A TV channel is getting its "butt kicked by the gardening channel" when producer Cynthia (Ellen DeGeneres) comes up with a great idea - "True TV". She suggests that they find a member of the general public, a very ordinary person, and sign them up to star in their own show. A television crew will follow them 24 hours a day and beam the events of their daily life into living rooms across the country - ring a bell? No it's not "The Truman Show", Truman didn't know he was being filmed, Ed does.
Ed's go-getting brother Ray, played by Woody Harrelson, is determined to be the "lucky" person, but when his younger brother Ed (Matthew McConaughey) steps in front of the camera to argue his brother's case the channel chooses him instead. The gig means big bucks for Ed and Ray quickly works out a way to cash in on his brother's success - he'll open a gym and get free advertising on Ed's show. At a family conference Ray convinces everyone to accept the arrangement.
The channel executives doubt that the viewing public will be interested in watching such an ordinary person, but Cynthia's faith in the project is vindicated when Ed's show becomes a viewing must. At first Ed enjoys his fame, delighting in his notoriety and enjoying the presence of the camera, sometimes to the mortification of his watching family. As one by one those around Ed get caught up in the fascination of being famous, the situation becomes more and more bizarre. His love life on the rocks Ed finally decides he wants out. He thinks the decision is his but he calculates without the financial interests of the channel.
"EDtv" is about how "nobody wants to be nobody in America". It is also about the way those in power use and abuse the ordinary person. Matthew McConaughey is engaging as Ed; Ellen DeGeneris strong as Cynthia, the producer who is more in touch with what the public want than are the channel executives; and there are good performances from Martin Landau as Al, Ed's step-dad and Rob Reiner as Whitaker, the channel's CEO. I did however feel uncomfortable with the way Ed was portrayed in the first half of the film as so ingenuous and so much a butt of the laughter. And, much as I wanted him to win against those in power, I felt equally uneasy at his using their tactics back at them. Sure they deserved it but...
Despite these quibbles "EDtv" is a fun movie with witty scripting and a great ensemble cast which raises questions about the power of the media and the ordinary person's desire for fame. Maybe we need more Eds, but I'd like them to find a more positive way of beating the system.
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Ed: Matthew McConaughey (