Return to Green Acres

Yes, it missed the mark big time. I've always felt that reunion shows of this ilk (i.e.,old 30-minute sitcoms) should be done in the same 30-minute time-frame. And, in this particular case, should have been done on similar sets as the TV show instead of filming outdoors in real settings. Because the producers and/or writers chose real-life settings for this reunion show AND stretched it to two hours, the look and feel of the show was completely alien to the original series. For me, that was the first glaring mistake. They should have stuck to the cheap indoor sets and made it a half-hour long. Maybe then they could've used the money they'd have saved and spent it on better writers, because the next glaring mistake was the bad writing. It stuck out like a sore thumb. I give this movie two stars instead of one, because the only endearing aspect of this "mistake" was seeing most of the original cast together again.

How about a movie that is directed and written by the original director who directed all but 3 of the episodes? Introducing, Mr. Richard Bare!!!!! This should be filmed by August of next year for a 2011 release. Are you excited??? We are in the works of pre-production. The script is written, and boy howdy, is it good. The context will be set in the original time-frame. The cast will be famous and look alikes. Which A list actor do you think looks the most like Eddie Albert? How about Eva Gabor? Who should play Arnold? How about Mr. Kimball? We already have a Mr Haney! You must stick to the original values of the TV series. Especially in a movie as important as Green Acres as it has a HUGE following! Let's get er done.

While it was a treat to see the old cast back together, the film suffered from "Reunion" fever that plagued many of the reunion movies of the era. Hatching a silly plot involving spies and trying to stretch it into a two hour movie was a huge mistake.

If they had bothered to watch the old series they would have known that the deviation from the original was killing what they were making before they even filmed it!

The old show consisted of wacky characters that the audience cared about, not some crazy plot that drags the characters out of the places we like to see them in. I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure it didn't even show the interiors of the characters homes, and in the case of "Green Acres," the old Haney Place (the Douglas's farm) and Druker's Store were practically characters in themselves.

Besides that, in updating us on the town of Hooterville they forgot to include anyone from "Petticoat Junction," or even the Shady Rest Hotel, for that matter! This was a cookie-cutter production designed to cash in on nostalgia for the series. The actors were great, the script a shambles, and sadly the last time we got to see Pat Buttram, Alvey Moore and Eva Gabor act together.

They should have left the good work that was the original series..alone.

I'm saddened by the negative user reviews posted about this tv reunion. I agree it wasn't the offbeat humor from the original series but it was still nice to see so many of the cast members together again. Also, I just can't believe Eddie Albert would trash this movie on a talk show or to anyone. I met him in the late 1980's and everyone or thing he spoke about was with an honest, pleasant, upbeat demeanor. In fact I've never read or heard any negative remarks about anyone in the cast. Enjoy it for what it is and not for what others think it should have been.

I agree with the previous reviewer who said that this reunion movie must have been written by someone who had never seen the original show. In a way, Green Acres was like Seinfeld for the 1960s, in that there were no lessons or morals learned and very little seriousness or sentimentality - just lots of weird humor (except for some lovey-dovey scenes between Oliver and Lisa at the end of some episodes). This is also a show that had a lot of fun breaking the 4th wall, with characters making references to the opening credits and such. That said, what on earth were the writers thinking when they wrote this movie? The movie isn't even funny - did they forget that Green Acres was supposed to be a comedy? The plot is very cliched - a greedy business man conspires with Mr. Haney to buy everyone's property in Hooterville and turn it into a mall or something. This results in many serious, sappy scenes that have none of the wacky flavor of the original. We even have a "lesson," as Eb's teenage son learns to appreciate his rural hometown instead of thinking it's boring. We also have a romance between the Ziffels' niece and the businessman's son, which I think only makes the show drag even more. Stick with the original - the only reason to watch this movie is if you're curious to see how the cast looked after 20 years.