En direct sur Ed TV

EDtv will inevitably be compared to Peter Weir's The Truman Show but really they haven't much in common. The Truman Show took itself far too seriously. EDtv is a fairly black comedy, a satire on modern TV culture.

The producers of a failing TV network decide to take a punt and try a new format - a real TV doco on an ordinary life.

They audition and choose Ed (Mathew McConaghey), a rangy, slobbish video store worker who's been once or twice bitten in love; the sort of fellow who goes out with a beer mug tied around his neck.

Ed takes on the challenge partly because he's pretty broke and partly because he's bored, urged on by his little hoper, small brained, big muscled brother Ray played by Woody Harrelson. A few days into the shoot Ray throws over his girlfriend Shari (Jenna Elfman) and Ed wins her as his new lover. Ratings soar!

The talent of the cast (not to mention it's director Ron Howard) lends a great deal of life to Edtv. It's often genuinely funny. McConaughey uses that winning smile to perfection, even as he has an early morning, half asleep fiddle with his genitals. McConaughey is a major reason why EDtv works as well as it does.

Woody Harrelson is a genuinely talented actor and can play a spoilt, selfish meat headed brother perfectly. Some of the best lines have been left to Al the boy's father played by Martin Landau as well as to Ellen DeGeneres as the show's producer.

But it's the character of Ed and his family who really set the neurones firing. Unlike many American films these heroes are ordinary middle Americans, probably about as close as a mainstream American film could get to an English, Ken Loach/Mike Leach, style of middle/working class family. There aren't any chandeliers in Edtv.

It's not often that these sorts of characters are treated warmly in these sorts of films and then we must ask how our own families would fare under this sort of warts and all scrutiny- probably about as well as Ed's.

And it's also interesting to wonder how much the average Aussie would consider EDtv to be a satire given the popularity of Rikki Lake and her ilk, not to mention the Funniest Home Video types of programs. Is real life TV (is there such a thing) already even more outrageous than EDtv? Is EDtv outrageous enough to be satire?

There are some dull minutes in EDtv (mostly to do with Elizabeth Hurley's appearance as a sex pot) but EDtv proves again that Hollywood isn't nearly as dumb as it makes out to be.

I first want to say, all those comparing EDtv to "Truman" just miss the point completely. They are as different in approach and intent as are "The Rock" and "The Birdman of Alcatraz" which both happen to be set in the same prison.

"EDtv" is meant to be a comedy with a lot of subtle and not so subtle references to the intrusive nature of the media. The characters are very engaging and well-acted. I laughed all the way through this movie. That's all I think it was supposed to be.

It isn't quite as good as "As Good As It Gets" or "Analyze This", but I still give it 8 of 10!!

I wasn't expecting much of this when I went to see it, but I totally loved it.

Its misleading to try to compare it with the Truman Show. There's a superficial similarity in their basic concept, but otherwise they are completely different (and I loved Truman - still can't understand what the Academy thought it was doing).

There was not one dull moment, and at times I though I would pee myself laughing (and it takes a lot for me to say that to a world wide audience!) I don't remember laughing so much at the cinema since Speed 2 - but this time for the right reasons.

So it was funny, but there were also genuinely moving sad bits.

Martin Landau absolutely stole the film with some killer one-liners, but all the performances were fantastic (even Liz Hurley didn't make me cringe, as she poked fun at her own reputation) Ellen is great, as is Woody Harrelson (who looks uncannily like his on-screen brother) and I always love Adam Goldberg. Matt McConaughey is perfect, whether he's being a jerk or doing the right thing (oh OK, and damn cute with it.)

The whole thing is probably enhanced by being so utterly believable, and ends with a great anti-corporate finger (literally, in fact, now I think about it)

EdTv is a comedy, but also a very serious movie: if you notice our reality in the present days, full of cameras watching us everywhere we go, and even the reality show programs, you will notice that the main thing in the movie is not only to entertain, but maybe also to alert people about the dangerous problems of all this stuff. Ed Pekurny is a regular guy who suddenly gets invited to be part of a reality show. He accepts,specially because he wants the money that the TV executives are going to pay him. Gradually, what starts being funny and even a nice way of popularity becomes a nightmare,with Ed not having any privacy at all,specially with his girlfriend Shari.

I found the end of this movie very cool. Go watch it :)

Even though I like most of the players, I really wasn't expecting much from this movie. I wound up surprised by its freshness, wit and thoughtfulness. I feared a poor person's Truman Show, but this film took a lot of the same themes and spun them in different directions. The film lacked Truman's sadness and humanity but made up the difference with more concise and challenging social commentary (not to mention a better supporting cast). Issues of celebrity, entertainment, the media, the information age were all handled in interesting ways. When it needed to be abrasive and shocking, Ed TV took its shots, but it usually remained in a very comfortable and entertaining middle ground. As a viewer, I felt like someone who had spent the previous 15 minutes surfing channels before finally finding a gem worth watching.