Jim Carrey, Laura Linney, Noah Emmerich, and Ed Harris
Good Morning... Welcome to the first summer movie of 1998 to live up to the hype. I was a bit skeptical when I went to my local theater and plucked down some of my hard earned cash for the latest Jim Carrey flick... I just wasn't sure if Ace Ventura witht the elastic body could force himself into a dramatic role... what if it was another Cable Guy? Sure I had read all the hype in all the magazines, but I wasn't sure until I saw it for myself. The Truman Show is a spectacular film (it is definitely a film, not a movie or a flick) that more than lives up to the hoopla surrounding it.
Jim Carrey as the star Truman Burbank
As most of you probably know, it stars Jim Carrey as Truman Burbank, a man who has unknowingly lived his entire life as the star of the most popular television show in history. The show, titled "The Truman Show," follows him through his dayly life... with a few adjustments and direction from his "supporting" cast, whom he thinks is his family and friends. With this premise, as hard to swallow as it might be, the creators of The Truman Show (the movie, not the TV show) spin a spectacular tale of this simple man's struggle with his own reality... a reality which is in fact completely fraudulant.
Ed Harris as the show's creator, Christof
Truman has no idea that his life is a sham until one day a huge light falls out of the sky and he hears people annoucing his every movement on his radio (the crew's radio set interferes with the "station" he is listening to). We slowly begin to see the intricacy in which the shows creator, Christof (Ed Harris), has over Truman's life. Everything from where he works to who is his best friend (Noah Emmerich) and his wife (Laura Linney). But Christof, a Big Brother type figure, underestimates Truman's independence and we begin to see what Truman really desires out of life. We find out that he still carries a torch for his old high school crush (Natascha McElhone) who tried to warn him of his true existence and was subsequently written out of the show... and we get to find out more about "The Truman Show" itself through an interview with "the Creator" Christof. Finnally Truman tries to escape, but Christof just won't let him leave.
Truman on the big screen, live to the world
I don't know how to completely describe how good this movie really is... all I can say is almost everything is perfect. The only complaint I had is that the entire idea of the show itself is hard for me to take, but once I suspended my disbelief, everything else was just what it needed to be. Peter Weir returns to the form he had when he directed Dead Poets Society, another drama starring a principally comedic actor in Robin Williams. He really helped to guide Jim Carrey into a fabulous job of acting, a job that is most definitely the first major contender for the Mikey for Best Actor (not to mention the Academy Award). This marked the second time in my illustrious movie going career that I have been in total awe of comedic actors performance. Ironically, both times where in dramatic roles... and directed by Peter Weir... the first was Williams in Dead Poets Society, and now Carrey has added his name to that famous list. If you go and see one movie this summer, make sure it is The Truman Show... Oh, and in case I don't see you Good Afternoon, Good Evening, and Good Night.
