EdTV

EdTV (vt Edtv). Ron Howard, dir. USA: Imagine (prod.) / Universal (prod., dist.), 1999. Emile Gaudreault and Sylvie Bouchard, script. Matthew McConaughey, Jenna Elfman, Ellen DeGeneres, Woody Harrelson, Martin Landau, Sally Kirkland, Rob Reiner, featured players.

Mainstream romantic comedy with a premise familiar from An American Family (WNET-TV, 1971 [televised life of the Loud Family over a 7-month period]), Music Television's The Real World, and pre-eminently, THE TRUMAN SHOW—and at least one-real-world story (see "Japan's real-life Truman"). For a finite, but contractually indefinite period of time, a 31-year-old man agrees to have his life on TV, "All Ed, All the Time" — except when the station management later decides to follow his family and woman-friend as well. Unlike TRUMAN, the point here isn't hidden surveillance but literally in-your-face coverage, and IMDb is correct in giving for the tagline (at least on 30 March 1999): "Fame. Be careful. It's out there." See for Ed wired for sound and surrounded by camera-operators et al., and by his fans; note also shots of TV viewers, possibly as trapped as Ed. An extended comparison and contrast with TRUMAN is worthwhile, including the (relatively) happy endings.

RDE, 20/02/99; lightly edited 13Ap23