Edtv (1999)

The third entry of 1998-99's cinematic TV trilogy kind of got lost in the shuffle following The Truman Show, an art film masquerading as a blockbuster, and Pleasantville, a heartfelt feel-good movie masquerading as a special-effects extravaganza. EDtv is nothing more than it appears: a scruffy comedy about fame and its discontents. Matthew McConaughey stars as Ed, a white-trash rube who gets his own dawn-to-midnight TV series in which every aspect of his life, no matter how sordid or dull or embarrassing, becomes mass entertainment (it inverts Truman by having the protagonist invite the pervasive cameras). Predictably, fame makes him miserable and, unsurprisingly, he finds a way out of his predicament. Albert Brooks covered this same territory in the funnier Real Life, and it's probably not the best idea for a load of comfy celebs to preach to us about how difficult fame is. But the film is cannily cast, including a number of performers who themselves have fallen victim to stupid media tricks (McConaughey, Ellen DeGeneres as the network executive, Elizabeth Hurley as a vamp hitching her star to Ed's, and Woody Harrelson as Ed's even dumber brother). Structurally, the movie is a mess. It looks as if the filmmakers had the choice between making a fully realized, two-and-a-half-hour-long movie that no one would sit through or one that clocks in under two hours but has a lot of plot holes; they opted for the latter (Hurley's character disappears, practically without comment). Still, there are enough laughs to keep things moving, and as a shaggy dog tale it's decent fun. --David Kronke Amazon.com

Good drama-comedy

It's difficult to create a good movie that mixes comedy and drama in a good way. EDtv manages to do it. The movie is perhaps more relevant today than it was when it was released. In 1999, the story was a satire of what might have been, but today with all the reality-tv-shows, it is... well... reality. The movie is fun but it also has something to say. Who wants to be famous. It seems like everyone does. But what sort of skeletons would they find in your closet if they followed you, or your family, around 24/7? And is there a voyeur in all of us, since millions of people tune in to watch everyday people do everyday things? And how can we have such strong opinions about people we only know from TV? In the EDtv, the viewers have opinions about Ed's girlfriend. 71% think she's ugly and annoying; dump her. The viewers want British model Jill to be his new girlfriend and the producers are quick to arrange it. So what's really real and what's manufactured on so called "reality" shows?

EDtv is a good mix of drama and comedy and the cast is great. Matthew McConaughey, Jenna Elfman and Woody Harrelson play the leads and the supporting cast includes Ellen DeGeneres, Martin Landau and Dennis Hopper, all doing a great job. January 2, 2008

Fiction Imitates Facts in EDTV

A regular guy named Ed finds his life turned upside down when he is chosen to be the star of a reality show where his life is followed by camera crews everywhere. The initial fame is fun but soon grows annoying when his family is drawn into the ever increasing craving for real-life drama on TV. ED TV becomes a hit but it also exposes his mother's lies, his long lost father Hank's bad luck, his ailing stepfather Al, and the bizarre love triangle between Ed and his older brother Gary. Then there is also the romance between Shari who leaves Gary for Ed and then runs away when the public feels she isn't good enough for him. Shari ends up watching Ed romance a model named Jill whose out for fame and the drama gets even more torrid when Ed's mom cheats with his dad, his dad dies, and his brother writes a tell all book. Now Ed must find a way back to his privacy and out of fame before he loses his sanity. December 29, 2007

A keeper.

While not normally my favorite kind of movie, I seem to reach for this movie to watch again and again since buying it some time ago. It's just so entertaining. March 9, 2007

ONE OF A KIND

THIS IS A GREAT MOVIE THAT WILL MAKE YOU LAUGH LIKE NEVER. January 14, 2007

Save your time

Reality TV is now old hat. Perhaps this movie predicted a bit of that.

The gimmick, however, of the main character talking to his loved ones (and the rest of the world) through the TV camera in real time (no delay -- AS IF!), gets old fast.

The story hinges on the preposterous notion that the main character would sign himself into indefinite video slavery, at the will of the TV network.

I could tolerate such a stretch if the characters were interesting, or I could tolerate simple characters if the plot were fascinating and airtight. But this flick don't got neither!

The Truman Show might not have been a perfect movie, but it at least tried to say something important -- to emotional effect. It was obviously put together with care. EdTV just invites disgust. May 8, 2006

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