Monday, April 23, 2012

T is for The Truman Show (#395)

The Truman Show (1998) is Jim Carrey's best film, and is a truly visionary look at the concept of identity.  It also happens to be an increasingly ironic look at reality TV, given that fifteen years later everyone and their mother thinks it's actually a good idea to live their life in front of a camera.  Truman Burbank just happened not to choose that life, though he grew up that way, never having a clue, and most of what he's become having been shaped on an expansive studio lot, his family and acquaintances filled with actors who only sometimes care more about him than the demands imposed by executives (then again, this isn't about reality TV so much as corporate mentality).  Directed by Peter Weir, written by Andrew Niccol, there's also an avalanche of excellent co-stars for Carrey to play with, including Ed Harris, Laura Linney, Natascha McElhone, Holland Taylor, Noah Emmerich, Peter Krause, Philip Baker Hall, and in one of the many supporting roles that helped him briefly achieve leading man glory, Paul Giamatti.  I was already a devoted fan of Carrey before this, but The Truman Show just explodes his depth, and is not to be missed even if you never cared for him in any other film.

Star Trek bonus!

T is for T'Pol
(from Star Trek: Enterprise)
You might be mistaken to believe that T'Pol was just the next version of Seven of Nine, the token catsuit hottie.  Yet even moreso than Jeri Ryan, Jolene Blalock had an infinite amount of talent and was integral from the start in the success of her Star Trek series.  The first Vulcan since Spock to have real significance in the franchise, T'Pol was the rare adherent to the party line who came to understand the flaws in the system, and embraced new possibilities, even if the initial opportunities were forced on her.  She originally found almost everything about humans to be repulsive, but chose to embrace logic so thoroughly that she came to find value even in the most human crewmate available, Trip Tucker (the real star of Enterprise), discovering a balance in her emotions that she never thought possible.

A-to-Z Challenge!

6 comments:

Michael Abayomi said...

The Truman Show might very well be the only Jim Carey movie I still haven't seen. Need to do something about that.

Unknown said...

and, don't forget the 80s band T'Pol and the fact that she was in the early show and movie. i love that they brought her back in the show enterprise and we get to know lots more about her.

SpacerGuy said...

I remember now. T'Pol and Trip had a steamy session together, so much so I've forgotten the Enterprise plot, hehe. T'Pol was nice though.

Tara Tyler said...

love truman show! got to show it when i subbed a hs english class.

Christine said...

I loved The Truman Show! Great choice for "t!"

Christine
Coffee in the Garden
In the Care of the Great Physician

Tony Laplume said...

I want to be a student in that English class. I always enjoyed the teachers who weren't afraid to screen a relevant movie.

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