by Lars Lindahl (c) 1999 Lars Lindahl
Man on the Moon (1999)
Directed by Milos Forman Written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski
Starring Jim Carrey, Danny Devito, Courtney Love, Paul Giamatti, Vincent Schiavelli, Caroline Rhea, Norm Macdonald, Jerry Lawler, Marilu Henner, Jeff Conaway, Christopher Lloyd, Judd Hirsch, David Letterman, Lorne Michaels, Paul Shaffer, Bob Zmuda, and George Shapiro.
Grade **1/2 (out of four)
`Man on the Moon' is a very entertaining documentation of the life of eccentric comedian Andy Kaufman. Played with amazing accuracy by Jim Carrey, Kaufman is portrayed as the man who broke all the rules to make people laugh, or in some cases to make people extremely upset. In a series of hoaxes and controversies concerning whether the audacious performances Kaufman put on were real or not, we learn that Kaufman was a pure genius at what he did. The director, Milos Forman, shows us that Kaufman's whole life was one big joke with twists at every corner that left audiences surprised, embarrassed, and eventually wanting more of him. We learn that Kaufman's ability to fool the public made him one of the greatest entertainers in American history. Forman shows us act after act to plaster this statement into our minds. What Forman does not inform the audience is enough about Kaufman's life off of the camera or off the stage. There are a few scenes examining his childhood and his later years in which he suffered from cancer, but certainly not enough. The conclusion of this film could be the same from seeing a documentary on Kaufman. Both just focus on his performances, the slight difference is that `Man on the Moon' has several shots of the audience's reactions to Kaufman's shenanigans, from confusion to drunkenness. This difference between the film and a documentary already made on Kaufman is very small and useless because it does not matter how the audience reacts to it but rather how you, yourself, react to it emotionally. Another problem with `Man on the Moon' is that it gives away too much information about Kaufman's acts. Prior to this film, the acts had a perfectly ambiguous feel to them because you never knew exactly what was going on or who was behind them. This feel was mainly what makes Kaufman so amusing to watch and listen to. When the film displays each act, later it inevitably discusses how they were done and unfortunately takes a little away from the enjoyment of the actual Kaufman. I do not know how Forman could have avoided explaining situations, so I am a little confused about why this film was even made. Maybe because Kaufman's life was a perfect formula for a Hollywood tale; he was funny, iconoclastic, and died at an early age. But the film ruins some of Kaufman's mysteriousness and it doesn't explain Kaufman's background, which is the only information not well known by the older aged public.
Still `Man on the Moon' is entertaining nonetheless thanks to an incredible performance by Jim Carrey who becomes Kaufman. His mannerisms and voices are so incredible that it is obvious Carrey did a vast amount of research for his role. This is by far Carrey's best role ever and with his previous film, `The Truman Show,' Carrey is hushing critics who have once derided him. He is now the master of dramatic comedies since Robin Williams has been lagging lately with some unsatisfactory titles to his name. Another snub by the Academy Awards against Carrey would be completely unacceptable. He should not only be nominated but he should also win for best actor.
Jim Carrey is also helped by some fine supporting actors in Paul Giamatti and Danny Devito. Playing Bob Zmuda and George Shapiro respectively, they allow Carrey to soar even more with some witty one-liners and some fine acting. Courtney Love was unfortunately wasted in her role. It was simply too brief and ineffective. It seemed like the movie would not have been any better or worse without her. Also deserving credit are a number of actors playing themselves in cameo roles. To see them as they did fifteen years ago was humorous, especially a zany Christopher Lloyd doing his Taxi character with the hair and everything.
`Man on the Moon' is as entertaining as any movie this year. It is funny and extremely accurate in its portrayal. It may be a great educational film for younger generations not introduced to Andy Kaufman's strange world. They see that this comedian was wilder and funnier than his time and maybe even the present time. The world has yet to catch up to Kaufman's eccentricity. For older generations however, the film presents nothing new. Kaufman's life outside of the entertainment industry is very brief. He was one of the great introverts of entertainment and unfortunately remains one into the year 2000.
Grade: **1/2 (out of four)
(c) 1999 Lars Lindahl
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