There's no avoiding the deja vu that comes while watching "EDtv," a comedy about a man whose life is being broadcast on television 24 hours a day.

But despite its surface similarities to "The Truman Show," "EDtv" is actually a radically different movie: Truman was not aware that his every move was being watched by a rapt worldwide audience, but the star of "EDtv" is a willing guinea pig.

"EDtv" is a shaggy, low-brow cousin to "The Truman Show," less concerned with satirizing the tube than with doodling on our celebrity-obsessed pop culture, in which just "appearing" on TV is enough to make you famous -- even if you have accomplished little of merit.

Ed Pekurny (played by Matthew McConaughey) certainly is no star. A likably doofy underachiever, he's 31, single and still toiling away as a video-store clerk, with no discernible plan.

But he still becomes the object of fanatical obsession for the riveted hordes of "EDtv" watchers, who are unduly transfixed by the sight of Ed going to work every day, romancing the camera-shy Shari (Jenna Elfman) and visiting his trashy relatives.

Director Ron Howard clumsily injects drama into the story by devoting too much screen time to Ed's discovery that his mother (Sally Kirkland) lied to him about the real reason why his biological father (Dennis Hopper) abandoned the family years ago.

"EDtv" also has a curiously dated feel: Its satire of stardom-for-stardom's sake is certainly not new, and the movie has little of substance to say about the growing phenomenon of reality television, other than to illustrate how the voyeuristic allure of such programs can make even the most mundane activity seem strangely compelling.

Still, the movie certainly gets its details right. One scene, in which the show's ratings go through the roof when Ed heads out on a hot date with a model (Elizabeth Hurley), will seem doubly funny to anyone who has obsessed over the vacuous antics of the self-obsessed young adults on MTV's "Real World."

And "EDtv's" star-studded cast adds considerably to its amiable appeal. The role of Ed gives McConaughey ("A Time to Kill") a perfect vehicle to flaunt his laid-back, natural movie-star magnetism. Elfman (from TV's "Dharma & Greg)" is good, too, as his love interest, bewildered by polls that show viewers think Ed could do much better than her.

Woody Harrelson hams it up amusingly as Ed's jealous older brother, who is driven to write a tell-all best seller. And Ellen DeGeneres steals every scene she's in as the programming executive who comes up with the idea. But despite its pleasures, "EDtv" still feels slight and disposable.

'EDtv'

Starring Matthew McConaughey, Jenna Elfman, Woody Harrelson, Ellen DeGeneres

Directed by Ron Howard

Released by Universal

Rated PG-13 (sex-related situations, partial nudity and crude language)

Running time: 122 minutes

Sun score: ** 1/2

Pub Date: 3/26/99