How's It Gonna End

The Truman Show (1998)

Rating: PG

Runtime: 103 minutes

Box Office (in today’s dollars): 182 million (approximately)

Characters: Truman Burbank, Christof, Meryl Burbank, Marlon, Lauren/Sylvia, Truman’s mom, Truman’s dad, Simeon

Favorite Quote: “Good afternoon, good evening, and good night.”

Favorite Scene: Truman stopping traffic

Favorite Character: Truman Burbank

Other need-to-see nineties movies directed by Peter Weir: none

The Super Bowl (I usually watch it for the commercials). M*A*S*H (I never watched it growing up but it has now become my nightly routine). Roots (I have never watched it). These are/were the real-life things on television that are/were the most watched yearly; but The Truman Show (the tv show in the movie) was watched by millions daily . . . for thirty years!! Truman (the star of the show) is afraid of dogs, flying, and water. Meryl (Truman’s wife) loves her fashion magazines. Marlon (Truman’s best friend) drinks beer and stocks vending machines). Christof is the creator of the show, Simeon is Christof’s second in command, and Lauren/Sylvia is the girl Truman first falls in love with only to be removed from the show after trying to tell Truman the truth about his life. Truman is my favorite character, but Lauren/Sylvia is a close second.

There are a couple of quotes that I really liked from the movie that fell just short of my favorite: “We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented.” is smart, and “Cue the sun.” is funny. But my favorite is “Good afternoon, good evening, and good night.” because every show needs a good catch phrase and it seems so genuine coming from Truman. I have always loved the scene were Truman begins to realize that something isn’t quite right about the world around him and stops traffic while he is crossing the street. The music score is so powerful. The F-you to Christof delivered by Truman at the end is also amazing.

I have always wondered what became of Truman after he left “the show”. It’s obvious that he would find Sylvia, but then what?? Would he have kids?? Where would he work?? Would he ever hit golf balls off a bridge with Marlon again?? Hopefully he would live a quiet life (which would be hard to do because everyone knows who you are) while watching his favorite television show (I picture him being a Seinfeld fan) . . . because the show is about, well, nothing.

Next movie to review: There’s Something About Mary