Too Much Truth
EDtv is a Satirical Look at "Real" Television

In a world populated by "real" television shows and lowbrow daytime talk shows, the idea of a television show chronicling the life of one average person seems highly plausible. The new offering from director Ron Howard offers audiences a glimpse of EDtv, and it's as real as television could get.

Matthew McConaughey portrays Ed Pekurny, an everyman who at the age of 31 still works in a video rental store, drinks beer, and plays pool every night. When a cable channel called "True Television" decides to follow one person's real life, it is Ed who is selected after they see him in an audition tape done by his brother Ray (Woody Harrelson).

At first, it appears that "EDtv" is going to be an experiment in the worst humanity has to offer. The opening shot of the television program is of Ed, still half-asleep, scratching himself. Later in the day, he gives an up-close demonstration of toenail clipping. Things quickly change for him - and the show - as the ever-evasive camera begins to change his life. He soon realizes that a loss of privacy for his own life will also affect everyone around him.

In addition to seeing Ed and his friends, Howard also shows the reactions of average Americans watching the show. From a family in Ohio to a girls dormitory at the University of Iowa, we see Ed through their eyes. Very often their reactions are as entertaining, and even echo our own. When Ray's girlfriend Shari (Jenna Elfman) tells Ed that Ray was a bad lover, the girls watching cheer in support while a man at home with his wife says, "That's just mean." There are also a number of jabs by the likes of "The Tonight Show's" Jay Leno and "Politically Incorrect's" Bill Maur.

All of this makes one pause and say, how much is too much? The Truman Show, despite its similar theme, never asked questions regarding privacy in the bathroom or the bedroom. In the "Leave it to Beaver" world of Truman Burbank, these questions never arose. But EDtv is set in the real world, and it asks the questions and answers them.

Even for Ed, the realization that he is on television starts off as entertaining, but quickly becomes a burden as his status is changed from "average Joe" to celebrity. Suddenly everything he does, from a game of touch football to a date with a seductress (Elizabeth Hurley), is subject to media scrutiny.

While McConaughey is clearly the center of attention, he is surrounded by a veritable cast-o'-thousands. Rob Reiner plays the head of True TV, with Ellen DeGeneres as the head of programming. Martin Landau plays Ed's ailing step-dad Al, while veteran psycho Dennis Hopper plays Ed's biological father, Hank. In a hard-to-spot cameo, Don Most appears as one of the executives at the network.

The frightening thing about EDtv is the fact that it isn't so much fiction, as it is a commentary on America today. While there is no television network devoted to a single human life, the airwaves are filled with "real" television shows, "Funniest Home Videos," and "Caught on Tape" specials. To top it off, there are now web cams on the Internet that allow people 24-hour a day access into other people's lives. A recent online poll by CNN showed that 17 percent of people who answered would live their lives on camera for everyone to see. Maybe this movie isn't so far-fetched after all.

MY RATING: 8 out of 10.

RATED: PG-13
RUN TIME: 123 min.