Edtv- TCH

        Edtv is about an ordinary guy who is put on TV 16 hours
a day (he's not on while he is sleeping). The guy is Southern
sexpot Ed Pekurny (played by Matthew McConaughey) ergo
the title of the show and movie Edtv. At first glance you might
think Ed is funny but why would there be any reason to put this
man on TV, and the reason is because these TV people will try
anything for ratings. When Ed is offered the job, he goes to
his parents' house for dinner to discuss it with his family.
This is where we meet his interesting family which is the
case in every movie. His sister marries the dates the wrong
guys, and the brother (Woody Harrelson) wants him to do it
for money, his mother is supportive. His stepfather Al,
played by Martin Landau is a nice guy living in a electric
wheelchair although he's still very witty. Ed decides to do
it, why not!

        The cable network which is running Edtv is True TV which
is run by Dr. Whitaker (played well by All in the Family vet
Rob Reiner). True TV's rating's are very low and they are at
the end of the line, they have one more chance. That chance
is EDtv which is created by Cynthia (Ellen Degeneres) a
kniving and smart TV producer.

        At the first the show is a bomb, it is uninteresting. Ed
checks out his own butt on TV and goes to his job as a Video Clerk.
Very exciting huh! The action is Ed eating and telling some
young kids that Smokey and The Bandit is a great movie. The
first day ratings are horrible, they want to pull the plug
on the show. Cynthia protests for a week and gets it. The
show gets more interesting when Ray, Ed's brother, gets
on the show and does his crazy stuff. You also meet Shari,
Ray's girlfriend, who has a thing for Ed. The show is
getting more interesting with the tension.

        A few days into the show Ed kisses Shari and they start
to go out. Ed's brother is mad of course and Shari doesn't
like the cameras that are constantly following them. Ed has
become a hit but there is a lot of tension about the show.
People start to follow Ed around, he has no privacy, Shari
is not happy and his real father comes back into town.

        EdTV does its purpose. It is good entertainment. It has some
comedy, some drama, and 2 very simple messages. Privacy is
important and everyone is special in their own way. The acting is
very good all around. This part seems to have been written for
McConaughey he does the lazy-southerner thing very well.
Harrelson is good as the hyperactive older brother and Elfman
is good as the nice girl although her part was limited to
mostly facial expressions and crying. Degeneres and Reiner
were excellent as the TV people. But my favorite character of
the movie was Martin Landau, he was quiet but when he said
something it was important or a god chuckle. He was just a
good character. Dennis Hopper's part as Ed's father was
almost non-existent part.

        The direction of the movie was very good though.
The switching from watching Ed through the cameraman's eyes
or on the TV was very pleasing to the eye. This was also done
in the superior The Truman Show. The Truman Show and this movie
had many similarities, which I expected, in its script although
Truman Burbank did not know he was on TV. The other thing they
had in common like this one was the reaction of the audience
although I think it was better and more apparent in this movie.
This movie had such a great cast that not everyone got enough
screen time especially Elizabeth Hurley who played Ed's other
love interest. Ron Howard did a good job on this movie as he
usually does. I laughed, I didn't cry but I felt sorry for
characters and I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. 3.5 out of 4 stars
for me. Check it out for a good comedy.

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