An insulting piece of cowardice

Rating: 1/10 (31 July 2005)

What we have here is a film with great potential. Potential to become one of the great dystopian films. It raises such themes as a nation obsessed by television, the means used to provide people their purile "entertainment" without any consideration of ethics nor human dignity. Truman could be a great tragedy. We could see one man live a meaningless life, forever watched by millions of big brothers, completely unaware of his fishbowl existence. A warning, pointing to the disconnect and disassociation we all experience upon seeing someone on a television screen. And also to our slavish instinct to glorify these people without knowing why we adore them.
And I can't help but think of this when I see all the thousands of mediocrities line up to make complete fools of themselves on national TV on so-called "reality" shows all in the name of a few brief and unmemorable moments of "fame". We've been brainwashed by the media into believing that fame it itself, is a desirable virtue.
But this movie, instead of exploring these issues in depth, skirts around them, afraid of giving itself intellectual depth and weight. Instead were treated to Jim Carey's charming smile and empty acting. This film has the potential to be a memorable and in-depth dystopian vision of fame and the media. Instead, out of pure cowardice, its turned into another meaningless popcorn movie. A complete waste of celluloid. All the people involved in this should be ashamed of themselves.