Reviewed April 26, 1999
Truman (Jim Carrey) has been living in a glass bottle for his entire life, and yet he fails to realize it until he is 29. In The Truman Show , Truman Burbank's life is studied by millions of viewers through thousands of hidden cameras. Maybe the show is just a sick and twisted version of "Candid Camera," but when Truman starts finding clues that suggest his life has been staged, he plans his escape. Meanwhile, the rest of the world peers in on his struggles. They wish him luck in escaping, and, yet, at the same time they gorge themselves on every detail of his personal soap opera, similar to the way the public mourned the death of Princess Diana while they ate up every gory detail.

The Truman Show  is not your typical Jim Carrey bust-a-gut comedy, although it does have its ironies and laughs. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I agreed with the film critics, who mainly gave good reviews to this movie. Usually when Roger Ebert says a movie is good, then it sucks (The English Patient :, for example), and vice versa, but this one was different. This movie was well worth the steep price of a ticket, and is an even better value now that it has been released on video, since there is little need for theater surround sound. It has its share of comedy, suspense, and drama to earn 4.5 of 5 stars.

This review was originally published at the PHS Cardinals site.