Dennis is an overweight, introverted loser whose life is turned upside down when his best friend enters him as a contestant in the latest reality TV show craze called Surviving Eden. The film follows him from his humble beginnings through his rise to instant stardom and his full fifteen minutes of fame, along the way skewering the Hollywood publicity machine and especially the reality show genre that so easily creates and discards its stars.
The film is shot in the style of a mockumentary, opening with Dennis’s pre-celebrity life as a complete nobody whose only friends are his protective mother (Conchata Ferrell) and his annoying roommate, Sterno (Peter Dinklage). Fittingly, Dennis is played by virtual unknown Michael Panes, making it easy for the audience to identify with him as a new celebrity.
When the producers of the hit Survivor clone Surviving Eden receive his audition tape from Sterno, they’re instantly intrigued by the idea of casting such an unlikely contestant, especially when they learn that his submission was a prank. Dennis isn’t sure why he agrees to appear on the show, although he harbors hope of meeting a nice girl since he isn’t making any progress in his regular life. Of course he goes on to win the show and loses all of his excess weight along the way, setting up his entry into the world of instant celebrity.
The cast is rounded out with strong supporting characters including SNL alum Cheri Oteri as a manipulative, crazed contestant, legendary director John Landis as the production company’s psychologist, and Sam Robards and Jane Lynch as the slick, slimy show producers. Robards and Lynch especially play characters that couldn’t exist anywhere else but Hollywood, flaunting their coke use, a low budget economic model that maximizes profits for themselves, and engaging in heated diatribes about ridiculous topics such as the predilection of their show’s host for wearing flak jackets in every show.
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