Sadly Over-hyped

Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

A Disappointing Continuation

There is definitely an excellent idea hidden in the background of the film. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find it.

The Wonder Years won one Golden Globe and several awards. The Wonder Years was innovative in that the story-line was different than other shows at that time and this helped lead hugely to the show's success. The television series went from 1988 – 1993 and was created by Carol Black and Neal Marlens.Fred Savage (winner of the Q Award - Best Actor in a Quality Comedy Series 1989) plays Kevin Arnold, who resides in an average American suburb. The time setting of Wonder Years is 1968 – 1973 and features Kevin's life from the age of 12 to 17. Kevin's dad Jack Arnold (Dan Lauria) is a defence contractor and his mom Norma Arnold (Alley Mills) is a home-maker (I know, super offensive eh?). The story also features Kevin's on and off girlfriend Winnie (Danica McKellar). Their on and off relationship portrays relationships in reality in the dating world with different relationships in the mix. The story line is about Kevin's journey from adolescence to adulthood with his friend Paul (Josh Saviano). Kevin has an older brother and sister: Wayne (Jason Hervey) and Karen (Olivia d'Abo). The story is narrated in Kevin's adult voice by Daniel Stearn.The Wonder Years was a big hit in the late eighties, early nineties and was one of the twenty best show's of the eighties (TV Guide). The Wonder Years was an all time family favourite and even in today's changing world with the changing family, this show still holds dear to my heart.If you're like me you felt Kevin's angst every time he was betrayed by Winnie.

(cue the movie trailer voice guy>) In a world where Breaking Bad and The Wire (both incredible shows) both score 9.4 and The Wonder Years only scores 8.2. (end the movie trailer voice guy)...Seriously though...this is a travesty. I honestly couldn't believe that The Wonder Years didn't score higher. Granted that this is a deeply personal show for me...but judging from the other reviews, it seems to be a deeply personal show for a lot of people. What is amazing about The Wonder Years is its ability to relate cross generations. I'm not going to talk specifically about any one episode because there are too many and no one here wants to read about my life story, but bear with me. I was born in 1980...so when I started watching The Wonder Years I was 8 and it ended when I was 13.....pretty much my formative years as a child. Watching the show during this time even as a child it was important to me. As a child, I could relate to Kevin or at least some of the other characters on a level where the understanding to me had everything to do with his experiences as a child and not a whole lot for the generation in which he lived his life. It worked for my parents because the show both created nostalgia to the time period in which they grew up as well and holding nostalgic memories of experiences that they may have had in common with the characters. Watching this show later in life only further showed me how great a show this truly was. Viewing this show 20+ years later you are able to see the show in a completely different light. While I'm not able to share in the nostalgia of the time period...as my parents...I am able to better relate to teenage Kevin....and his parents, grandparents, and dare I even say his jackass of a brother Wayne. If I wrote this review at another time I might be able to write a better one, but I am writing this on pure emotion and I can honestly tell you that this was one of the best shows ever made for television. The creators and the writers knew exactly what they were doing and it showed. Perhaps the Wonder Years was a little too far ahead of its time...or maybe America is all the stupider. I just feel bad for the kids of today that have no clue of this show. It is a damn shame that they won't either until licensing fees are worked out and and they can actually get this show on DVD. They need to do it right though. They can't leave out or replace the music because in blended in and complimented the show to a point that to leave it out would be to savagely diminish the quality....(sigh) Until then I'll have to rely on my bootleg copies and keep reminding the world that The Wonder Years even existed in the first place.

I remember the first time I watched the Wonder Years. It was amazing. Chronologically, Kevin was 3 years older than I was and it seemed that every episode pulled out another piece of my life and put it up on that TV screen.Friends, family, love, laughter, life and just growing up and finding myself was an adventure. Watching Kevin grow up brought back so many memories, the Wonder Years will always have a special place in my heart. It's so sad that the storytellers today don't always have the heart that this show did. We could all learn a few lessons from this fantastic program.

For my money, Fred Savage (Arnold) was by far the best child actor of TV. While there were many great child actors and many who came close, Savage's expressions were the best I ever saw for a kid age 12-17. His signature one-eye brow raise, his mouth and eye movements and his ability to wear his emotions and feelings on his face were nothing short of remarkable. His cute good looks and expressive eyes did a lot to help that as well. The other enjoyable part of this show was how the narrator sounded perfect as a grown up Arnold and when Savage spoke right after the narrator, it seemed to fit so well. Many of the episodes I truly relate to as in the show, Arnold was born in 1956, same year as my older brother. I was born in 1959. The styles, the house, the home furnishings, the cars and the events so paralleled my own suburban life in NJ, not far from NYC.