Eager ‘Beaver’ Leaves Its Time Frame to Guesswork

“Leave It to Beaver,” the latest vintage TV series to get the big-screen treatment, is probably going to please a lot of people with its affectionate depiction of idealized small-city family life. Its makers have rounded up a good cast, headed by Cameron Finley as the adorable 8-year-old Beaver who’s forever trying to do the right thing but tends to get derailed momentarily by older kids and adults. Warmth and humor abound.

The trouble is that the picture is hopelessly synthetic. Writers Brian Levant and Lon Diamond try to straddle the ‘50s and the ‘90s only to get lost in a limbo of make-believe. They’ve come up with a timeless story about Beaver coping with a father whose expectations of his son’s football prowess at the age of 8 put undue pressure upon the boy, who also has to deal with the theft of his expensive new bike.

But the film’s producers and its director Andy Cadiff, who is fresh off the sitcom “Home Improvement,” don’t seem to have thought through the kind of world in which “Leave It to Beaver” could come alive. Bad matchups between Universal’s overly familiar standing sets and Santa Paula locales just don’t work.

The filmmakers needed to go for an overall stylized look, to create some kind of background against which emotion could seem real on some level, by way of contrast. (The picture would have worked much better as a period piece.) The film is entirely too literal, its sentimental view of traditional family life unleavened by wit or style.

“Leave It to Beaver” instead is crass visually and its production design mediocre at best--the interiors of Beaver’s home are surprisingly fussy and cluttered. For some reason, the stalwart Christopher McDonald as Beaver’s unctuous but loving father Ward Cleaver looks more heavily made up and dyed than Janine Turner as his perfect ‘50s wife June, who wears pearls even when she vacuums. McDonald is an actor and comedian of admirable versatility and range, but the way he’s made to appear distracts attention from an amusing and effective performance.

The youngsters fare better, though their characters are Hollywood precocious. Finley is pretty lovable, and Erik von Detten as his older brother Wally and Adam Zolotin as their obnoxious friend Eddie are capable. The original June Cleaver, Barbara Billingsley, cameos as the boys’ great-aunt.

But unless you are a die-hard fan of the original series or are looking for a picture suitable for youngsters, you’re better off leaving “Leave It to Beaver” alone.

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* MPAA rating: PG, for mild language and some elements of sensuality. Times guidelines: The film is suitable for all ages.

‘Leave It to Beaver’

Christopher McDonald: Ward

Janine Turner: June

Cameron Finley: Beaver

Erik von Detten: Wally

A Universal Pictures presentation. Director Andy Cadiff. Producer Robert Simonds. Executive producers Ben Myron, David Helpern, Lynn Arost. Screenplay by Brian Levant & Lon Diamond; based on the TV series created by Bob Mosher & Joe Connelly. Cinematographer Thomas Del Ruth. Editor Alan Heim. Costumes Jean-Pierre Dorleac. Music Randy Edelman. Production designer Perry Andelin Blake. Art director Peg McClellan. Set decorator Lisa Robyn Deutsch. Set designer Easton Michael Smith. Running time: 1 hour, 33 minutes.

* In general release throughout Southern California.