Review of EDtv (1999) by Dawdlingpoet — 26 Nov 2021

This movie obviously focuses on this centuries love of reality TV, only in this movie the idea is that its genuine reality TV, with no editing taking place - live footage broadcast as and when it happens. Nowadays this would be very risky for any channel to give the go ahead, given they wouldn't be able to censor any inappropriate language and so on (considering he's filmed when he's up and about throughout the day) - even the live feed on Big Brother used to have a lag of a minute or so, if I remember right. The film obviously covers the theme of media intrusion in otherwise normal peoples lives, the impact that can have and how (or the fact that) people judge those they see on screen and the pressure and issues such peoples criticisms can have. It also highlights how fickle celebrity and fame in general can be.

It was released in 1999 I believe, around about the time The Truman Show starring Jim Carrey came out, only this, to me, seemed more of a light take on the subject, less philosophical and more teen romance/relationship based, I'd say. Of course, it being nearly 15 years old it already seems somewhat dated - the primary sign of this being that the TV screens showing his program are of the old, round CRT type (remember them? large and heavy they were). That plus I was surprised by the camera crew depicted in the movie, carrying around large bulky TV cameras and sound booms around with them - surely there are more compact cameras that could be, or are, used to broadcast such mobile shows these days.

Pace wise, the movie moves slightly slowly but not too badly - its easy enough to watch but a bit too light for me personally. I'd have liked to have seen it go a bit more in depth as far as the implications of the plot and the themes are concerned, although it was certainly entertaining enough for what it was. I thought that Matthew McConaughey was a good choice of actor to portray Ed, as he comes across as quite an 'everyday guy', bright, breezy and rather naive, in terms of what he's letting himself in for. Its quite a light and fluffy movie but it covers increasingly important issues in todays society. I liked that Eds family were depicted as quite a quirky bunch, there are some interesting characters there and details about his family are slowly discovered - some of which would make anyone squirm, if they knew they were being disclosed on national TV. I thought it was interesting how the different people in Eds life reacted to his new situation, the different effects it created. I could well believe some of the twists that happen, such as when the TV station disclose some of the legal implications if Ed were to stop participating - there's another twist at the very end which I thought was quite good and rather satisfying - that should certainly raise a laugh or two, although its not that much of a laugh out loud type movie.

Content wise, there's little to offend here - the main thing being sexual references/scenes, not that much is shown but its hinted at. There is little in the way of very strong language or violence, hence the 12 rating.

As a fairly light romantic comedy with a clearly satirical element to it, this makes for a good watch. Its pretty entertaining and has a good cast - as well as McConaughey, Woody Harrelson plays Ray, Eds brother, Martin Landau plays a close relative and Ellen DeGeneres plays Cynthia, one of the channels producers, responsible for overseeing the show as its broadcast live. Elizabeth Hurley also makes a short cameo appearance, which isn't very noteworthy. The movie runs for about two hours and I felt it kept my attention throughout, which is no mean feat all things considered.

Overall this is a pretty decent movie but don't mistake it for more of a drama thriller, when it isn't really that, its much more a satirical rom-com. If thats what your expecting and it appeals to you, then its worth checking out.

Yes, this is an entertaining movie which covers some important issues. It maybe doesn't go as in depth to the themes as I might have liked but for what it is, its good. It features a decent cast and some interesting characters and is worth a watch if you know what to expect from it - again bear in mind this is less of a drama and more of a satirical rom com. Its worth a watch for what it is and its interesting to see how this situation was portrayed back then, remembering it was released in 1999, just before the current obsession with reality TV seemed to really take hold (with shows like Big Brother starting only a year or two afterwards).