Great Idea, Not-So-Great Execution

Rating: 7/10 (10 May 2001)

I loved the concept of the movie. The idea of a reality show based on one man's life and following each and every of his moves was brilliant, especially when you consider how millions of viewers are attracted to today's "reality" programs, such as "Survivor". I believe this movie alone may have paved the way for some of today's shows and were inspired by real-life shows that preceded the film, most notably MTV's "The Real World". When it's done properly, you get a movie which centers around a man who begins to question what is real in life and what's not as the world that he is raised in begins to unravel. Two major problems, however, plagued what could have been an instant classic.
The first is the lifeless reactions of the viewers. To me, the film portrays the viewers mostly as people who sacrifice their own lives to watch someone else's. Now I know this is true in the lives of millions, but even for a phenomenon like "The Truman Show", a show will also have millions of critics, although not as many as there are supporters. Correct me if I'm wrong, but from what I saw there was only one standout skeptic who understood the whole thing, and there were many more who shared the same views but were not seen or heard at all.
The second and the most unforgivable error was the ending, which I felt was an anti-climatic conclusion to a movie that built up a great deal of drama before it. The ending was terribly written and did not have much depth or thought into it, and its closure was much more predictable than it should've been. I'm not asking for much; I just wanted a final conflict featuring the best and worst of both sides, which I felt didn't happen.
All in all, a 7 rating in my opinion may be a bit sympathetic, but I felt they did everything else so well, only that it deserved better. It featured Jim Carrey expanding his talent and playing his role almost to a tee, backed by a strong supporting cast, and featured a good plot outline and great scenery. I would still recommend this film to anyone, but I would keep in mind the two significant flaws that kept this movie from joining the ranks of the elite.