"How's it going to end?" "I was wondering that myself."

Rating: 8/10 (11 November 2013)

I have heard of the Truman Show to be regarded as a 'reference point' movie, where the general outline of the story is so outrageous and unique (to a point), that everyone knows the film through the phrase "oh, that's the one where the guy is trapped in, so and so....". Not every film is as instantly recognizable as The Matrix or Star Wars, but their set-ups are crucial to the intrigue. As with Groundhog Day, the Truman Show may just be one of the greatest and most intelligent comedies of the 1990s.
Some may find the satire here too heavy handed, thus making it shallow. But the pertinent themes of self-determination, the relationship of institutions like the State, Media, and religion in tandem with the idea of free will, and the concept of what it truly means to be a happy person are all explored for better or worse here.
Some of the imagery is a little too obvious, like Truman literally piercing through 'the edge of the world' and having a conversation with 'God'. The natural source of comedy in Truman slowly realizing his world is a TV set is woefully underused, with only about a third of the screen time dedicated to Jim Carrey's priceless antics among the straight faced actors and television crew around him. The film remorselessly lampoons network television with views inside the control room. A perfectly cast Ed Harris as a maniacal parody of a Steve Jobs entrepreneur/artiste, complete with beret and turtleneck sweater, anchors the story as the plausibly divine instrument of Truman's fate. The use of product placement invading the character's life is another stroke of genius.
The film ends somewhat abruptly, but the tale of a single human life being born out of and fighting against the ratings is something to aspire to, ironically. The metaphor couldn't be more appropriate in this day and age of increasing surveillance and invasion of privacy. Apart from that, this is certainly the best Jim Carrey film after "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind".