Montreal. Louis Jobin is an ordinary salesman in an electronics store who dreams of being a star. He applies for a new reality TV show on channel 19 which aims to broadcast someone's life 24/7, and the TV director Charlotte surprisingly picks him since she searches for the most mediocre everyman. A cameraman follows Louis everywhere, the only exception being the toilet. Gaining publicity with time, sponsors and actresses who seek self-promotion show up. When Louis' apartment is robbed, sponsors buy him complete new furniture for product placement. Louis meets struggling actress Julie and starts a relationship with her, but is angry when he finds out Charlotte just hired her for higher ratings. Finally, Louis and Julie feign they are about to have sex, so the TV producers shut down the program. Louis and Julie are thus freed from their contracts and can enjoy their privacy again.
Four years before "The Truman Show", Canadian cinema released this satirical comedy which predicted 24/7 reality TV shows, displaying remarkably grand vision, despite a modest budget outside of Hollywood. "Louis 19, King of the Airwaves" is a light comedy that lacks more sharpness or ingenuity, but it has spirit. The concept in which a bland everyman from the title is pushed as a TV star of a channel is funny in itself, and the story shows how fame is sometimes built around completely bland people, but also slyly shows how fame changes someone's life. For instance, at a dance party, an attractive woman who in real life would have never even considered talking to Louis, approaches and kisses him, but then reveals she is a model looking for a job, as she looks into the camera, trying to promote herself and give her phone number, but then the angry Louis just leaves. One of the best jokes is when a woman and a man are talking at a table in a cafe, discussing how Louis' show "revives the golden age of cinema verité" and "merges it with Quebec's culinary heritage", until the woman concludes: "We have to investigate to find out if it's not a concept stolen from the Americans". After an argument, the screen does not miss an opportunity for product placement, as it shows the mother crying and says: "This argument between Louis and his mother was brought to you by Chebon". Even more comical is that people then suddenly start attacking Louis while walking on the street, not forgiving him for treating his mother like that, so a grandmother aims her remote control directly at Louis in front of her and clicks it. The movie is slow and somehow has difficulties keeping its content engaging. Maybe the thing is that Louis is simply not that engaging nor charismatic to attract the cinema viewers. But it has several subtle themes (the decadence of media; two-faced people who are only your friends if they have some use from you...), whereas it is unbelievable that "The Truman Show" even used several plot points from it (for instance, at one point the hero escapes from the cameras, triggering a city-wide search).
Grade:++
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