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The turning point in the life of Ed Pekurny (Matthew McConaughey) comes thanks to the misfortunes of the NorthWest Broadcasting Company. After two years on the air, their flagship cable channel, True TV, has slid into obscurity due to competition from the The Gardening Channel. Program director Cynthia Topping (Ellen DeGeneres) brainstorms a last ditch effort to save the channel: broadcast one ordinary person's life 24 hours a day, unedited (while he sleeps, the day's highlights will be shown). When the network agrees to the idea, Topping must find the subject of her program. After endless auditions, she lucks upon Ed, a goofy but good-looking video store clerk. Ed has little time to get used to his new shadow, a three man video crew, before the show becomes a hit. Suddenly Ed's a cultural icon with fan clubs, stalkers, and imitators, but the media saturation has it's effects on his friends and family, who are now part of the program. Ed alienates his proud brother, Ray (Woody Harrelson), by falling in love with his girlfriend, Shari (Jenna Elfman). His estranged father Hank (Dennis Hopper) reappears after abandoning the family and creates tension between Ed and Ray's mother, Jeanette (Sally Kirkland) and her wheelchair-bound second husband, Al (Martin Landau). When Ed realizes the phenomenon has turned on him, he convinces Topping to stop the ordeal, but not her boss, Whitaker (Rob Reiner). To regain his life, Ed must find a way to cancel EDtv.
31 October 1941, New York City, New York, USA
May 28, 1960 in Corcoran, California, USA
1971, Costa Mesa, California, USA
June 11, 1975 in Houston, Texas, USA
9 September 1932, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
29 November 1969, New York City, New York, USA
October 8, 1981 in Santa Monica, California, USA
April 22, 1972 in San Francisco, California, USA
18 March 1927, New York City, New York, USA
6 December 1952, Houston, Texas, USA
15 October 1970, New York City, New York, USA
11 August 1958, Brooklyn, New York, USA
January 01, 2000
Its screenplay veers in highly questionable directions before reaching a mean-spirited climax that outweighs Ron Howard's workmanlike filmmaking and the contributions of a star-powered cast.November 06, 2014
...a fine premise that's utilized to progressively underwhelming effect...July 30, 2007
EdTV isn't bad enough to get angry about, but it's a mundane and toothless satire.March 02, 2018
You'll have a good time watching "EDtv"-- Howard is always at his best in comic mode, and he gives the film a cleverly cluttered look that suggests the experience of watching reality on multiple monitors.June 13, 2002
Diverting but ultimately toothless and innocuous.January 01, 2000
Though thunder lost to "The Truman Show", this screenplay still has real and punchy dialogue.February 03, 2015
Comic satire of reality TV; lots of dysfunction, sexuality.January 01, 2000
It's a slightly lackluster comedy that wants to have something to say, but never gets around to saying it. Or worse, says it, and the audience replies, 'And--?'