Movie Review: The Truman Show

Stars: 5 out of 5
Pros: Top notch acting brings these characters to life

Cons: Hit a little too close to home at times

The Bottom Line:

Watch Truman's watchers

As he learns about his life

Perfect dramady

Jim Carrey Can be Serious?  Surely You Jest!

I've never been a big Jim Carrey fan. I usually find the previews for his movies too over the top and annoying. Truman Show one looked intriguing, so I gave it a chance, and it was well worth it.

Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey) is your average American. He's an insurance salesman happily married to his college sweetheart (Laura Linney). What he doesn't realize, however, is that his world is fake. His world is the biggest television studio every constructed. Every minute of his life has been filmed and broadcast to the rest of the world, and every person he knows is really an actor hired to fill his life. But then his carefully constructed world begins to fall apart. Will he discover the truth and escape to the real world?

The previews gave us that much of the plot, and I found the premise intriguing. It's well worth seeing. We quickly come to care for Truman and root him on. I find myself caught up in the action all over again every time I watch it.

If you don't know the premise, the first 15 or 20 minutes will seem very strange. This is one case where it's best to know the premise before you start. But they don't keep it a secret for too long. The story progresses well from that point giving us the background we need to understand the action without slowing down the plot.

This movie is a good mix between comedy and drama. The comedy is never the over the top antics that Jim Carrey is most famous for, but there are some moments that will make you chuckle. By the time it's over, it has become a moving and uplifting drama that makes you want to cheer the outcome.

While all the actors do a great job, Jim Carrey really shines. This movie rises or falls based on whether we like Truman or not, and in Carrey's hands we love him. He plays the naivete to perfection. The other standout in the cast is Ed Harris as Christof, the man who came up with the idea in the first place.

The movie was released in 1998, before the influx and popularity of reality shows. Considering one of the main themes is that we will watch anything for entertainment, I find this highly ironic.

And this movie does make you think. It's easy to dismiss the shots of the people watching Truman's every move and say, "I would never do that." Yet I am an addict to Survivor which is only marginally better. Taking a hard look at our entertainment choices every so often is a good thing, and this movie will do that for you.

Jim Carrey proves he can do drama quite well in this moving film. Anyone looking for a movie to entertain and lift their spirits should definitely check Truman Show out. It's one of the best movies of the last decade.