Once upon a time there was an era in American history when the most racy thing on television was not Amanda sleeping with the new neighbor on Melrose Place, but an utterance of "darn."

During the '50s, shows like Leave it to Beaver and I Love Lucy flooded the tube with the traditional white bread roles that consumed society. The woman always stayed at home and cooked; the father went off to work every morning and pancakes, waffles, bacon, eggs and ham was always ready for the children before they ran or skipped off to school. Pleasantville takes us back to this time period.

Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon star as normal, '90s teenagers who worry about getting dates, high school classes and hanging out with the "popular" people. David (Maguire) doesn't have quite the social life of his sister Jennifer (Witherspoon), so he usually stays at home and watches old reruns of his favorite show, Pleasantville.

After their mother leaves for an out-of-town trip, the two rush to gain control of the remote; David wants to watch a Pleasantville marathon, and Jennifer wants to watch an MTV concert with her date. The two fight and manage to break the control. The doorbell rings and it's none other than Don Knotts as a television repair man.

The two are skeptical at first, but accept a new controller. With one push of the button, the two are transported into the television and into Pleasantville. Their world becomes black and white; Jennifer, who is now called Mary Sue, is dressed in a cardigan sweater with a poodle skirt and says, "I'm pasty." As the two figure out how to escape from this world, they are shocked by the traditional beliefs of the town.

In school, David - now Bud - is on the basketball team in which every basket is made with a swoosh. Since David/Bud is a big fan of the show, he knows how to fit in. Jennifer/Mary Sue, however, is used to the '90s way of doing things and manages to bring a little naughtiness to the town.

As more and more risquŽ activities enter Pleasantville, like sex, masturbation and a bed made for two, the people and environment begin to take on color. There are many great moments in the film such as when Mary Sue has to explain to her mother what sex is, and when fire breaks out for the first time - the fire fighters don't know what to do because their only job heretofore has been to rescue cats from trees.

These moments, however, are few and far between. The film drags on to an ending that seems abrupt, short of content and lacking summary. The story itself is a great idea, but it just doesn't hold attention or plot. The only great performances were by the mother and father (Joan Allen and William H. Macy) who made great Beaver-like parents in the Pleasantville television show.

There were also images in the film that had deep religious, racial and feminist undertones, but they were never explained and didn't add anything to the plot. For example, a female who is in color picks a red apple from the tree and gives it to a man who is in black and white. Also, the black-and-white people are against the color people and hang signs in storefronts that read "No Coloreds."

This is one of those films where you look at your watch more than the screen, but the great scenes stay in your memory when explaining it to friends. This magical controller would be great for a boring afternoon. You could go into Melrose Place and get lucky, have a beer with Norm on Cheers, go into Party of Five and beat up Claudia or play around with arcade games and ride that train with Ricky Schroeder on Silver Spoons.