Several years ago Milos Forman glorified the despicable Larry Flynt in a move that was both phony and inaccurate. Now here we go again! Not nearly as contemptible as Flynt, Andy Kaufman was a non-star and manipulater and in many ways himself contemptible. But with Forman, who cares about facts when he has a movie and agenda to get across? Andy Kaufman made occasional guest appearances on Saturday Night Live in the Seventies; he was not a guest host. A few of his routines were mildly amusing such as the Mighty Mouse lip synch or the Elvis impersonation coming out of the Latka character. He then went on to a small role on the "Taxi" TV series as Latka - a one-note semi-joke built into a character, and that was contrived. After that he did appearances elsewhere.
Perhaps the most infamous of those appearances was on ABC's "Fridays" in 1981. That show was a very good Saturday Night Live clone that was unfortunately killed for Ted Koppell's program; that clearly was cost-cutting by ABC. Kaufman guest hosted and did all he could to screw things up by blowing lines, ad libbing in inappropriate places and generally making a jerk of himself. The cast looked embarrassed and producer Jack Burns (formerly part of a comedy team) attacked him on air. There was subsequently a running deal about Kaufman apologizing on air and coming back, ad nauseam.
There may be some question if the cast of "Fridays" was in on this, but Burns pulled his punches and clearly WAS in on it. And I have that on video. All Kaufman was doing was deliberately and with great calculation jerking around the audience and viewers with this phony act of chaos. AND THAT WAS KAUFMAN'S SPECIALITY.
He played mind games on audiences again and again, and the second most notorious piece of his schtick was boasting about beating women in wrestling - and then doing so. He once took on an extremely athletic Playboy centerfold named Susan Smith - and Andy needed a quick count from the ref to get a win. More mind games. When he took on a professional male wrestler he got pile-driven head first into the mat - and then walked around whining with a collar on for an allegedly damaged neck. By then Kaufman had zero credibility.
His playing with the audience's head ended with a rare form of lung cancer that killed him; he didn't smoke. The jerking around of the audience may have been an "in" joke to some - those who knew it was an act - but even at that level it had worn very thin. For other viewers it was cheap manipulation; style over substance. Kaufman was usually booed, and when smacked in the face by the wrestler who allegedly "injured" him on late night TV people cheered.
But now Forman has tried to make him some sort of inspired hero ahead of his time, in the Lenny Bruce mold. But he and Bruce were minor even in their own times.
Clearly Jim Carrey feels an affinity to Kaufman as they both have the same birthday. But Carrey, who often mugs and overacts painfully, is far more talented and accomplished already than Kaufman ever was. Perhaps people need to find idols and icons.
The movie itself features all of Kaufman's "comedy" bits well impersonated by Carrey. It jumps from one to another and is itself style over substance. I never did figure out why Kaufman did what he did. Were the mind games that he thought of a form of comedy and entertainment - or a substitute for creativity and talent? He may have thought them creative; most people at the time did NOT. Why did he feel the need to play with people's heads at all? The question was never answered for me.
If you were that minority of people from two decades ago who liked Kaufman you will love this movie. If you are gullible enough to believe the Forman version of facts and think Kaufman's stylistic antics were truly creative, well, you'll like the film too - and I'll bet they could also be sold the Brooklyn Bridge.
Thumbs down.
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