Still the Beaver

I have to agree with jwalsh67 on this. Why couldn't we have been allowed to rest in the fantasy that our favorite characters grew-up to be better than they were? There was simply no reason for the makers of this to have insisted that "Beaver" Cleaver's character not be allowed to do so.

And they didn't. Indeed, he's still whining, still clueless. And as has been noted, towards the end of the original series, Beaver was already on the road to maturity.

If I remember correctly, in the last episode Ward says to June, "We've either raised them right or we haven't." The answer to this was a resounding "You failed" from the producers.

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.

... 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.

You can't reproduce the charm of the original 1950s/1960s series, Leave it To Beaver, but why would you want to? It was a product of its times, and Still The Beaver is just as well. With the exception of the late Ward Cleaver, the entire cast is there, and except for Whitey, are portrayed by their original actors.

Theodore Cleaver is an adult version of his child self... and it's led his wife to divorce him. Beaver wants to be a good father to his two sons, but he can't channel the stern but warm guidance that his father provided. After advice from his brother, Wally, now a lawyer married to this high school sweetheart, Mary Ellen, he decides that he wants custody.

Everyone in the cast is there, and most of them are adult reflections of their childhood selves... except a surprising comedic twist with Beaver's friend Larry, which I shall not spoil here. June Cleaver continues to provide the family the nurturing warmth required to keep them going. It's a reunion updated for the theme of the new era, covering topics as divorce, relationships, dealing with children with behavioral issues, and more. Plus, it's nice to see what has changed in the Cleaver residence, and in their lives, and what hasn't.

Still The Beaver is not expected to be able to compete with its own series, now with classic status. It's also not expected to be an award-winning piece of filmmaking with deep symbolism and subtle character traits. But as a new installment of a beloved series, seeing Beaver still struggling with confidence issues decades later, the movie should find a heartwarming sweet spot in the audience's heart. And seeing Eddie Haskell, character unchanged, is worth the time to watch!

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.