Cheap Edtv (Spec) (Video) (Ron Howard) Price

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Customer Reviews of Edtv (Spec)

Strikes at Society's Secret Obsession for Fame and Celebrity
I've watched this film probably close to a hundred times, it's that good. Ron Howard has struck at the heart of every person in America: deep down we all seek fame and celebrity, but this story serves as a morality tale: Celebrity for Celebrity's Sake ain't all that it's trumped up to be. There's a down side to Fame. <
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>Everyman Ed is selected for a True TV reality show, in which his supposedly mundane and average life is filmed, 24 hours a day. Only it doesn't turn out that way, as family secrets are revealed to the world, and Ed's life takes unexpected twists and turns. Somehow, celebrity isn't all sweet anymore, and Ed loses the people he loves because of his sudden fame, while attracting the sychophants and hangers-on who want to use him to thrust themselves in the spotlight. The Ed Phenomenon gets out of hand, with TV Execs attempting to hold Ed to an iron-clad contract and essentially committing him to EDTV for the rest of his life. <
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>It is a fast-paced, hilarious film with never a dull moment. Jenna Elfman does a good job with Ed's tortured girlfriend. Woody Harrelson is quite a scene stealer as Ed's sleazy older brother. Ron Howard's brother has a hilarious role as a frazzled, hairplugged cameraman, and Rob Reiner is a scream as the greedy President of True TV. Matt McConaughey's performance as the hapless Ed is the calm in the Eye of the EDTV storm. And Ellen DeGeneres gives a surprisingly great performance as the one TV producer who sees the human behind this madness and does her part to help Ed get his life back and off the TV. An thoroughly enjoyable film that makes you think twice about pursuing celebrity.

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Can you say Truman Show?
EDTV pales in comparison to the Truman Show, and it shows, when me, the girl who gets withdrawal symptoms when Big Brother finishes in the UK every year, couldn't even sit through it. I lasted 26 minutes exactly, before I gave up and switched it off. Thankfully, I got it for dead cheap, but there's no re-sale value to it now, so I'm lumbered with it. Aren't I the lucky one? <
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>I much prefer Truman Show to this. The irritating Matthew *insert unpronounceable name here* doesn't have the sweet charming innocence that Jim Carrey does. I don't see what all the fuss is about with him - chop off his head, he would be OK, but that head is stuck on good, isn't it? He plays a loser who wakes up each morning looking unattractive, and with what was horribly described as a "morning chubby", and then proceeds to clip his toenails. Ewwwwwwwwwwwww! And the film is overly long, and if the first 26 minutes were anything to go by, then I'm glad I switched it off. <
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>Don't waste your time, don't waste your money.

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REEL LIFE
EDtv is not as farfetched as it may have seemed when released. We now have so many "reality" shows that the stuff going on in this flick pales in comparison. What makes Ron Howard's film worthwhile is the way it shows how "real life" goes to "reel life" in a matter of days, as Ed's life is "programmed" to bring in higher ratings. Initially doomed for failure, Ed's life becomes the fodder for everyman's desire to see someone "little" make it big. Millions of fans become obsessed with Ed's life, and of course his mixed up family and romantic life even makes the ratings soar. There are some wonderful little gimmicks Howard uses to show how the series that is doomed to fail becomes such a megahit. In the beginning, the advertisers names flashed across the bottom are local businesses; once EDtv catches on, major companies are flashed instead. Ed's choices in life lead the fans to follow suit: notice how the pizza parlor's business booms after Ed says it's the best pizza in San Francisco (this is in the deleted scenes only). Although the EDtv started out as wanting to capture the real moments in Ed's life, by the time two or three months have passed, Ed's life is no more real than those on "Survivor" or "Big Brother." Let's face it: how can one go about their normal life with microphones and cameras catching everything. <
>Howard succeeds, however, in making much of the movie seem real; there are times when the characters act as if there wasn't anyone around at all. But, notice how Elizabeth Hurley's character inhales the cameras and all her moves are calculated to look good on film. Note the cruelty, too, of the fans who decide that Sherry (Ed's love) is too plain and not good enough for him, but how they love it when he starts making out with Jill. This fades quickly though once Ed falls off the table and smooshes Jill's cat. <
>EDtv doesn't always work; it's a little too long, and if you watch the deleted scenes, you'll be amazed at how much they cut out. <
>The cast is uniformly excellent. Matthew McConaughey as Ed possesses the kind of charismatic charm that would enslave a wide variety of people; Jenna Elfman's cuteness serves the character of Sherry well; Woody Harrelson brings a smarmy but comic force to the role of Ed's opportunistic brother; Ellen DeGeneres is superb as Cynthia, the woman behind the series; Rob Reiner is good as the arrogant and self-centered producer; Martin Landau and Sally Kirkland as Ed's stepfather and real mother are likewise excellent. I wasn't overly impressed with Hurley or Dennis Hopper as Ed's real dad, but their characters were the most under-developed in the whole film. <
>All in all, EDtv gives us the warning that exposition of one's real life isn't all it is cracked out to be.