Popcorn Reviews With Cybèle: The Truman Show 

By Cybèle Elaine Werts  
CybeleW@aol.com

Popcorn Kernel Rating: 3 1/2 Kernels: Jim Carrey is always a good buy, and particularly so in this unusual and thought provoking drama.

The one thing that bothers me about commercials for upcoming movies is that they invariably show all the best scenes, and then give away the ending. It was thus that I showed up at The Truman Show, knowing the ending but prepared to enjoy myself anyway. If you haven’t seen the commercials, here’s the scoop (without the ending). Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey) is a gentle everydayman growing up in Seahaven, a gentle everydaytown. Nice wife. Nice house. Picks up the newspaper every day from the same nice newspaperman. Like a fifties sitcom, but even more so because Truman IS the sitcom. His entire life has been on television from gurgling in-vitro to teeth brushing at 30. Although the master director "Christof" (Ed Harris) has edited out the more salacious scenes such as sex with the wife or any of the less attractive moments we all have, it is still a 24-hour study of a nice guy’s life. Only he doesn’t know he’s on tape, and his wife, family, and friends are all professional actors, with implanted earphones queuing them words minute-to-minute. Christof renders this TV world seamlessly, and it’s pretty darn fascinating on its own merits.

What really moved me was not the cool technique required to keep Truman unaware of the fact that he’s star of the most popular show on earth, but rather the underlying horror that this film is really about. Think about it. The horror of never in your life having a moment of true privacy. Your secret self, the self of the early morning bathroom mirror and the late night pizza induced fart, all on show for everyone and anyone to ridicule or praise. Worse, never to have had a moment to yourself, alone. It is this betrayal of Truman that hit me below the belt. And, although he managed the discovery with gentility, had I been in his shoes, I would have felt betrayed beyond the ability to cope.

This depth of character is new for Carrey, who’s brilliant roles in Ace Ventura, Pet Detective and The Mask make the best of his elasticman face and electrified body. If you can put that aside, you will see an actor with depth and sensitivity. A film that will keep you thinking for the rest of the day, and maybe longer.

Suggested Gustatorial Accompaniment: A TV Dinner. My favorite as a child was the Hungry-Man fried chicken with cherry cobbler. Do they still make this?

Copyright 2000