when i first saw the previews for ron howard's latest film , my expectations were discouragingly low . 
a show about nothing ? 
sounds like " seinfeld . " 
a guy whose entire life is broadcast 24 hours a day ? 
sounds like " the truman show . " 
what is it with hollywood that no sooner than one production company puts out an animated feature about ants , another puts one out about bugs ? 
which is why i was pleasantly surprised by " edtv , " which turns out to be a fresh , insightful , and often times hilarious film about the follies of instant celebrity . 
the writing , by howard's longtime collaborators lowell ganz and babaloo mandel , is right on the money and howard himself should be credited for giving the subject matter a fresh focus . 
in the hands of a less-experienced director , " edtv " could easily have had all the flavor of yesterday's meatloaf . 
with their 'true tv' cable ratings being threatened by 'the gardening channel' ( apparently people would rather watch soil ) , the northwest broadcasting company is looking for a novel concept to attract viewers . 
program director cynthia topping ( ellen degeneres ) comes up with the idea of putting a nobody on the air and broadcasting his every waking and sleeping moment . 
the hook is to find a regular guy , someone normal that people can relate to . 
while scouting possible candidates , cynthia's camera crew discover ed pekurny and his pig brother ray ( woody harrelson ) in a bar , where ray believes he has what it takes for his fifteen plus minutes of fame . 
but on watching the videotape , the show's producers are more taken with ed than with ray . 
he's cute , he says all the wrong things , and he's 100% usda hick . 
cynthia's boss , played by rob reiner , gives the show a week to deliver the goods and it's tough going in the early stages . 
the most exciting thing that happens is ed brushes his teeth . 
 " action shot ! " 
wags one of the production assistants when a couple of pop tarts jump out of the toaster . 
you get the idea . 
but soon enough , things--nielsen-boosting kinds of things--start to happen to this unassuming san francisco video store clerk and the 'true tv' cameras are right there to document it . 
ed's privacy is no longer his own , his newfound fame starts having a negative impact on his family life , and what little dignity he has left is trampled on by the media . 
who should ed go out with ? 
you can be sure the pollsters have a list . 
not only is the film exceedingly well cast , but its performers are consistently excellent . 
matthew mcconaughey provides the face , the body language , and the lovable texan accent to fill the shoes of america's latest phenomenon . 
he and harrelson look like they really could be brothers . 
sally kirkland is noteworthy in a difficult role as ed's mother , and martin landau is one of the film's highlights as al , ed's ailing stepfather . 
jenna elfman ( from tv's " dharma and greg " ) proves herself surprisingly worthy in the company of kirkland and landau , although those alpine eyebrows of hers get a little distracting . 
even degeneres and reiner are better than you'd expect . 
in 1979 , writer/director/comedian albert brooks made a zany little film called " real life " in which a small-time opportunist makes a real-time documentary about a typical american family . 
the scenes of ed's family sitting around the dinner table feasting on kentucky fried chicken and waxing idiotic play like a big-budget variant on that film , paralleling its wickedly inventive humor . 
as with most films by albert brooks , " real life " was funny , but absurd . 
the funniest--and scariest--thing about " edtv " is that it is absolutely believable .