Edtv (1999)

“We don’t even have money in our budget for coffee filters. We’re using a yarmulke!” – Cynthia

Number of Times Seen – Twice (23 Jun 2000 and 3 Jun 2020)

Brief Synopsis – A man who works in a video store agrees to partake in a new reality show where his life is featured on screen 24/7.

My Take on it – This is a film that I recall seeing a few months after it came out, yet didn’t remember much about it besides the overall premise.

The idea of this film is probably more relevant and understandable to the word than it was when it came out.

The Reality TV craze began about a year after this movie came out and has been going quite strong ever since.

People in 2020, know much more about the way that Reality TV works than out counterparts did 21 years ago.

The draw of Reality TV is watching real events happen to real people and this film gives us a look at one man’s life that is publicized around the country.

The cats of this film is superb, but Matthew McConaughey is superb in the lead role and makes us truly believe everything he says or does along the way.

His performance shows how easy it can be to get drawn in to watching these kind of shows since everyone has a yearning to watch other people both suffer and triumph.

Ron Howard does an amazing job directing this film and that helps make these characters and all that they do seem so much more realistic the whole way through.

Love the way that this film deals with a TV show within a movie in a very realistic way.

This film allows us to see how the people in front of the camera act, how those behind the camera act and more importantly, how the executives in the control room act and it al comes across in such a plausible fashion.

Bottom Line – Very interesting idea that works now even better than it probably did when it came out because of the rise in popularity in Reality TV over the past 21 years. Great cast led y McConaughey lets us see the draw to watch these kind of shows because of the voyeuristic aspect of it all. Howard does an amazing job directing this film in a way that it makes the characters and story seem so real especially when dealing with a TV show within a movie. Love the way that we get to see how things work both behind the camera, in front of it and ultimately in the control room and it all works really well here. Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Some of the show’s viewers are watching from the Delta Tau Chi fraternity (letters seen in background), the fictional fraternity from National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978). (From IMDB)

Rating – Globe Worthy (8/10)