8 Movies Like the Truman Show
The Truman show Is a psychological comedy directed by Peter Weir and released in 1998. It stars Jim Carrey (in his prime), Laura Linney, Ed Harris, et cetera.
The Truman Show was ahead of its time. It was a movie about a man named Truman, who was selected from birth due to an unwanted pregnancy.
He was placed on a reality tv show with lots of cameras for the entertainment of viewers, to which of course, he was oblivious. In this article, we will highlight several movies like The Truman Show.
Movies Like the Truman Show
1. Pleasantville
This is similar to the Truman Show in many ways, and they are both comedies; the lead characters were also trapped in a tv show.
Pleasantville was directed by Gary Ross and starred Tobey Maguire, Jeff Daniels et cetera. It was released in 1998. The plot of the movie revolves around two siblings who got trapped in a 1950’s tv show where the residents looked too good to be true.
It is basically about David (Tobey Maguire) and his sister Jennifer who get trapped in a tv show while their mom is away. This is one of the many movies like The Truman Show.
2. The Lobster
This is also similar to the Truman Show. This is also another movie with a reality tv vibe to it. The film boasts incredible casts, such as Collin Farrell and Rachel Weisz.
It was released in 2015 to critical acclaim, earning an Oscar nomination for best original screenplay.
It is a movie in which single people are given 45 days to find partners or face an unlikely situation that practically turns them into animals. This is also one of the very many movies like The Truman Show.
3. EDtv
EDtv was released in 1999 to mixed reviews, and it was also a box office flop. Many regarded it as a poor man’s version of the Truman Show despite its qualities.
The film had among its stellar cast Mathew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Jenna Elfman, Ellen DeGeneres, et cetera.
The movie was a satirical comedy with a TV producer named Cynthia for a reality show where she picked Ed Pekurny (Mathew McConaughey).
The reality show was named after Ed (EDtv). It started slow until it picked up steam and has Ed tired with the whole reality tv and wanted out.
The movie was quite interesting but fell below expectations at the box office. The criticism against this movie was unfair, and it remains an exciting movie.
4. Being John Malkovich
This list would be incomplete without this film, Being John Malkovich. It is similar to the Truman Show in several ways.
First of all, it’s a fantasy comedy film starring John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, et cetera. It follows the story of a puppeteer in New York city known as Craig Schwartz, who discovers a way into the mind of John Malkovich, an actor.
Together with his colleague Maxine, Craig decides to market the discovery to earn some money.
The film was released in 1999 to critical acclaim and earned a nomination in 3 different categories, including Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actress. This is a highly entertaining movie like the Truman Show.
5. Vanilla Sky
A few people might have a problem with this movie being included in the list of movies like The Truman Show.
Vanilla Sky is not a movie about a reality tv show like the Truman Show but its interwoven realities elapsing into one another through the eyes of David (Tom Cruise) after suffering a car accident caused by his jealous lover is somewhat similar to the Truman Show.
The protagonists of both movies were forced to accept the realities they found themselves in.
The Truman Show is considered a comedy, but Vanilla Sky is regarded as a psychological thriller with several science fiction elements.
The film boasts a star-studded line-up: Tom Cruise, Penelope Cruz, and Cameron Diaz. Kurt Russel et cetera. It received several award nominations, including the Academy Award and the Golden Globe.
6. Stranger than Fiction
This is another movie like The Truman Show. If you enjoyed the Truman Show, the chances you would enjoy Stranger than Fiction are high.
Stranger than fiction was released in 2006 to largely positive reviews. It was directed by Marc Foster and produced by Lindsay Doran.
It also stars many stars such as Will Ferrell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman, Queen Latifah, Emma Thompson, et cetera.
The movie’s plot follows the life of an IRS (Internal Revenue Service) agent Harold Crick, played by Will Ferrell, who starts hearing a voice narrating his impending death.
The entire plot revolves around Harold Crick trying to prevent that from happening. This film again breaks the boundaries of our imagination, precisely like The Truman Show.
It is considered a fantasy comedy, precisely like The Truman Show. This is also one of the significant reasons it makes this exclusive list of movies like The Truman Show.
7. Simone
This movie boasts incredibly talented stars such as the versatile Al Pacino, Winona Ryder, Evan Rachel Wood, Catherine Kenner, et cetera.
It was directed, written, and produced by Andrew Niccol. It was released in 2002 to mixed reviews.
The film narrates the story of a director who is almost washed out who creates a virtual actress to act in his movies and the lengths he goes through to keep her virtual nature a secret as she becomes very famous.
The virtual actress goes on to win the Academy Awards for Best Actress. It enforces the idea that computers, robots, or the virtual world might replace most humans in their day-to-day jobs and even on our tv screens one day.
Once again, it pushes the boundaries of the imagination and dwells firmly on fantasy or science fiction, exactly like The Truman Show. This is also another movie like The Truman Show.
8. The Weather Man
This is generally considered a light-hearted comedy by all standards. It follows the life of a successful weatherman who was roundly hated by all and sundry.
He was regularly pelted on the streets by people who watched him on tv. The movie also explores his daddy issues which makes him feel increasingly irrelevant as he feels he can never easily measure up to his father, who won a Pulitzer Prize.
He eventually turns his life around by moving to New York and getting a better-paying weatherman gig, and taking up archery as a hobby.
David Spritz is the weatherman played by Nicholas Cage, and Robert Spritz, the father, was played by Michael Cain. Other notable cast members include Hope Davis, Nicholas Hoult, Michael Rispoli, Gil Bellows, et cetera.
It was released in 2005 to mainly mixed reviews. It did not do well at the box office, garnering only $19 million after using a budget of almost $22 million.
This is also one movie like the Truman Show. People who enjoyed watching the Truman Show are likely to enjoy the Weather Man.
Conclusion
The Truman Show was way ahead of its time. It was the first of its kind, and it took the world by storm, earning it several award nominations.
Movies similar to the Truman Show tend to be films that mirror the boundary-pushing nature of the Truman Show.
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