Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever

Sharkflei Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

Numerootno A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

Kamila Bell This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

itamarscomix It's a bit of a shame that EdTV is always compared to The Truman Show, because it's really not a rip-off, just a lighter treatment of similar subject matter. With the rise of reality TV in the late 90's, loss of personal privacy was a hot subject and so it's quite legitimate for more then one movie to be made about it; and both movies treat the subject differently, Truman with a more philosophical angle and EdTV with a social one, and with a more comedic direction. And the story does bring its own message, one that's poignant and clear and aged well over the last decade of reality-reign.Unfortunately , none of that helps the fact that the movie just isn't very good. Ron Howard's directorial work, as it always is, is professional but hollow, using every trick of the trade ably and without soul. He can make it slide, though; or could have, if the script would have been better. The dialog may have been written specifically to sound everyday and authentic, but a lot of the lines would have sounded unrealistic if spoken on Big Brother. As for the acting - the horrible Matthew McConaughey actually pulls off a better-than-average performance for his abilities, but it's not enough to pull it together; Woody Harrelson is mediocre at best; much worse yet are two mediocre TV actresses - Jenna Elfman and Ellen DeGeneres - who told Ellen she could act? - who really fall short with very flat characters and very unconvincing deliveries. Some quality supporting actors - Martin Landau, Dennis Hopper and Rob Reiner in a terrific performance - and some nice cameos from Jay Leno, Bill Maher, Michael Moore and other prominent media men of the time, help it along but it's not enough.So for the story alone, it's worth a watch, and it makes some pretty interesting points about the role of the media in demolishing personal freedoms (and it's quite amazing that it was made before the Bush administration, because some direct connections could easily be made) and it's often enjoyable, but while The Truman Show and Pleasantville may be remembered for many years to come, EdTV is ultimately as forgettable as any middle-of-the-road American comedy.

Framescourer Another doughty Ron Howard picture. Just like Peter Cattaneo (of The Full Monty/The Rocker) he takes an idea, a good script and a top-notch cast and makes an exhaustive, quick-fire comedy without pretension or fuss.It's a clever film. Ahead of the MTV-type show it's satirising it essays all the attractions and pitfalls of such a dead-end genre. Inbetween are any number of clever appropriations of current TV shows and celebrities, and all the practical quirks of getting such coverage on the TV - the crowds, crazies and camera moves.Matthew McConaughey gives a stand-out performance as the eponymous Ed. Jenna Elfman is a terrific Renée Zellweger-type for people who find Zellweger trying. Martin Landau isn't just there to bolster his pension either. Slick, knowing, but above all big hearted fun. 7.5/10

gtr1017 I might have given this movie a 3 instead of a 2 if it didn't have an agenda besides being pretty friggin' bad. Flush this one, WOW !! what a waste of time and money. I just can't say enough bad things about this movie. The only real question left is how did they get so much good talent to sign on to this loser ? The story line is just bankrupt of any mature thought. There is no moral. A movie this bad should at least have a message. I am sorry, I must have missed it. I believe some people have been living in the plastic universe of Southern Cal too long. I would be ashamed if I put the money up for this stinker. I may reconsider and drop this to a 1.

Theo Robertson When EDTV was released in 1999 we didn't have much in the way of reality television , attempts had been tried like THE LIVING SOAP from the mid 1990s which did not catch on and it wasn't until the Dutch produced BIG BROTHER in 1999 that the reality show exploded and since then we've had too many of these type of programmes and hopefully the latest one from Channel 4 that has flopped - SPACE CADETS - will be the final nail in the coffin for this wasted and painfully over used format The main interest in watching EDTV in 2005 is wondering how accurate and prophetic it might have been with hindsight . Did they get it right ? In my humble opinion - No . And if it's trying to be a satire I found it lacking , I mean there's not enough biting cynicism involved ( Though with Ron Howard as director what do you expect ? ) , maybe the producers should have viewed WAG THE DOG to see how it's done Perhaps I should ask how many people praising this film have seen the classic teleplay - No make that " Yet another classic teleplay " - from Nigel Kneale THE YEAR OF THE SEXUAL OLYMPICS where a TV audience watch a TV reality show where contestants are being murdered , a sort of BIG BROTHER mixed in with Agatha Christie . It's when you compare these two that you find this box office friendly Hollywood offering is rather lacking