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Truman Show, The

Universal acclaim
Based on 30 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 79 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Fantasy
Written by: Andrew Niccol
Directed by: Peter Weir
Release Date:
Theatrical: June 5, 1998
DVD: January 26, 1999
Running Time: 103 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: PG for thematic elements and mild language
Starring Jim Carrey, Laura Linney, Noah Emmerich, Natascha McElhone, Holland Taylor, and Ed Harris
Twenty-nine years ago, a baby boy was adopted by the OmniCam Corporation to become the subject of the most popular television show of all time. His name is Truman Burbank. (Paramount Pictures)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Dead Poets Society Gallipoli Green Card Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World The Last Wave The Mosquito Coast The Year of Living Dangerously Witness
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Variety Todd McCarthy
A gemlike picture crafted with rare and immaculate precision.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington
Delicately subversive, hypnotically sardonic, full of terror, banality and wafer-thin lyricism.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Rita Kempley
One of the smartest, most inventive movies in memory, it manages to be as endearing as it is provocative.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan
That rare cinematic experience-a movie so close to pure perfection that it seems a shame to spoil it by even reading a review beforehand.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
Weir's offbeat directing makes the most of Andrew Niccol's inventive screenplay, which includes large doses of surprisingly sardonic satire aimed at today's entertainment trends.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
I enjoyed The Truman Show on its levels of comedy and drama; I liked Truman in the same way I liked Forrest Gump--because he was a good man, honest, and easy to sympathize with.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
A beautifully sinister and transfixing entertainment-age daydream.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Jami Bernard
A sunny-looking movie about the darkest paranoia.
Read Full Review >Film.com Sean Means
A brilliant and daring film.
TNT RoughCut Graham Verdon
An exhilarating, fascinating story about the amazing and horrifying depth we are sinking toward as we strain to raise the entertainment bar another notch.
The New Republic Stanley Kauffmann
The Truman Show is a reminder of the Beckett theme. The screenplay by Andrew Niccol starts from something like Beckett's abstraction and reifies it with details of contemporary culture, then moves on into fantasy. [June 29, 1998]
Mr. Showbiz Michael Atkinson
The Truman Show is one of the films for which the '90s will be remembered, and it is not to be missed.
Read Full Review >Time Richard Corliss
Hollywood's smartest media satire in years--and a breakthrough for Jim Carrey.
Read Full Review >Film.com Tom Keogh
Achieves a kind of beauty through its overlaying enigmas, and Carrey.
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen
The result is a rarity on any screen: intelligent fun.
Read Full Review >USA Today Mike Clark
Funny... and the payoff is the most provocative Hollywood concoction in a while.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Examiner G. Allen Johnson
A crowd pleaser that caters to our horror of totalitarianism, our love of personal freedom, our belief - justified or deluded - that knowledge is a powerful tool and that access to information is a God-given right.
Read Full Review >Slate David Edelstein
A sharp-witted, visually layered, gorgeously designed, meticulously directed piece of formula pablum.
Read Full Review >Dallas Observer Peter Rainer
The film is a nightmare but an oddly comforting one.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Ella Taylor
Carrey is a genius at registering the rage behind television's sunny smile, while Laura Linney excels as his wife.
Read Full Review >Film.com Robert Horton
A smart, engaging movie.
The New York Times Elvis Mitchell
Warm, affecting and refreshingly shtickless, he (Carrey) occupies center stage here through sheer, beguiling force of personality.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
An appealing, offbeat, one-hundred minute diversion for those who really are tired of monsters tearing down buildings and action heroes saving the world.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
A cool indictment of television's near-irresistible pandering to the inner peeping tom.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum
Undeniably provocative and reasonably entertaining, The Truman Show is one of those high-concept movies whose concept is both clever and dumb.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps
The film is unfortunately about little more than its potentially mind-boggling plot and structure.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten
It's unusually provocative and challenging for a Hollywood movie and, surprisingly, allows the audience to piece things together without too much external direction.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 8.7 (out of 10) based on 79 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
lol riffic gave it a10:
All you tools that don't have the brain power to understand the simples plot of The Truman Show should go back to your tool racks and rust. And for all you kids crying about there not being action in the move, it's because IT"S NOT AN ACTION MOVIE!
Frank gave it a10:
All you kids that get lost and confused in the movie should go back to school. The movie was excellent, and the cinematography and script is outstanding. And to all you people that got bored of it because there was no action, IT'S BECUASE IT ISN'T AN ACTION MOVIE! Gtfo the internet and go back to your hole you trolls.
Joey gave it a10:
A masterpiece. In the beginning you feel lulled into a false sense of security about the crafted world Truman is placed in. From a wonderful start to a very emotional ending, the Truman Show is by far one of my favorite movies ever. The last few reviews seem to be posted by the same 12 year old, though. Don't take them seriously. This is a brilliant and original film.
Grace gave it a10:
One of the best movies I've ever seen. Jim Carrey actually plays a character instead of just Jim Carrey. It's clever and even though it's old, it's awesome.
Shokz gave it a9:
The problem, it seems, is that the only low scores come from people that have failed to grasp the plot and / or only enjoy watching things blow up. If you're too simple to understand the film then feel free to pass through without rating.
[Anonymous] gave it a5:
I did not like the move. There was no action. It was a fake world that was made for one person. He was looking for an old girl friend. The best part of the movie is when his wife threaten to kill him with a knife-cheese grader-potato peeler.
Taylor R gave it a6:
I liked to movie, but it had some weird parts. I liked what the movie was about. I didn't like the picture color of the movie. I didn't like how they were being mean to Truman. It was weird how they trapped him in his own world. Also, I didn't like how his wife is mean and a freak.
