March 27, 1999 -- A video store clerk along with his family and friends, agree to allow their lives to be continuously broadcast on television and the resulting scrutiny turns their lives upside down. That's the premise of "EDtv" a movie which follows in the footsteps of The Truman Show.

Inspired by Michel Poulette’s 1994 French Canadian film, "Louis 19: Le Roi des Ondes" (Louis 19: King of the Airwaves), the story gives a possible scenario of what would happen if trash TV is taken to the next logical step. Talk show hosts like Jerry Springer currently give us a taste of the kind of voyeurism that "EDtv" contemplates. Better examples are some internet sites that let you peer into other people's private (even sexual) lives.

Although some serious themes are explored, such as the loss of privacy and the ascendency of celebrity over ability, this is primarily a romantic comedy. Some of the jokes are very funny. The romantic leads, Matthew McConnaughey ("Contact") who plays video store clerk Ed Pekurny, and Jenna Elfman (Dharma of "Dharma and Greg") as UPS driver Shari, are very good together.

Although "The Truman Show" was a better movie, this one was more believable, because the technology involved in "EDtv" is readily available and it is economically feasible to do what is portrayed in the film. "The Truman Show" is about a scheme which requires science fiction levels of technology and which makes no economic sense.

After Ed agrees to be on television, one of the broadcasts reveals that his brother, Ray, Woody Harrelson ("The Thin Red Line") is cheating on his girlfriend, Shari. Ed and Shari then fall in love, while Ray plots ways to get even with Ed. Yet another broadcast reveals dirty laundry involving his father, Hank (Dennis Hopper, in a muted performance), his stepfather, Al, (academy award-winner Martin Landau) and his mother, Jeanette (Sally Kirkland). All the elements of a real-life soap opera soon have millions glued to EDtv.

The loss of privacy and the hard feelings caused by the airing of all that dirty laundry soon threaten to tear Ed's family apart and Shari can't stand the strain, either. The next problem is how to get out of a very tight network contract, and how to foil the evil schemes of network exec Whitaker (Rob Reiner). Ed is basically a nice guy. He doesn't try to use his sudden fame and fortune in inappropriate ways. When he finds out he is being manipulated, he does something about it. Shari wants nothing to do with the cameras and runs away, but not for long.

It is a pretty good yarn with very good performances by McConnaughey, who is an excellent romantic lead, and Elfman. Laundau is also quite good and Ellen DeGeneres turns in a good performance as Cynthia Topping. Adam Goldberg ("Saving Private Ryan"), who plays Ed's friend, John, is also good. Goldberg and McConnaughey both started their careers, by the way, in "Dazed and Confused." Harrelson and Hopper, however, don't bring the energy and the edginess you usually see in their performances. This film rates a B.

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