JayDee's Movie Musings

Thank you... I don't think I repped Sunset Boulevard, though.

Plot - A biopic chronicling the short but highly noteworthy career of the late comedian, Andy Kaufman (Carrey). Or a 'song and dance man' as he preferred to call himself. Earning a reputation as a unique and eccentric performer at comedy clubs, he found himself flung into the celebrity stratosphere when he joined the cast of classic sitcom, Taxi; playing the character of Latka Gravas. His new found fame didn't exactly sit well with Kaufman however, and his bizarre and disruptive antics soon rankled just about anyone and everyone around him. The film covers events in his career such as his stint wrestling women and infamous chat show appearances, as well as his personal life and relationships with his manager George Shapiro (DeVito), his friend and creative partner Bob Zmuda (Giamatti) and his girlfriend Lynne Marguiles (Love).

The late Andy Kaufman was a very unique and original entertainer. Love him or loathe him, consider him an oafish clown or a comedic genius, there's no denying that he was a real one of a kind. So who better to portray him than Jim Carrey; a man even Roger Ebert recognised as a “true original.” And Carrey gives an exceptional performance in the role. He is magnificent; recreating Kaufman's mannerisms and affectations down to an absolute tee. It's almost spookily accurate. But this is no mere impersonation. He may nail the character that most people know from stage and screen, but he also goes further, delving deeper into this flawed and enigmatic man. A man who finds no great pleasure in fame, who just wants to elicit a reaction whether it be positive or negative and who suffers immense frustration when he feels that he is either being typecast or is being denied the chance to do what he loves. Not only does Carrey inhabit the role of Andy Kaufman, but of the numerous alternate personalities that Kaufman inhabited - Tony Clifton, Foreign Guy and of course his iconic Taxi character, Latka Gravas. The moments where he brings that character to life are just uncanny in their semblance. It truly is one of my favourite performances from any actor I've ever seen, and how he wasn't even nominated for an Oscar still surprises me. At least the Golden Globes had the good sense to recognise his skill and reward him for it.

The film certainly isn't your typical by the numbers biopic. Alongside Carrey's performance the film itself plays into the unorthodox nature of Kaufman, adopting some strange approaches for its storytelling. The film opens with Carrey in character, breaking the fourth wall to give an address straight to the audience about how he was unhappy with the film because it didn't tell the truth about his life. He had all of the lies removed, which resulted in a drastically reduced running time. In fact this is the end of the movie so the credits begin to roll. For a few seconds the screen fades to black before Carrey pops his head back into view, explaining that it was to get rid of the viewers who would not understand him. And the film closes with a scene that throws any semblance of sense or plausibility out of the window. It cheekily hints at and plays into the rumour that Kaufman faked his death, a belief some of his fans still hold onto to this day. It is a silly little end to the film, but one that makes sure the viewer leaves the film with a smile on their face. And of that I think Andy would have wholeheartedly approved.

While it may be Carrey's performance that lingers long in the memory this is actually a strong ensemble effort. The always entertaining Danny Devito delights as Andy's agent, George Shapiro, playing him with a nice bluster and gusto. I also have great sympathy for the character and that man in real life; what a task it must have been at times trying to deal with and corral the mind of Andy Kaufman. Though it is rather strange that with the complete cast of Taxi (excluding Tony Danza) playing themselves, you've got the most famous member of that cast playing another character! However given Kaufman's propensity for multiple personas and for messing about with the reality of who he was and they were, it actually feels rather fitting. Paul Giamatti also chips in some strong support in the form of Bob Zmuda, Kaufman's creative partner and cohort in his wacky schemes. While as Andy's love interest, Lynne Marguiles, there is a very nice showing from Courtney Love. She may not be in the film for a huge amount of time but her sweet and breezy demeanour make her a pleasant addition, and helps create a winning romance with Carrey despite little time being dedicated to it. She really was quite a talented actress, and when you couple this with her turn in The People vs Larry Flynt, then it seems a real shame how little other work she has done in the years since.

Film Trivia - As a massive fan of Andy Kaufman, Jim Carrey wanted to really get into character to do him justice. As a result he refused to respond to his real name, insisting that he be treated as Andy Kaufman at all times, both on and off set. Though this perhaps went a little far on one occasion, when a real medic had to be brought on to the set to evaluate Carrey after he showed up for filming with a bloody nose, claiming that Tony Clifton (one of Kaufman's personalities and a character that Carrey portrayed in the film) had punched him out backstage.

I can't exactly remember the first time I saw this film (I didn't catch it in the cinemas) but ever since that first viewing it's one I've always loved. I know I think higher of this film than most people, but there's just something about it that has always got to me. It almost feels like Man on the Moon is a film that was designed specifically for me and my tastes. To begin with you've got Jim Carrey. While a couple of other actors may run him close (Tom Hanks, Michael J. Fox) he would most likely take the no.1 spot in terms of my favourite actors. At 7 years old when he had his breakthrough year (1994 saw the release of The Mask, Ace Ventura and Dumb and Dumber) I was probably at about the perfect age for the brand of humour he was peddling at the time; talking out of his butt for example. And since then I've grown up with him in movie terms. I've continued to enjoy his comedic work whilst also watching him grow and develop into a highly talented serious performer.

Then you've got the Taxi factor. An absolutely classic slice of TV comedy, I'd rank it amongst my top 5 favourite sitcoms of all time. So to see the set and iconic moments from the show recreated, and the cast reassembled was a huge treat for me. And lastly there is the wrestling angle. While it may be something that no longer appeals to me, wrestling was something that resided in my heart for many, many years. So I get a huge kick out of the wrestling scenes, particularly the big fight against Jerry Lawler, for its inclusion of real-life wrestling icons in the form of the aforementioned Jerry Lawler and legendary commentator, Jim Ross. So yeah there is a lot here that appeals to me personally. And all in all it's quite an impressive production that Milos Forman orchestrated, particularly in terms of recreating numerous sets, locations and events from that era; most notably the likes of the big wrestling match, the set of Taxi, the scenes at Carnegie Hall and Andy's appearances on various talk shows.

The film doesn't gloss over the more negative aspect to his character in an attempt to paint an overly rosy picture of Kaufman. It highlights just how difficult he could be to work with and how hated he was by his fellow castmates on Taxi; making for an honest and fascinating film. It's also a film which isn't afraid of being unfunny. It doesn't try and cover up the fact that what Kaufman did didn't always work, indeed the film seems to revel in the awkwardness of moments where Andy is on stage and no-one is laughing. I also find the film to be a surprisingly affecting and moving experience as it nears its conclusion. With the character diagnosed with terminal cancer it's quite emotional to see the effects it has on him, and I love the little moment where he goes to the Philippines for psychic surgery. When he notices the sleight of hand at play and realises that it's a scam, all a complete act, he laughs at the sheer irony of it. And then it fades to his lifeless body at the funeral which I think is an excellent scene, a really touching mix of laughs and tears.

Conclusion – In its own peculiar ways I find this to be a rather beautiful film; a film which is in equal parts very humorous but also very moving. A film which features an astounding performance from Jim Carrey. While it may play fast and loose with the truth at times in regards to Kaufman's life, the result feels like an appropriate representation of Kaufman's unique and frequently anarchic personality. As an offbeat story about a unique individual I think it would actually work as quite a nice companion piece to Ed Wood.

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I only saw this once, a year or two after it was released, but I was surprised by how much I liked it. It's quite a sweet little film, in its own way.

I agree with you about Courtney Love, as well.

Lastly, it's a good review. I'm sticking with good.

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5-time MoFo Award winner.

You're so mean!!!

Plot - A New York cop, John McClane (Willis), arrives off the plane in Los Angeles with a fairly simple objective; to spend time with his kids at Christmas and attempt to reconnect with his wife, Holly (Bedelia). Things don't exactly go according to any such plan however. While visiting her at her offices; the large Nakatomi Plaza skyscraper, McClane finds himself in the middle of what appears to be a terrorist attack. The group, led by Hans Gruber (Rickman), comprises of individuals. They take all of the people remaining in the building, including Holly, hostage on the 30th floor, except for our man McClane. He manages to escape their clutches and goes about waging a one man war, picking the terrorists off one by one. Except are they really terrorists? Or is that all a front for a more basic desire - money?

Now we come to the ultimate and definitive action film. For me this film had never been bettered in terms of action movies, and still hasn't in the 25 years since Die Hard was released. And a whole lot of films have attempted it, many even mimicking Die Hard's template and just adapting it for a different location or setting; Die Hard on a Bus (Speed), Die Hard on a Navy vessel (Under Siege), Die Hard on a plane (Executive Decision) etc. None have succeeded quite as well as the innovator however; never mixing the ingredients of action, humour and character to such a high standard.

Most of the action heroes of the time where more of the testosterone-fuelled, muscle-bound variety (Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Norris, Lundgren etc) but Willis' John McClane came along and changed the mould for the action hero; more of an everyman who just happened to get caught up in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was a relatable and vulnerable hero. I don't think it's any mistake that the first time the film-makers show us McClane we find him sitting on a plane looking nervous and uptight, suffering from the fact that he's not a good flyer. This is not an indestructible killing machine we're dealing with here, he's a flawed human with fears and a mess of a personal life. He doesn't go looking for trouble. All he wants to do is to try and heal the rift with his wife and spend time with his kids at Christmas. But when trouble finds him he tackles it out of a sense of right, and also just out of an instinct of self-preservation. The film takes its time to try and build the character and his situation, and it actually feels like the film cares. A lot of the time in an action film they just slap on the most basic, clichéd backstory for the character; seemingly desperate to just get it out of the way so they can move onto the explosions and the gunshots. It achieves this through little touches such as his frustration and pain when he discovers that Holli has discarded the McClane name and has been using her maiden name instead. The character really is about as far removed from the likes of Dutch (Predator) and Cobra (eh...Cobra. ) as possible. I imagine the biggest problem in their lives runs something along the lines of “I wish my gun was bigger and more deadly!”

Film Trivia - It may have become the role that defined him but Willis was far from the first choice. It was apparently turned down by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Burt Reynolds, Richard Gere, Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, Nick Nolte and Tom Berenger. While before they settled on Willis the producers also considered Charles Bronson, Don Johnson and Richard Dean Anderson.

All of this isn't too say that McClane doesn't share some of the same qualities however; he could still kick ass and he could still throw out a joke or two at the same time. It's just that he was a more believable hero; he wasn't indestructible and he wouldn't just wade into a large group of guys and take them out, he would use his brain to try and outwit them as much as he could to make his task as easy as possible. He employed stealth tactics and wasn't afraid to just turn and run when the odds weren't in his favour. I'm sure that had it been Schwarzenegger starring in Die Hard the film would have been about 10 minutes long - “The villains are all cooped up in a single location and my character knows this? Well I should just go in guns blazing and kill them all!” And you get the feeling that the humour is more McClane just trying to defuse the situation and keep himself calm, than trying to be funny and cruel in the way a Schwarzenegger would. I love his sarcastic line, born out of frustration, when he's in the ventilation shaft, “Come out to the coast, we'll get together, have a few laughs.” While he also uses humour to get inside the heads of the villains; never more so than sending them the dead body of a comrade with “Now I Have a Machine Gun. Ho Ho Ho” scrawled across his chest. McClane's character is further enhanced with the introduction of a sidekick of sorts in the form of Reginald Veljohnson's Sgt. Powell. Their scenes are responsible for a large amount of the film's humour and Powell also acts as a sounding board for McClane to discuss his fears and personal life. It's a really fun buddy pairing with Veljohnson giving a really likeable performance.

And in the role of the relatable John McClane you've got Bruce Willis on top form. He may have given technically 'better' performances (Unbreakable and Twelve Monkeys for example) but this is the iconic performance and character for which he will forever be associated with, and my personal favourite performance of his. His perfectly pitches McClane between the type of heroes a Schwarzenegger would play, and his own character of David Addison from the classic TV show Moonlighting, which he was still filming for during the making of Die Hard incidentally. He takes ingredients from both camps and gifts the character with a great deal of charm and vulnerability, while using his spot-on comic timing to maximise McClane's appeal. Willis also walked that perfect fine-line for the character in terms of appearance, being attractive enough to fulfil the role of 'movie star' but not in a pretty boy kind of way; more of a blue collar, regular joe that we could identify with.

If you're to have a truly classic action film, then every great hero needs a great villain. And in Hans Gruber, Alan Rickman created an absolute cracker. Switching from charming gentlemen to psychotic nutter at the drop of the hat, the character is an absolute treat. And incredibly it was Rickman's feature film debut. Talk about coming out of the gates strong. He gives a wonderfully over the top, boo hiss performance that just oozes sleeze and menace. And his line delivery is just impeccable; “Mr Takagi won't be joining us...for the rest of his life.” He really did make Hans Gruber into one of the all time great screen villains. The film goes the extra mile in terms of its villains, not content to merely settle with just building up the character of Hans. It instead makes a number of Hans' goons into memorable characters in their own right, and not just the faceless henchman/cannon fodder they frequently are in films of this type. On a very simple level it differentiates between the characters in terms of their appearance, making them distinct in your mind. You've got the black techy guy (Theo), the Nordic Thor look-alike (Karl) and the Asian looking henchman, Uli. The latter there being played by Al Leong, a bit of a cult legend amongst action movie fans having almost made appearances in Big Trouble in Little China, Lethal Weapon, Death Warrant, Rapid Fire and Black Rain to name just a few. It's hard to imagine anyone else could have inspired such a following when they only play characters with names like Wing Kong Hatchet Man (Big Trouble in Little China), Asian Revolutionary (They Live) and Car Mechanic (Beverly Hills Cop III)

Film Trivia - Die Hard has some wonderfully translated titles around the world. In Spain its title meant “Crystal Jungle”; in Poland the title was “The Glass Trap”; in Germany it was “Die Slowly”; n Serbia, Croati and Bosnia it was translated as “Die Manly!”, while the pirated VHS was "Skupo Prodaj Svoju Kozu" ("Sell Your Skin At High Price"). The Hungarian title came out as “Give your life expensive", the title of the sequel is "Your life is more expensive", and the third part is "The life is always expensive"

All this talk of character building and establishing a new action hero template is really just me padding out the review and attempting to look smart. Because above all of it, Die Hard remains an action-packed thrill ride of a film and in my eyes still the best offering that the action genre has at its disposal. It kicks some major ass! A feat even more impressive given the limited scope that the film saddled itself with of having a single location, and a fairly dull one at that, the film deserves a lot of credit for being able to mine such variety for the action. We are presented with numerous different forms of action and combat; the hand to hand battle with Karl, big shootouts and running gun battles, massive explosions, large scale vehicle-based destruction and thrilling stunts. All of which are staged throughout a series of locations, whether it be plush executive offices, on the rooftop, in the elevator shaft, in the ventilation ducts or on floors under renovation. It may be resigned to a single building but it keeps things fresh with a constantly shifting backdrop for proceedings. It really does utilise every single inch of that building.

And with John McTiernan at the reins the whole thing flies along at a terrific pace and very little of the running time is wasted in any way whatsoever. In amongst all the action any break we get serves a purpose, whether it be to provide comic relief, build character, enhance the tension or create emotion. Tremendous!

Conclusion - In the classic sitcom Friends, Die Hard was the favourite film of the three male characters - Joey, Ross and Chandler. I remember an episode where after their umpteenth viewing of it Chandler says “Die Hard...still great!” And you know what, it kind of is. With some enthralling action, lots of humour, an iconic villain and a hero to really root for this is a fantastic film.

^ Agree... just a shame Die Hard 4 & 5 went OTT...

Nice review!!

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Excellent review to one of my favorite movies!

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Fear and Loathing in MoFo... The Gunslinger 45's Top 50 Favorite Films

In the 10 Ring: Gunslinger45's reviews

Awesome review JayDee, you know I watched Die Hard for the first time last year and it's my only viewing of the film, but I thought it was a brilliant film. Definitely one of the best action films I have seen, and you've hit all the key points about the film in the review, great at providing us with the usual action scenes, the plot is fairly simple but the film is respectful to all its characters, makes them truly memorable, likeable, connectible etc.

Other than this I have only seen the fourth film in the series, does not come close for me, the characters in the film are not memorable or treated with any respect, instead we just get over the top action scenes.

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Johnson & Johnson (not related). "We're gonna need some more FBI guys, I guess."

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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
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+ rep for the Friends reference.

Thanks to Rodent, Gunslinger and Daniel for the compliments.

And with regards to the later sequels I enjoyed the 4th film in terms of being a daft, OTT action flick but didn't really feel essentially like a Die Hard film. Avoided seeing the 5th at the cinemas as I just had a really bad vibe about it.

I always forget something! No matter how much I write something always gets overlooks. Should have given a little mention to some great minor characters such as Johnson & Johnson, the douchebag reporter played by William Atherton and the sleezy Harry Ellis. Makes me so happy everytime that Hans blows him away.

All that work I put into the review and I only get the rep for mentioning Friends?! That's it. I'm replacing you with Daniel as my best friend on here. He uses words like "awesome" to describe my reviews. He makes me feel appreciated.

Also I'm still surprised that you're such a big fan of Friends. I assumed that would have been way too mainstream and for you.

You'll be even happier to know I watched Sunset Boulevard the other night, so just went back and read your review (I had already repped it, before you panic ), which I pretty much all agree with too.

The film had me hooked from the very start with the fantastic opening scene giving a sense of mystery with the narration, and fantastic sweeping shots along the roads of Hollywood, however this energetic feel soon disappeared once Holden's character becomes trapped within the household of Norma Desmond. 'Haunting' is the most fitting word I would use to describe this film, at times it felt incredibly frustrating and difficult to watch, you have people like Max and even DeMille carrying on this illusion for her and I began to really develop a hatred for her character, I just wanted it her to stop and realise the truth, for Holden's character to become free again, there was nothing he could do and like him I felt trapped, frustrating, angered. Norma's character is among the most scary I have seen on screen, honestly, her performance I just thought was superb and in every scene she felt strangely threatening, dangerous, she was delusional and felt capable of anything - the final few scenes captured this 'madness' perfectly.

Well, you can be given praise or you can earn it. Actually, I should've said that I'd given extra rep for the Friends reference.

I thought you'd know me better than that by now. I don't hate things because they're mainstream, I hate them because I hate them or, as often as not, think I will. That there happens to be a rather large crossover in that particular Venn diagram is just the way it goes. I wish the things I liked were more mainstream or that there were more of them. Firstly, it'd be easier to find stuff I liked or was excited about and, secondly, it'd mean you people had better taste.

Plot - Truman Burbank (Carrey) is the biggest TV star in the entire world. He just doesn't know it. He is the unwitting star of a TV experiment which developed into a reality show of immense proportions. He lives in Seahaven, a quaint town which in reality is the world's biggest studio set, monitored by thousands of cameras and overseen by the show's creator, Christof (Harris). Every single person in the town is an actor, even his family and closest friends. His whole existence is an illusion. A staggering fact that Truman slowly begins to awaken to. When he attempts to leave the town, a series of highly coincidental roadblocks pop up in his way, but Truman won't let that stop him.

While this is generally a very well thought of film I realise I love it a lot more than most people and I'm not entirely sure why. There's just something about it that I find rather special. I think it's a really well written, intelligent story which is both funny and touching, and has a number of scenes which I think are just beautifully executed and which just stick in my mind. Working from a terrific concept it's an intriguing film which is also surprisingly moving and thought-provoking.

As will have become quite obvious to those who have stuck with me throughout this list I am a huge Jim Carrey fan, so obviously his presence here helps with my love for the film. Once more I think he is excellent here, very funny but also portraying a real emotional honesty when it comes to thinking of the mysterious girl from his past. His Truman Burbank is such a sweet, loveable everyman in a Tom Hanks/James Stewart kind of way that you can buy people wanting to spend their lives watching his exploits. He also excellently portrays Truman's growing paranoia and disconcertion as the walls of his reality begin to come crumbling down. And while it certainly is Carrey's show (no pun intended), he's not alone however, with great support coming from Laura Linney, Noah Emmerich and Ed Harris. Linney does this great thing where she appears to be constantly posing for a catalogue photo shoot or a TV commercial. Her character is just so completely fake and forced; and its got to be about the only occasion where seeing how hard someone is acting is a good thing. Noah Emmerich is very impressive as Truman's best pal, Marlon, and everytime I watch the film it always surprises me how little I've seen of him since. While Ed Harris is an inspired choice to play the creator of Truman's world who is pretty much playing God. At times he appears to genuinely care for Truman but I think it's only as a creator in a “look what I've created, look how special he and by extension I am.”

When it comes to favourite scenes there are so many the jump to mind. Even if they are just quite small scenes they are delicately and wonderfully created. Truman being followed by the cloud, orchestrating the traffic with just a movement of his hand, becoming exasperated as his wife advertises a product while talking to him and then the touching finale. Christof's continuing attempts at throwing obstacles in Truman's way are also highly entertaining. I admire the creative and unique way that Peter Weir shot the film, playing into and mimicking the hidden camera style of the TV show within the movie. So we get no tracking shots, cameras hidden in objects such as a pencil sharpener, surveillance-style filming and numerous examples of awkward framing which are done completely on purpose.

And it's amazing (and sad) just how prescient the movie is when it comes to detailing the obsession with reality shows and celebrity in our current culture. Who'd have ever thought that within such a short span of time we've come so close to our own Truman Show? At the time of its release, such an idea may have seemed completely far-fetched but these it is worryingly plausible. I mean let's be honest, would anyone really be all that surprised if some TV channel had a press conference tomorrow to announce that they actually had plans for such a show? I think Billy Connolly sums up my views on reality shows perfectly - “The world's gone crazy. You've got people sitting in their house...watching people sitting in a house!!! I mean, what's going on here?” In later years Peter Weir remarked that at the time "This was a dangerous film to make because it couldn't happen. How ironic."

And while it may skewer television producers and the era of celebrity-obsessed reality shows we currently find ourselves in, if anything it is a film that is harsher on the viewing public with its criticisms. No matter how pervasive and manipulative the show becomes the viewers never turn off, they never abandon the show. In that way Truman's situation works as a symbol of our own cultural imprisonment at the hands of the media and consumerism. And the film utilises its final moment to hammer home the fact. Eskewing the chance to fade out on the happy ending of Truman's freedom, we are instead shown an example of we the viewing public in the form of two security guards. After an initial and brief burst of celebration at Truman's achievement, what does the audience do - turn off the TV, go out and experience life, muse on what was done to Truman Burbank in the aid of entertainment? No, they change the channel to see “what else is on.” How very, very sad.

Film Trivia – The Truman Show has actually inspired a condition called 'Truman Syndrome' or 'the Truman Show delusion'. The term, coined in 2008, concerns the occasion when people hold the belief that they and their life are the unwitting stars of their own TV reality show or staged play. Over 40 cases have been reported so far in the US, the UK and around the world, with many of the people affected having specifically name-checked the film while in therapy. These include a man who travelled to New York following 9/11 who thought the attack may just be a plot twist in his own personal TV show. Another individual entered a Manhattan Federal building seeking asylum from his show, while another man wanted to climb the Statue of Liberty in the belief that doing so would provide him with his own personal escape from his 'show.' He described it like this, “I realized that I was and am the center, the focus of attention by millions and millions of people ... My family and everyone I knew were and are actors in a script, a charade whose entire purpose is to make me the focus of the world's attention.” While in 2009 a man in Australia tragically killed his father and sister, because he believed they were broadcasting his life to the world as part of a game show to either murder him or convince him to kill himself.

The setting and design of Seahaven is fantastic. Amazingly it actually is a real town that proceedings were filmed in. Seaside in Florida is a 'master-planned community' where members of the cast and crew actually lived during filming. So the production designers had a great basis with which to work but they added so much on top of it. The fashion and colour schemes gave it a highly stylised and hyper-real appearance, rather akin to a classic 1950s sitcom; capturing that cosy and comfortable feel of picket fences and friendly neighbours. As a city boy I may find it lacking in character, and even feel it has a sort of Twilight Zone creepiness to it, but had someone been raised there I can see how they would find it like a paradise and never want to leave.

I also find The Truman Show to be extremely, and perhaps surprisingly, moving as it approaches its conclusion. With Truman sailing across the sea in search of escape he really is on a journey that acts as a rite of passage. He's on a road to discovery, moving from being a boy to becoming a man. It's almost like he's a teenager for much of the film, feeling isolated and confused, before he eventually rejects the way things are and embarks on his own life. It is just perfectly shot by Weir, holding on Carrey's back as we see his crushed demeanour through his body language before revealing his anguished face. It's another great piece of acting from Carrey which is accompanied by a wonderful piece of music from the film's composers, Burkhard Dallwitz and Philip Glass. In fact the whole score is fantastic, beautifully complimenting the film throughout.
While the film can easily be enjoyed for its humour and thought-provoking concept, there are other layers to it. Alongside the obvious media satire, the most notable being the theme of religion, though I suppose there are two different views you could take of it. You could easily see the film as a journey to becoming atheist. You've got this man in the sky named Christof who has created this world below; who talks to his subjects and instructs them how to go about their lives; who orchestrates every little event and outcome to his whims, removing free will from the life of Truman, pushing him towards a pre-ordained destiny. He is a God-like figure in every way. As the one individual he does not communicate with, Truman eventually begins to challenge and reject his thoughts and his reality, resulting in him stepping through the door to enlightenment and escaping. Or you could take the more pro-religion stance and see it as a story about the folly of man trying to play God when there can be only one. Or that he is even an anti-Christ figure of a sort, manipulating Truman for his own nefarious means.

Conclusion - I just adore The Truman Show. I think it's a wonderful, beautiful little film. It's an intelligent, witty, funny and terrifically uplifting experience for me every time I watch it. A commentary on media manipulation and those of us who consume it, and featuring a tremendous performance from the man who I'd class as my favourite actor, this is a film that I've enjoyed time and time again. And imagine that I will continue to do so.

I haven't seen The Truman Show, but it's in my stack of unwatched movies. I've been a long-time Jim Carrey fan since watching The Mask and Ace Ventura when I was a kid. It was just within the past year that I saw Liar Liar and Dumb and Dumber for the first time.
I imagine this would have been a very different movie with Gary Oldman starring. As for David Cronenberg directing...all I see is Carrey mutilating himself at the end. Still would have been way better than The Number 23, though.

Excellent review dude! While I cannot call myself a big Jim Carrey fan, I can respect his chops for more then talking out of his bum after this movie and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

I really like this film, though as you stated prob not as much as you. When I was a kid I always thought, what if my life is a joke and everyone is in on it but me? I remember the first time I saw the trailer thinking I'm not the only one who thought that. Good movie, great review.

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Letterboxd

I loved Man on the Moon when I was 16. Don't know if it would still hold up with me now, but I've got the DVD.

What did you make of them?

Thanks dude! Most excellent!

You should dig it out and give it a watch sometime

Oh, I thought they were fantastic. Without a doubt some of Carrey's best.
I also have The Majestic in my stack, which I have yet to watch. If you've seen that movie, is it any good? I'm a big fan of the director.