Listonixio Fresh and Exciting

Stellead Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

Kaelan Mccaffrey Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Janis One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

mike-97420 Really liked this movie and it's very funny. I liked the way it's stitched together and don't pay attention to the negitive reviews as they're never happy with anything. EdTV rules...Stay tuned for laughter.

Python Hyena Ed-T.V. (1999): Dir: Ron Howard / Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Jenna Elfman, Woody Harrelson, Ellen DeGeneres, Martin Landau: Similar to The Truman Show that involves the hero's life to the public. The difference is that Ed is aware of the cameras while Truman must discover it for himself. Another difference is that Ed-T.V seems to address ordinary habits often performed in private. When a TV station receives low ratings, Ellen DeGeneres suggests placing someone's life on T.V. Matthew McConaughey plays ordinary video store clerk Ed. Woody Harrelson plays his brother who wishes to open a gym but is caught on camera with a naked woman. His girlfriend Jenna Elfman detests this and starts dating Ed but she hates the cameras. Insightful directing by Ron Howard who previously made Apollo 13. Terrific performance by McConaughey who plays off the ordinary guy. Jenna Elfman plays his girlfriend who grows frustrated with being rated by the media as Ed's girlfriend. This all pretty much ends with predictable results much like prime time television. Harrelson plays the brother jealous of Ed's success and oblivious to his own failures. DeGeneres counters standard material by solving the plot problem. Martin Landau plays Ed's stepfather whom Ed has a good relationship with. Interesting take on celebrity life capitalizing on The Truman Show. Score: 8 / 10

slightlymad22 This movie features one of my favourite Matthew McConaughey performances. And is a movie I think is horribly under rated. It's a movie I can watch at any time, good mood or bad, feeling well or feeling sick, winter, spring, summer or autumn. This movie always holds my attention. Plot In A Paragraph: Television Network, Reality TV, decides to have a show where they show the life of an ordinary guy, 24 hours a day And the ordinary guy they choose is Ed Pekurney (Matthew McConaughey) despite the fact that he didn't film an audition, but appeared on his brother Ray's (Woody Harrelson) audition tape. At first, everything is OK, but soon the presence of the cameras, and ensuing celebrity status cause problems and all sorts of family secrets are revealed to the world. Directed by Ron Howard, filled with great performances, and contains a great score by Randy Edalman and a great song by Bon Jovi "EdTv" was unfortunate to come out a year after Jim Carrey's "Truman Show" which all though also dealt with one man being on TV 24 hours a day, is a totally different concept, as the main star on "The Truman Show" didn't know he was on TV, and didn't know everyone in his life was an actor, in "EdTv" Matthew McConaughey willingly signs up for the show. Sadly it was considered an imitation movie and suffered in comparison at the Box Office.The full cast give great performances McConaughey and Harrelson are always reliable but Jenna Elfman and Ellen DeGeneres more than hold their own. Rob Reiner and Dennis Hopper are both fun and Elizabeth Hurley (Who I have never been a fan of) is perfectly cast as the fame hungry Jill.However, for this reviewer it is Martin Landau as Ed's stepdad who steals the show, He is both hilarious and heartbreaking. Anybody who wants to get into the reality TV world, which is 100% more popular now, than it is was when this movie was made. Needs to watch this show as a warning about the double edged sword of fame/celebrity and reality TV.

rooprect "EdTV" is Hollywood's remake of the 1994 French-Canadian hit "Louis 19: le roi des ondes". I'm not going to compare the two films. The only reason I mentioned it is to set the record straight that "EdTV" (1999) is NOT a ripoff of "The Truman Show" (1998) since the screenplay was bought years earlier."EdTV" is a somewhat Orwellian comedy/drama about an everyman named "Ed" who falls victim to society's hi-tech voyeurism. Ed becomes the pawn of a bunch of network suits who broadcast (and do their best to ruin) his entire life to the thrill of millions of viewers. I think it would've worked better as a no-holds-barred satire (like the movies "LIVE", "ROBOCOP", "AMERICAN DREAMZ" or the masterpiece "BRAZIL", but director Ron Howard opts to take the kinder, gentler approach which ends up watering down the message & its impact on us.Not only that, but today the story isn't as edgy as it might have been back in the 90s when reality TV was just budding, and we didn't know where it would lead. Today's audiences might think "what's the big deal?" and to be honest I found myself thinking that a few times during the picture. But I do remember the 90s and the whole reality-TV phobia which fueled such stories as this, and that's what made it an entertaining film for me. If you remember the 90s and your first reactions to the new phenomenon called reality TV, you might enjoy it too.At times the film teases us with challenging philosophies, in particular there's the intriguing line: "Ed is the apotheosis of a prevailing American syndrome. It used to be that people were famous for being special. Now they're considered special merely for being famous. Fame has become a moral good in this country: It's its own virtue" Unfortunately, the film never follows up on such thoughts and instead runs back to predictable drama, such as the girlfriend who can't deal with cameras invading her life, or the cliché about Ed being hounded by brainless fans all the time. These plot devices undermine the power of a film like this, reducing the film to passing entertainment instead of something more thought-provoking.The whole film struck me as being a very "Ron Howard" production, which means a shiny, polished presentation and a predictable Disney-like story with no real surprises or tension. It dazzles us with a great star-studded cast and a lot of gloss (the budget was an estimated $60 million... five times as much as 1999's Academy Award winner "American Beauty"). But I was much more impressed with the relatively obscure films "LIVE" (a satire about a reality show where the contestants play Russian roulette), "CASI DIVAS" (a great Mexican comedy/satire about a nationwide search for new talent), and an unknown comedy gem called "SPECIAL" about an ordinary chump who takes an experimental drug and becomes... uh... special. These 3 films deliver entertainment but more importantly they carry a lot of weight behind what they're telling us. "EdTV" had a few noteworthy scenes, such as the funeral confrontation between the two brothers, but these scenes were deleted from the final release and can only be seen on the DVD extras. The result is a somewhat breezy and entertaining but unimportant film."EdTV" is worth the price of admission, and it kept me entertained from start to finish. But if you want a little more substance to feed your brain, try to check out the other films I mentioned above.