Thoughts on The Truman Show

via Tumblr/Courtesy Paramount Pictures

"I'm here tonight to present the Academy Award for outstanding achievement in film editing. That's ... all I'm here to do. ... I have nothing else to worry about. ... I can just show up and 'enjoy the parties.'"

-- Jim Carrey, presenting at the 71st Academy Awards, March 1999

It was big news. Jim Carrey, "Rubber-faced Fartsmith (and) America's Sweetheart" (Thanks, The Onion!), was starring in a movie where he would act! Truman Burbank was a dramatic role, Jim's first in a movie. I'm not trying to lessen what Jim, director Peter Weir and writer Andrew Niccol acomplished, but I will point out that Jim did play an alcoholic in the TV movie Doing Time on Maple Drive and some of his best moments in Batman Forever are when Edward Nygma is lowly and pathetic. Having said that, I can resume my rave for Jim in The Truman Show. The performance is better than the movie, which didn't hold up as well as I hoped.

"Blocked at every turn. Beautifully synchronized, don't you agree?"

"You're blaming me for the traffic?"

"Should I?"

I've seen The Truman Show at least five times now and this time around, my thoughts and observations were particularly cynical. After you notice things like Truman and Hannah/Meryl (Laura Linney) needing to take vitamin D because of little to no exposure to the actual sun, or Louis/Marlon (Noah Emmerich) restocking the same vending machine items, what else is there to pay attention to? Actually, quite a few things ...

1. "I'd like to be an explorer, like the great Magellan." "Oh, you're too late. There's really nothing left to explore." That exchange is chilling amid the culture wars. I think adult Truman would be aware of events like the Gulf War, Oklahoma City bombing, etc. and I'll elaborate on my reasoning in my next points. Still, it's eerie to realize that the depth of Truman's knowledge of history and/or social studies is at the discretion of Christof (Ed Harris).

2. Why didn't Christof keep the ethos and aesthetic of Seahaven at, say, 1955? First off, it might have bored the in-universe viewing audience. Christof's actually pretty good as a huckster. Not only has he kept a banal TV show on the air for nearly 30 years, but he's convinced the world that it's a big deal. "Well, aside from the heated comments of a very vocal minority, it's been an overwhelmingly positive experience." "Yes. For Truman and for the viewing public."

3. In order to keep the audience interested, Christof had to mostly stay with the times. Seahaven Island could not be all-white, because it would run the risk of alienating non-white viewers. The show could have been presented as a period piece, but that would limit the intended "genuine" feeling that Christof was going for. Also, the longer the distance from the 1950s, the more expensive it could be to replicate it. 

4. Truman, as noted by Simeon (Paul Giamatti), "has the world's most recognizable face." You don't achieve that without as many people as possible feeling something for the guy. Viewers needed to feel like Truman was a living, continuing part of their lives.

5. The Truman Show is filmed with approximately 5,000 cameras and has a production staff the size of a country's population. You have to wonder how many of those cameras are superfluous, like the one in Truman's pencil sharpener. 

6. I'm also curious if there's a good amount of overlap among extras and crew members. Considering how quickly that pair of extras were able to get rid of Walter/Kirk (Brian Delate), I suspect some extras are trained as "bodyguards" for Truman. It's there on the t-shirts in the control room: "Love him. Protect him."

7. When you require so many people to keep your show on the air, you can rarely turn people away. Sylvia (Natascha McElhone) was hired as an extra in an era long before social media could have gave away her game. Watching the flashback, I wondered if the role of Meryl was always intended for Hannah, or if Sylvia had auditioned for it.

8. How many times over the years had Truman watched a movie or TV show that just happened to relate to his present circumstances or state of mind?

"... And there'll be another episode of I Love Lucy, same time tomorrow. But right now, it's time for Golden Oldies. Tonight we present the enduring, much-loved classic Show Me the Way to Go Home. A hymn of praise to small town life, where we learn that you don't have to leave home to discover what the world's all about, and that no one is poor who has friends. Full of laughter and love, pain and sadness, but ultimately redemption, we share the trials and tribulations of the Abbott family. Note the touching performance of Ronald Brierly as Uncle Buddy. And that scene with the bowl of cherries is gonna have you splitting your sides with laughter all over again. And there'll be tears, too, when David and Jennifer are reunited. But enough from me. Let's join the Abbotts in Camden Village."

You get the picture. The Truman Show is rewatchable. It's mostly because of the performances and details instead of the story. I didn't realize until this viewing that, not counting flashbacks, the movie's events take place over the course of less than a week. Then again, it doesn't have to take long to completely upend your life. My deciding to leave Michigan all the way up to the arrival in North Dakota happened in 2-3 weeks. Anyway, Truman and Meryl's testy exchange during the traffic jam reminded me of Richard Dreyfuss and Teri Garr in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Richard, you'll remember, didn't get his Oscar for that film.

"Winning the Oscar is not the most important thing in the world. It's an honor just to be nom ... oh, God! ... 

-- Jim Carrey again, March 1999

Research gave me a better appreciation for Linney and Holland Taylor's performances in The Truman Show. Until I read Julie Miller's piece for Vanity Fair on the movie's 20th anniversary, I didn't know the actresses lived together during filming. They spent their time contemplating what Taylor called the "mental tightrope" traveled by Hannah and Alanis, longtime portrayers of Meryl and Angela. In-universe, the older lady did the better job of staying in character. You would think that Christof would have directed Hannah to dial it down when plugging the Chef's Pal, macaroni dinners, Elk Rotary mowers and Mococoa (and God knows what else over the years). Then again, Louis wasn't subtle with those beers. Emmerich (especially great, BTW, in the "last thing I'd ever do is lie to you" scene), Linney and Niccol might have invented modern influencing.

"All-natural cocoa beans from the upper slopes of Mount Nicaragua. No artifical sweeteners."

"What the hell are you talking about? Who are you talking to?"

"I've tasted other cocoas. This is the best."

The Truman Show was another movie I first saw on a sleepover. Actually, it was with the same buddy that I saw Godzilla with. His parents rented Truman and they let us watch it. Ten-year-old me thought McElhone was the most beautiful woman in the world. One of my favorite moments is the reveal of Truman's attempted picture of Sylvia. It's heartwarming ("See, they got rid of her, but they couldn't erase the memory," cocktail waitress O-Lan Jones observes), heartbreaking (Sylvia is clearly touched) and it gives us a reason, beyond general decency, to care about whether or not Truman escapes his captivity. I'll admit that I doubt Truman and Sylvia lasted as a couple. I think her ultimate destiny is to be his best friend and guide to the free world.

"I know you better than you know yourself."

"You never had a camera in my head."

What more needs to be said about the final scene between Christof and Truman? Claudio Alves, The Film Experience: "Carrey gets to play Man's confrontation with his Creator." It, in particular the "Good afternoon, good evening and goodnight" kiss off, is what we waited for. It's even better when you realize the scene is happening maybe a day or so after Christof's self-serving comments to Sylvia, which happened maybe a day or so after Truman's failed escape in his and Meryl's car, which happened maybe a day or so after Christof triggered Truman by having him see that submerged rowboat as punishment for trying to reach Sylvia in Fiji.

"I have given Truman a chance to lead a normal life. The world ... the place you live in ... is the sick place. Seahaven's the way the world should be."

"He's not a performer, he's a prisoner. Look at him! Look at what you've done to him."

"He can leave at any time. If his was more than just a vague ambition, if he was absolutely determined to discover the truth, there's no way we could prevent him. I think what distresses you, really, caller, is that ultimately ... Truman prefers his cell, as you call it."

Watching movies through online streaming allows me to pay attention to time. Until this viewing, I didn't realize that more than 50 minutes pass between Christof's first and second appearances. Or that nearly a half-hour is devoted to the finale. Carrey is gone for approximately the first 10 minutes, making his/Truman's reappearance aboard the boat (at 82:30) all the more triumphant. I also think that Truman's despair when he reaches the end of his world is perhaps the best-acted minute of Carrey's career.

The Truman Show came out in June 1998. That November, Entertainment Weekly reported that Carrey was becoming less likely to receive an Oscar nomination. Buzz was building around his next movie, Man on the Moon. Alas, it was the same scenario. Jim got praised for his performance and ultimately snubbed by the Academy. I've never seen The Majestic. Is it as Oscar-baity as I think it is? Of course, I should also mention that Jim was snubbed for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Still, to go from sporting a string bikini for comedy's sake to making seven movies in a three-year span to being talked up twice as an Oscars contender, and all in a 10-year span ... that was why Jim Carrey's A-list story was one of my favorites as a boy.

"Anyway, who cares?! I have been beaten by Roberto Benigni! He has jumped into my ocean!"

-- Carrey, one last time, March 1999

Recommended with reservations.

Thoughts:

-- "Well, for me, there is no, there is no difference between a private life and a public life. My life ... is my life, is The Truman Show. The Truman Show is ... a lifestyle. It's a noble life. It is ... ... a truly blessed life."

-- Box Office: Grossing more than $125.6 million on a budget between $60-80 million, The Truman Show opened at No. 1, held the title for two weekends and ultimately ranked 12th for 1998.

-- Awards Watch: The Truman Show received Oscar nods, but no wins, for Harris, Weir and Niccol. The men lost to James Coburn in Affliction, Steven Spielberg for Saving Private Ryan and Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard for Shakespeare in Love, respectively. Niccol, Weir and the production design all won at the BAFTAs, with the movie itself, Harris, the cinematography and the special effects all getting additional nominations. Carrey, Harris and Weir all received Saturn Award nominations, with the movie winning in the category of Best Fantasy Film (over competition including City of Angels and Pleasantville) and for its script (over competition including Apt Pupil, Bride of Chucky, Dark City, Pleasantville and Psycho). Carrey (as a dramatic actor), Harris and the musical score won Golden Globes, while the movie, Weir and Niccol were nominated. Unlike Carrey (who lost to Tom Hanks in Saving Private Ryan) and Linney (who lost to Kathy Bates in Primary Colors), Harris won the Blockbuster Entertainment Award. Carrey also lost the American Comedy and Kids Choice awards (to Roberto Benigni and Adam Sandler, respectively), but won the MTV Movie Award. Finally, while Weir lost the Directors Guild of America Award to Spielberg and the script lost the Writers Guild of America Award to Shakespeare in Love, the movie did win the Hugo for Best Dramatic Presentation (over a Babylon 5 episode, Dark City, Pleasantville and Star Trek: Insurrection).

-- Critic's Corner, the movie: "Adventurous, provocative, even daring, The Truman Show has been directed with enviable grace and restraint by Peter Weir," wrote Kenneth Turan, who also identified "a belief in the indomitability of the human spirit that is as four-square as anything Frank Capra put on screen." Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post, called The Truman Show "ingenious and audacious ... (Weir and Niccol have created) a shrewd amalgam of surrealism, social commentary and romantic comedy that registers as wholly original." "(It's) unfortunately about little else than its potentially mind-boggling plot and structure ... (the) film, like the world it portrays, is all surface," Keith Phipps wrote. "Peter Weir's must-see new film is guaranteed Oscar bait and delectably clever entertainment, but hosannas and cartwheels are over the top," Janet Maslin wrote. It was good enough for Gene Siskel, who called The Truman Show and Pleasantville the 1998 movies with the most inventive concepts. Michael Rechtshaffen, Hollywood Reporter: "Yet there's something missing here. While Weir delivers both sharp wit and gentle poignancy, Truman's end catharsis needs greater emotional heft, given the enormity of the ultimate realization that his life has been one big Nielsen rating."

-- Critic's Corner, Jim: "His gifts as a comic actor are well-known, but who would have that Jim Carrey might simultaneously as easily break your heart as easily as he makes you laugh?" Turan asked. Maslin through that Jim gave an "instantly iconic" performance. "Warm, affecting and refreshingly shtickless, he occupies center stage here through sheer, beguiling force of personality." Roger Ebert found Jim to be a "surprisingly good" choice for The Truman Show: "We catch glimpses of his manic comic persona, just to make us comfortable with his presence in the character, but this is a well-planned performance." Siskel agreed, saying Carrey's performance "extends our estimation of his acting range." Rita Kempley: "(Carrey gives) a performance of enormous charm and restraint." "When the movie's allegory threatens to topple itself into po-faced absurdity, Carrey makes it work." Alves wrote in 2021. "He adds an astringent note of barbed comedy, takes a bow and leaves." The finale was meaningful for Jim himself, who told Vanity Fair in 2018 that he thought of it as his own sign off "to this idea of being the crowd-pleasing guy." Jim also felt that it wasn't until Dumb and Dumber To that he came closest to "putting the mask back on."

-- Critic's Corner, Ed and other cast members: Todd McCarthy, Variety, felt that it was Harris who carried The Truman Show's final stretches. Ed's performance was the movie's most satirical element, according to Maslin. "It so easily links divinity with hip, media-savvy grandiosity," she wrote. Ebert: "(Christof) uses the technospeak by which we distance ourselves from the real meanings of our words. (If TV producers ever spoke frankly about what they were really doing, they'd come across like Bulworth.)" Kempley: "Linney plays the plastic wife with scary success." McCarthy: "Linney is purposefully arch ... Emmerich is quietly outstanding." Rechtshaffen: "Linney, Taylor and Emmerich pull of a tricky, comedic balancing act, while Natascha McElhone is effective as a sympathethic 'intruder' who unsuccessfully attempts to tell Truman the truth."

-- Memorable Music: I'm not giving any points this time. I will note that The Truman Show was my first exposure to the "Opening" from Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters. It's kind of appropriate that a bit of music would be recycled for the big moment of Truman entering the real world. I almost want the gang at the Truman-themed bar to have a celebratory sing-along of "The Ballad of Gilligan's Isle."

-- Hey, It's ...!: Peter Krause, Joel McKinnon Miller, Philip Baker Hall and, apparently as himself, Philip Glass.

-- Hey, It's the Summer of 1998!: The Truman Show was the last of two contemporary blockbusters with Una Damon in the cast. The other was Deep Impact. The Truman Show was the third of four (in this case, would-be blockbusters) for Harry Shearer, the others being Godzilla, Almost Heroes and Small Soldiers. It was the first of four for Paul Giamatti, with Doctor Dolittle, Saving Private Ryan and The Negotiator still to come.

-- I can't imagine the good people who manufacture the Chef's Pal wanted to keep sponsoring the show after Meryl's little scene.

-- Holland Taylor looks a bit like later in life Lucille Ball -- or Gwen Verdon? -- here. The portrait's nice, too.

Courtesy Paramount Pictures

-- Anyone else a little disappointed that we didn't get to see any of Show Me the Way to Go Home? It's pretty clearly parodying It's a Wonderful Life, but I suspect there's also some Since You Went Away and The Best Years of Our Lives in there, too.

-- One of these days before I leave Wahpeton, I'm going to have "Who Needs Europe!" as a headline. God bless you, The Island Times.

-- I'll be darned. Apparently Jim Carrey has been to Fiji. According to the Hollywood Reporter, he stayed at Lawedua, a home on the island of Wakaya.

-- "(on Truman and Meryl's sex life) You never see anything, anyway. They always ... turn the camera and play music and ... you know, the wind blows in and the curtain move, and you don't see anything."

-- Next: Dirty Work. On deck: Can't Hardly Wait.