Themes: Pygmalion Stories, Social Climbing, Faltering Friendships
Main Cast: Michael Panes, Cheri Oteri, Jane Lynch, Peter Dinklage, Sam Robards
Release Year: 2004
Country: US
Run Time: 89 minutes
Plot
A reality show contestant who lost 150 pounds and gained a cool one million dollars falls prey to the capitalistic excess of the jet set as Dummy director Greg Pritikin sets his satirical sights on the Hollywood hangers-on who linger for far too long after their 15 minutes are up. Dennis Flotchky (Michael Panes) was an overweight loser with no money and few friends when he first applied for a role on television's top reality game show. All of that quickly changes, however, when Dennis endures to outwit, outlast, and outplay his fellow contestants while simultaneously dropping the majority of his excess weight and becoming a millionaire in the process. Now a celebrity wannabe whose face fills the tabloids and whose fortune is fast being depleted, Dennis must make a quick recovery before the vultures circling overhead swoop down to pick him clean of every last penny and tear away every remaining ounce of his self-respect. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Review
It would seem like a satirical look at reality television would write itself, and maybe that's the problem with Greg Pritikin's Surviving Eden. Perhaps the writer/director simply assumed that setting up a basic situation would be enough to inspire him on the set to fill out the story in a lively, amusing, insightful way. That's not what happened. Eden is, indeed, a surprisingly boring film, one that is severely lacking in laughs. Attempted gags it has. Misfires it has. Laughs? Not so much. There are a couple of good visual gags, a few good lines scattered throughout, and one or two "incongruity" jokes that really ring. Otherwise, it's pretty arid. Worse, Pritikin seems to think that mockery in and of itself can carry a film for an hour and a half. Clearly inspired by some of Christopher Guest's work, Pritikin doesn't seem to have glommed on to the fact that Guest's films work because there's genuine wit behind their conception and because, however, silly or ridiculous his characters may be, they're treated with affection. Eden's characters are treated with contempt, and indeed deserve nothing else. Unfortunately, contempt grows thin without a master providing insight and humor. The cast tries hard, but only Jane Lynch truly succeeds in rising above the material and turning the dross given her into something that's at least gold-plated. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
