Still the Beaver

Sorry, I don't agree that this one was a dud. The Beaver never grew up -why should we have expected him to? He was a whiny kid who grew up to be a whiny, clueless adult. I loved the first scene when his wife turns the sprinklers on him and later, when June is sitting in the graveyard saying "Ward, I'm worried about the Beaver." Meeting Eddie Haskell's kid, who is his father all over again, of course, was also great fun.

Leave it to Beaver was never fine theater or great writing,it was just a look at the way America never really was.

Growing up in the early sixties, I always believed that the Cleavers were just like my family. Ward was like my dad in many ways, June was like mom, and Wally was like my older brother. The mannerisms, attitudes, clothes and even the hairstyles were all too similar.

Forty years later, the similarities and relevance remains strong. Since my dad passed, mom has become the matriarch of the family, just as June has become the matriarch of the Cleavers. What's more relevant than Ward Cleaver passing away, as my dad did, leaving a legacy, affecting the hearts and minds of his wife and kids?

I believe there is something seriously twisted about an individual who can knock this 1983 pilot of "Still The Beaver". There is so much garbage on TV and in the movies that is much better off not paying any attention to. There is truly something creepy about some of the post on this thread knocking the black and white episodes or the 1983 movie memorializing Hugh Beaumont.

Perhaps these people would prefer dorks like Cedric "The Entertainer" and Martin Lawrence playing Wally and The Beaver!

... but if you have no idea what the show is about, or maybe you know what it is and have seen just an episode or two, I'm just not sure how much you are going to get out of it, as there are more than a few ironic tie ins to the original LITB show. Plus, if you are younger, you may have trouble with the concept of superimposing the 50s on the 80s if you are unfamiliar with both decades.

Beaver Cleaver's wife has just thrown him out of the house. His rich father in law therefore fires him, and he doesn't even have a car to call his own since he is driving a company car. He takes a bus back to Mayfield, to his mother's house, and tries to pick up the pieces of his life in a place that seems familiar and safe. He also tries to have a better relationship with his sons, who resent the divorce and the dislocation it has caused in their lives.

Beaver's older brother Wally is a successful attorney, and in his 30s has only recently married his high school sweetheart, Mary Ellen Rogers. But being mid to late thirties, they have a problem - possible fertility issues as they try to conceive a child.

A large number of the original cast members show up - Ken Osmond as Eddie Haskell, Frank Bank as Lumpy Rutherford, Richard Deacon as Fred Rutherford, Richard Correll as Richard Rickover, Rusty Stevens as Larry Mondello, Diane Brewster as Miss Canfield, and Tiger Fafara as Tooey.

One thing that I really enjoyed as a long time viewer were the many intercuts from the present Cleaver home to some relevant scene from the TV show. Hugh Beaumont, who played Ward Cleaver, died the year before this was made, in 1982, and many of those intercut scenes involve him. I thought these scenes were a tastefully done tribute to the actor and the role he played.

This was simply awful. Jerry Mathers is a chumpy twit as the "grown" Beaver who still wears his goofy baseball cap and windbreaker coat despite being well into his 30's. He trudges home glumly to his mommy after losing his job and wife, and the cute Beaver we all remember is brought back to life. He hasn't changed a bit--all the dopey mannerisms are still in effect, and big brother Wally still has the upper hand in intelligence, strength, and female magnetism. Director Steven Stern seems to have forgotten that in the final seasons of the old Leave it to Beaver series, Beaver had grown up quite a bit and was well past the bumbling twirp we recall from the early days. I was looking forward to seeing the adult Beaver in some adult situations with some casual references to the past. Instead, the producers try to cash-in by heaping on the corny treacle with all the characters being much older yet none wiser.

This movie was heartwarming and funny when appropriate. I used to tune in to the original show on the Antenna channel. It came on twice, at 8 and 8:30am. I would watch it while I got ready for work. Now I've changed jobs. I don't get up until 8:50, so I no longer watch it, but I enjoyed it when I did. Looking at old TV shows from the perspective of someone in their 20s, I find many of them to be formulaic and boring. However, this is one of the few vintage TV shows that doesn't annoy me. Still the Beaver is like the all grownup version of the show. Ward has passed (he actually wasn't alive when this film was made), and June is living alone. Wally is a successful lawyer. He and his wife, his high school sweetheart, are trying to have a baby. Beaver is divorced with two sons, and he moves back to his childhood home to live with his mom. Eddie owns a construction company. Beaver wants custody of his kids. Later in the film his ex-wife tells him she's going to veterinary school in another country, so he gets to have the kids full time. I thought the movie was great when I was watching, but thinking about it now, it seems kind of silly. I say that because all of the characters have the same personality as they did in the show, which is why I took off 1 star. Wally is still a jock, and Eddie is still a shyster. It's hard to believe Beaver is a father, let alone married in the first place. He has no life skills. He doesn't have a job or a car. Never mind - I think he has a car at the beginning of the movie, but after moving back home, he buys a 1965 Mustang, which didn't really make sense. It's never stated outright why his wife wanted a divorce, but it's not hard to figure out the reason. He doesn't carry himself like an adult. He's awkward and has low self-esteem, which is really no different than how he was as a kid - hence the title. She did point out they got married too young, and that increases the likelihood of divorce. It would've been nice to see more character development. Overall, this was a lovely film. It might make some people cry, especially if they were kids when this show first started coming on TV and/or one of their parents is deceased. It's sad how my generation has gotten plagued by overly negative movies and TV shows. Still the Beaver focuses on real life problems without sounding preachy. The audience walks away having learned valuable lessons that are still relevant in modern times. I feel like the topic of divorce was addressed exceptionally well, unlike Mrs. Doubtfire, which contained a lot of sexual jokes and bathroom humor. If you loved the show, then you will thoroughly enjoy this movie.