when i first saw the previews for ron howard 's latest film , my expectations were discouragingly low .
a show about nothing ?
sounds like " seinfeld .
"
a guy whose entire life is broadcast 24 hours a day ?
sounds like " the truman show .
"
what is it with hollywood that no sooner than one production company puts out an animated feature about ants , another puts one out about bugs ? which is why i was pleasantly surprised by " edtv , " which turns out to be a fresh , insightful , and often times hilarious film about the follies of instant celebrity .
the writing , by howard 's longtime collaborators lowell ganz and babaloo mandel
, is right on the money and howard himself should be credited for giving the subject matter a fresh focus .
in the hands of a less - experienced director , " edtv " could easily have had all the flavor of yesterday 's meatloaf .
with their ' true tv ' cable ratings being threatened by ' the gardening channel ' ( apparently people would rather watch soil ) , the northwest broadcasting company is looking for a novel concept to attract viewers .
program director cynthia topping ( ellen degeneres ) comes up with the idea of putting a nobody on the air and broadcasting his every waking and sleeping moment .
the hook is to find a regular guy , someone normal that people can relate to . while scouting possible candidates , cynthia 's camera crew discover ed pekurny and his pig brother ray ( woody harrelson ) in a bar , where ray believes he has what it takes for his fifteen plus minutes of fame .
but on watching the videotape , the show 's producers are more taken with ed than with ray .
he 's cute , he says all the wrong things , and he 's 100 % usda hick .
cynthia 's boss , played by rob reiner , gives the show a week to deliver the goods and
it 's tough going in the early stages .
the most exciting thing that happens is ed brushes his teeth .
"
action shot !
" wags one of the production assistants when a couple of pop tarts jump out of the toaster .
you get the idea .
but soon enough , things -- nielsen - boosting kinds of things -- start to happen to this unassuming san francisco video store clerk and the ' true tv ' cameras are right there to document it .
ed 's privacy is no longer his own , his newfound fame starts having a negative impact on his family life , and what little dignity he has left is trampled on by the media .
who should ed go out with ?
you can be sure the pollsters have a list .
not only is the film exceedingly well cast , but its performers are consistently excellent .
matthew mcconaughey provides the face , the body language , and the lovable texan accent to fill the shoes of america 's latest phenomenon .
he and harrelson look like they really could be brothers .
sally kirkland is noteworthy in a difficult role as ed 's mother , and martin landau is one of the film 's highlights as al , ed 's ailing stepfather .
jenna elfman ( from tv 's " dharma and greg " ) proves herself surprisingly worthy in the company of kirkland and landau , although those alpine eyebrows of hers get a little distracting .
even degeneres and reiner are better than you 'd expect .
in 1979 , writer / director / comedian albert brooks made a zany little film called " real life " in which a small - time opportunist makes a real - time documentary about a typical american family .
the scenes of ed 's family sitting around the dinner table feasting on kentucky fried chicken and waxing idiotic play like a big - budget variant on that film , paralleling its wickedly inventive humor .
as with most films by albert brooks , " real life " was funny , but absurd .
the funniest -- and scariest -- thing about " edtv " is that it is absolutely believable .
Output: P