So much average

Pretty Good

Absolutely the worst movie.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

This movie is an excellent choice for small children discovering Anne! Although the best series by far is Kevin Sullivan's Anne of Green Gables, it is nearly unavailable in the United States in 2017. So, this version is a great introduction. It is very cute and sweet and very appropriate for children under the age of 10. There is another series by Moira Beckett called "Anne with an E" that I have been enjoying as an adult, but would not recommend for young children. It's just too dark and scary. I was thrilled to hear that L.M. Montgomery's family was licensing a televised version of these classic stories.

I watched the first installment of the new Anne of Green Gables series on PBS and was very disillusioned by it. It had none of the charm of the 1985 rendition. The writers of the 1985 series offered "full" stories of each experience in Anne's life with clever and humorous dialogue and always with a keen eye for the important details that helped to flesh out the characters, all of which enhanced the rich emotional landscape of the drama. The new series tells incomplete stories, constantly jumping around and skimping on details that are vital to building depth of character, as well as contributing to the overall appeal of L.M. Montgomery's wonderful books. **SPOILER** As only one comparison, there is a wonderful early scene in the story line where Anne must apologize to Rachel Lynde for Anne's hot-headed response to Rachel's unkind comments about Anne's appearance. In the 1985 version, the apology (which is acted out in full) is extremely funny. Whereas, the modern version shows Anne at a distance with Rachel, gesticulating (with no dialogue), after which she wins Rachel over, who then gives Anne a hug. **END OF SPOILER** This scene is so empty as to leave the viewer with no emotional response whatsoever. In fact, for myself, the entire episode continued on this track leaving such a void that it did not rouse any emotional connection or amusement, which is what made the 1985 version so endearing. Even Martin Sheen, an actor I greatly admire, gave a tepid performance and could not save this poorly written and equally poorly acted version -- nowhere near the quality of acting in 1985. If they were unable to rise above this sub par presentation in 1.5 hours, I believe it is unlikely the remaining episodes will offer any real improvements. And, any attempts to stand apart from the earlier version never should have been embarked upon at the expense of quality. Perhaps the appeal, for some, lies in it's parallel to the modern social media, sound byte dynamic which has gained considerable popularity in our society. Some will say that those who are critical can't let go of their fondness for the 1985 version. But, I would argue that there are fair and well-established criteria for the critical process, regardless of the year. I do not believe this is about "when" something was made. There are many modern day films and series I consider to be quite excellent. All in all, I cannot even bear the thought of watching this version any further. If you have not seen it, I highly recommend the 1985 series for a truly rewarding viewing experience of this wonderful story.

This version of Anne of Green Gables was absolutely dreadful. Where do I begin? Right off the bat, when I knew I was doomed to disappointment, was Martin Sheen playing the soulful shy Matthew as if he was some kind of slapstick comic. Yakitty yakkity Yak to his horse, and then falling face first into a mud puddle. SMH.Too bad, because the scene on the train was actually quite promising. I thought Martin Sheen was a good actor and was willing to give him a chance, but this was disgraceful. It was probably the direction. The young actress who played Anne, delivered her lines. Period. Whenever a line came close to echoing a line Megan Follows said, the contrast would have been laughable if it weren't so inept. One of the pivotal comic scenes, (Anne's "apology" to Rachel after her rude behavior) took place in a wide shot and without audible dialogue. It was probably a mercy. She wasn't helped by the freckles put on with a pencil that kept appearing and disappearing, and that dye job on her hair! When she got into the sunlight, it looked like something a cheap tart would do to her hair. Again, probably the direction rather than the young actresses fault.Any production has a tough row to hoe to even come close to the perfection that was The Sullivan Production. That whole cast was perfection itself and truly inhabited their roles. I won't talk about the lack of depth. The whole Minnie May episode,I swear, clocked in at under a minute and that included the reconciliation scene. And "Matthew" continually on the verge of a heart attack. I guess stay tuned for the next installment. The Actor who played Gilbert looked younger than Anne and came across as a bratty little brother. The actress who played Marilla actually was not bad, though not the same character that Colleen Dewhurst interpreted. And Rachel was also excellent. The little actress who played Diana was a bright spot, as little screen time as she had. Again, no depth. And miscasting. She should have played Anne. There will probably be a second installment to this as many of the key scenes were left out entirely (no Lily maid of Astalot. No Miss Stacy.) If they recast an older Anne and Gilbert, and kill Matthew off quickly, it might have a chance to be half-way decent. There is hope. The early 1930's version with Dawn O'Day (Anne Shirley), Tom Brown, and Helen Westley was a wonder and showed that you could convey the charm of this story in 78 minutes flat, and even manages to include a satisfying romance between Anne and Gilbert.

SpoilersI truly love Martin Sheen's President Bartlet from West Wing. But why oh why was President Bartlet parachuted into Green Gables and into Matthew Cuthbert's coveralls? Studio executives, "Let's make Anne of Green Gables, again. We need a big star to sell it (reaches into rando bag of movie stars) and let's cast Martin Sheen."All sane people, "Um, the whole point of AoGG is the powerful dynamic between the FEMALE characters. I know men usually controlled everything, but in this story, on this little island, in this little town, it was definitely a matriarchy."Studio executives, "I can see that, well why don't we cut Marilla's best lines or even better! give them to Matthew!"I feel really sorry for the actress that played Marilla. Could you imagine auditioning for the part, finally getting it, then reading the whole script and finding you were playing a sparkless co-parent and second fiddle to of all people, Matthew?I know the writers had an impossible job to get so much in so in 90 minutes. But there were so many unforced errors! I just kept thinking, why is president Bartlet still talking? Why do we have to see him chase a pig for two minutes, but then not have enough time to follow Diana back home after she got drunk? Like Anne would have just waved her stumbling friend out the door then turned back to wash the dishes? Why was all that off screen? And Marilla didn't marry the Blythe boy because of her mother? And Matthew went a courting? There were no reasons to change that. It's like the adults were embarrassed for the Cuthbert siblings and were saying, "Yeah, they are super cool. They have a boy/girlfriend but they go to a different school, and you wouldn't know them." Why?Then they gutted Gilbert. He looked more like someone's greasy little brother that Anne would be babysitting rather than a peer, much less am eventual romantic interest (I know our boy was 18 when he was cast, but still).Positives The girl who played Anne was good, a winning smile when she chose to deploy it. Probably the only big character change that I actually like was the Let's Pretend-> Let's Find Out. She still has a big imagination, but showing her deep curiosity for the natural world (red dirt) foreshadowing her great success in not only literature, but STEM subjects.I liked that we saw them all doing chores. That's a main plot point (they need a damn boy!), but in the 1985 one all we really see is Matthew following some cows and Marila leisurely cooking her award winning things, like an upper middle class lady, not a poorish farm woman. Generally, I think everything was on the nose, overacted, over explained, "I just don't understand her." But I did like President Bartlet's quick turn about at the train station when he first saw Anne. I could easily have seen our Matthew doing that move. The drone shots of the Island were beautiful.