel like the $10 a month fee is actually worth it.  My only complaint is how random the movies are that are high definition.  You would think that most new releases would be in high def but it is so random that it get's frustrating for people that have high-def televisions.  Fortunately for me this was presented in high-def and looked great at that!  Kuddos to Netflix for what their doing.  Just get everything in HD!  Now, in the voice of the Crypt Keeper, shall we move on to the review?


First and foremost.  This is another one of the countless films that was derived from a Stephen King novel.  I am by far not a big reader of any novels and have never read a King book.  My wife on the other hand is a big fan of his books and I think it is fair to say the films or countless mini series never really stand up to the original material.  Now their are absolutely some of the films that have been made off of his books that have been great.  I personally love Sleepwalkers, The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, Stand By Me and many others.  I am very much excited to see Ron Howard take on the series The Dark Tower in the near future.  With all of this in mind.  My wife has not read the Dreamcatcher novel so this is coming truly from a movie point of view.

This film was made in 2003 and stars Morgan Freeman, Thomas Jane, Jason Lee, Damian Lewis, Timothy Olyphant, Tom Sizemore and Donny Wahlberg.  The film is directed by Lawrence Kasdan whom also made such films as Silverado and Wyatt Earp.  Interestingly he wrote the screenplays for such films as Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.  It was made for about 68 million only garnering back about 33 million.  I think those estimates would consider it a dud at the box office.

The story is what is so great and gripping about this film.  I am not going to spoil it but I will give you the main points of the film.  Four friends back in the 1970's come across another boy who is mentally handicapped being beaten up by bullies.  The four friends help the boy out and form a special relationship with him.  Duddits, the handicapped boy, has powers unlike anyone has seen and eventually shares them with the boys.  The boys are able to read one another's minds and are able to use their powers to do miracles like find missing children lost in the woods.  Time goes by and the boys are now all adults and Duddits is in a home for the mentally unstable.

With their lives all taking different paths the men still get together once a year at a cabin the backwoods of the northeast to catch up and reminisce.  None of them can ever forget Duddits and seem to be almost obsessed with him and the amazing impact he had on their lives as children.  It is during this time that things seem to take a interesting turn.  Two major snow storms are headed their way.  They begin to notice all of the animals in the woods running past the cabin.  Everything from deer to bears to squirrels and birds.  Things begin to get crazy when the men come across hunters that have been stranded in the woods.  Not only are they sick from the cold but seem to have blood blotches on their skin and something rumbling in their stomachs.  What does all of this have to do with a special boy named Duddits?  Why do the men lead their lives with these special powers not knowing what to do with them?  Is their a bigger purpose?  Why in the middle of the forest are there military helicopters flying around?

The cast is great for this kind of a story.  Each boy/man is their own person from the smart mouth Jason Lee to the more serious Damian Lewis.  Thomas Jane is your lead along with the great Morgan Freeman as the antagonist of the film.  We're not talking break out performances but great for what you are expecting.  I believe this would have to be one of Tom Sizemore's last semi-big films before he completely broke down and let the drugs take over his life.  On a side not, Mark Wahlberg aka New Kid On The Block.  Marky Mark's brother plays the adult version of Duddits and you will not recognize him.  This being my third time and I forgot that he had played that part until I read the credits.  The special effects are cool.  Not too cheesy but not blow you away amazing either.

This is one of those films that you can watch once every six months or share it with a friend and still enjoy it over and over.  It is a unique story and along with fine acting and a great story I would recommend anyone purchase this flick for their film library.  It is suspenseful and has some scary scenes in it so it is not for the kids.  Teenagers should be fine watching it.  I'm interested in hearing how it stands up to the book.  I told my wife I was going to buy it for her.  I am going to embed the trailer below for you to see.  Check it out sometime!

Old School Review: Blade Trilogy

Here we are with another old school review with the Blade Trilogy.  Blade was first made in 1998 with the final film Blade Trinity in 2004.  All three films star Wesley Snipes as the vampire hunter Blade and Kris Kristofferson as Blade's mentor and best friend Whistler.  I had the chance to watch the Blu-Ray copy of these three films last week with my two oldest daughters, 14 and 16.  My daughters ideas of vampires mostly stem from films such as Twilight and that is about it.  As I pretty much despise Twilight I thought I would introduce them to a bit different of a vampire film.  I would say that all in all they had their eyes opened to a new but old genre of vampire films and I had the chance to relive a trilogy of films that I haven't seen in ages.

I really enjoyed the story of the Blade Series.  From what I understand Blade was originally a Marvel comic book.  When Blade was a baby in his mother's stomach she was bitten by a vampire and died.  Blade was saved and ultimately became a half human/half vampire.  He has all of the strengths of the vampires but none of their weaknesses.  Scouring through the streets as a young child he was picked up by Whistler and trained to be the vampire killer that he is today.  By the first movie Blade is a full grown man with only short flashbacks of his birth and childhood.  Whistler is an old man that walks with a gimp and a leg brace from apparent previous battles we know nothing of.  Even though Blade is not fully a vampire, he must inject a serum into his body every day to stop the effects of the vampirism.

Blade One also stars Stephen Dorff as Deacon Frost.  Deacon is not a pure blood vampire but was once human and turned into a vampire.  To get to the point.  He is a cocky vampire who eventually overthrows the head vampires in an attempt to decipher ancient vampire text to unleash an apparent blood god on the world. Personally, this was not my favorite of the trilogy.  Snipes is Blade 100%.  He is the man.  He is the character but I felt that he didn't have an admiral enough foe to really make this film solid enough.  Being the first film it is totally a watch but be prepared in the future films for an overall better story.

This brings me to Blade Two.  First and foremost this film was directed by Guillermo Del Toro.  He made other films such as Hellboy, Hellboy 2 and Pan's Labyrinth.  You can really see a departure in this film from the first.  It is alike in many ways that keep it in running with the first but the special effects are way better and the overall story takes a step up.  This time around their is a mutation in the vampire community.  It is a monster that was once a vampire but now craves blood so badly that it will feed on human or vampire.  Blade is asked by the vampire community to help them track down the source of the mutants.  He is joined by a ragtag group of vampires lead by Mr. Hellboy himself, Ron Perlman.  This idea almost reminds me a lot of the group of marines from Aliens.  I really connected with that and enjoyed the film even more.  The head mutant vampire is played by Luke Goss who you can see in the recent Death Race 2.  He is a budding actor and someone to watch out for on the horizon.  Blade Two makes a giant leap and is my personal favorite in the series.  It is very much worth watching and a film you will find yourself watching again in the future.

Blade Trinity is the last film in the series and the most commercialized in my opinion.  This time around we throw in Ryan Reynolds, Jessica Biel, Parker Posey and Paul "HHH" Levesque.  The previous films held on their own with Wesley Snipes and Kris Kristofferson.  I don't know why they think they have to add a ton of new actors to the mix.  Ryan Reynolds is well Ryan Reynolds.  He has a lot of smart ass one liners and is pretty much eye candy for the ladies as is Jessica Biel whom is supposedly Whistlers unknown daughter and is the eye candy for the men.  Neither of these characters brought much to the table for me and were pretty much worthless overall.  Parker Posey plays Danica.  Danica along with her group of vampires end up bringing back to life the real Dracula to for once and all destroy Blade.  I guess the film studios kinda billed this as the final film and from the direction that things were going it was probably for the best.

Overall, all three of these movies make a good companion set to any movie buffs collection.  Is the first one weak and the third pretty much stupid?  Yes but with the Blade Two being so good they all kinda equal each other out.  I would not be surprised to see another one of these films because frankly Wesley Snipes hasn't had a hit since the last film.  That is once he get's released from prison.  If you haven't seen the films then go out and rent them or you can probably purchase the box set for a reasonable price at your local store or online.

Old School Review: Pleasantville

Hey Mechamaniacs!  Today has been a day of "new" here at the site.  Earlier I posted some new releases that came out today for you to rent or order and now I am writing my first article in the new series "Old School Review".  I really enjoy writing about new and upcoming flicks but what about all of the movies that are already out?  Maybe there is that gem that you haven't seen that I can review and open a whole new world for ya?  Perhaps there is something you have seen and never enjoyed but saw a new review and decided to watch it again and like it?  This is the place to find it!  My first review is of an older but really cool film called Pleasantville.  Enjoy!

Do you remember old school tv shows like The Andy Griffith Show?  A place where there is no crime.  A town where you can keep your doors unlocked at night.  Where everyone knows your name?  Wait, isn't that Cheers?  By now you get the picture.  This describes the place called Pleasantville.  Pleasantville is actually the name of the popular tv show set in the 1950's that nerdy teen David, played by famous Tobey Maguire, loves to watch and has memorized word for word.  In comes his social and popular sister Jennifer, played by Reese Witherspoon, who is the complete opposite.  Both teens live in a broken home without a father and a mother whom is more interested in her personal love life than being a good influence on the kids.  David finds solace in the tv show and Jennifer finds it in her many crushes and endless loves.

We arrive at one fateful night and a simple argument.  David is set on watching the Pleasantville 24 hour marathon and Jennifer is determined to watch a concert with her newest crush set to arrive any minute.  Mom has left for the weekend and it is up to the two of them to decide what is going to happen next.  A fight ensues and the remote control for the tv is broken.  In the midst of anger the teens hear a knock at the door.  I'll be damned if it isn't old Deputy Barney Fife, I mean Don Knotts, a local tv repairman.  With only their intentions in mind the teens decide to take a special remote from the repairman and are zapped into the world of Pleasantville.

Now what?  David and Jennifer are now the children of the family that star in Pleasantville.  They are part of the show!  They are not in color but black and white.  This is a perfect fit for David.  His dream!  He knows all of the story lines but is an utter nightmare of Jennifer.  Everything thing in this world is perfect.  That is how the show was created.  No violence, no sex and everyone is innocent and goes about their daily jobs day in and day out.  This point is what really makes Pleasantville a cool movie.

What happens when you throw a rock in a puddle of water.  The ripple effect and that is in a sense what is going on here.  David and Jennifer don't belong.  It is only a matter of time things start going awry and that is when things start to get very interesting.  The tv show is originally in black and white but as situations or episodes change from the original.  Spots of color begin to appear and the citizens of Pleasantville begin to notice the leaves change to color and eventually the houses, streets and themselves.  That is really the heart of this movie in my opinion.  It is about change and accepting the change.  People are afraid of change or an uncertain future.  I think this film portrays that beautifully.  You see the change in the people of Pleasantville all the way through to our main characters of David and Jennifer.  I'm not going to spoil the end but it really comes full circle and leaves you feeling warm inside and like you have spent the last two hours not watching a piece of trash.

Tobey and Reese are young actors when this film was made.  This is before Spiderman and before Reese became the famous actress that she is today.  Jeff Daniels also stars as Bill.  Bill runs the local cafe and is one of the main examples of someone who didn't know how to react to the changes going on around him but embraced it and used it to further himself through the film.  William H. Macy plays the father in Pleasantville along with Joan Allen as his wife and mother to the two kids.  She is also the other main example of wanting to break free of the daily mold and does a wonderful performance at it.  The late J.T. Walsh, Marley Shelton and a very young Paul Walker also star.

This is one of those films that is unique and will always stay with you.  We all go through changes in our lives and that is why this film is so relatable.  I highly recommend Pleasantville for teens through adults.  There are some sexual situations but almost comedic.  I don't recall much for foul language if any.  I just watched this with my two teenage daughters and they had no problem with it nor did I.  This is a purchase because you will find yourself taking it out once in a while wanting to relive the story of a little town called Pleasantville.  4 out of 4 pizzas baby!  You can watch the trailer below.