EDtv (1999) Reviewed by Eugene Novikov http://www.ultimate-movie.com/edtv.html Member: Online Film Critics Society Starring Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Ellen DeGeneres, Jenna Elfman, Rob Reiner. Rated PG-13
Peruse through Ron Howard's legacy and you'll find few smudges. From the titillating Ransom, to the awe-inspiring Apollo 13 and Cocoon, he's brought us quality yet unpretentious entertainment through his years as a director, a producer and a writer (and who could forget his stint as Richie Cunningham on Happy Days?). But everyone of his followers knew that, like every great director, he wouldn't be able to keep his lucky streak alive forever (remember Steven Spielberg's 1941? Francis Ford Coppola's Jack?). As luck would have it, the place where Howard's train derails is the moronic new comedy EDtv. Not only does this film have the dubious distinction of beating a great concept straight into the ground, but it also does it with no dignity whatsoever.20 How does Matthew McConaughey's career continue? He's been universally panned, he can't act, and he has single-handedly spoiled (or at least reduced the quality of) almost every film I've seen him in. But continue his career does, and everyone who sees EDtv will wish that it didn't. He stars as Ed, a video store clerk selected by a struggling cable network to be on tv 24 hours a day, with his whole life in continuous live broadcast. This, of course, involves cameramen following him around everywhere he goes, which, understandably, presents some problems for him and the people around him.20
At first, Ed jumps at the chance to become famous and wealthy. And for a few months he wallows in being begged for autographs, being nationally recognized and getting huge bonus payments. He has fun with the cameraman who have the unenviable task of staying with him all day and all night. But then, things start to get out of whack. His girlfriend (Jenna Elfman) dumps him because of lack of privacy. His brother writes a book entitled "My Brother Pissed on Me." His family becomes alienated. He wants to quit, but will the network let him?20
Of course, this is a great opportunity to present some anti-media social commentary. And you know what? This whole thing sounds a bit like that little movie that we all saw last year called The Truman Show, doesn't it? Yes, comparisons to that masterpiece are inevitable. While Truman presents its themes with maturity, subtlety and hilarity, EDtv is childish, in-your-face and dull. Truman did not scream "Mass-media is bad" at its audience. EDtv pummels the audience with images of people shielding their faces from cameras while dramatic music plays. When you compare the two films, the latter is almost insulting.20
All of this wouldn't be so bad if the characters were compelling or if the film was funny. No such luck. Ed is not even a character but a nebulous representation of your everyday, happy-go-lucky guy. Unfortunately he is also a total and complete loser. He has no life and few friends. He talks like he's drunk and he's not funny or interesting in any conceivable way. This makes the already very weak film completely collapse. Think of a 2-hour film centered around one person who you'd rather not spend 2 hours with, and you'll be thinking of EDtv.20
The failure of Ed the character and EDtv the movie can be at least partly blamed on the failure of McConaughey in the lead (what do you mean, "What else is new"?). Certainly anyone else (Jim Carrey, for one, ridiculous as the suggestion is) could have done at least a slightly better job portraying the protagonist of this lame picture, or at least as good a job as the god-awful script would permit. The supporting actors fare slightly better. Woody Harrelson as the brother whom Ed pissed on is equally horrible, but Ellen DeGeneres and Rob Reiner as studio executives are occasionally funny.20
This is a very, very bad film. But somehow I feel that there is more at stake here than millions of people wasting two hours of their lives. The problem is that thanks to EDtv, in the future, any filmmaker that attempts a film about a person trapped in a tv world will likely be beating a dead horse. The Truman Show presented the concept. Pleasantville reinforced it. EDtv grabbed it by the throat and pounded it's metaphorical head against the ground
Copyright 1999 Eugene Novikov
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews