Man on the Moon (1999)

reviewed by
Alex Ioshpe


DIRECTED BY: Milos Forman WRITTEN BY: Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski CAST: Jim Carrey, Danny DeVito, Courtney Love, Paul Giamatti

MPAA: Rated R.
Runtime: USA:118 
RATING:8/10 

"[...] All of the most important things in my life have been changed out and mixed up for dramatic purposes. So I decided to cut out all of the baloney. Now the movie is much shorter..In fact this is the end of the movie. Than you very much [...]"

Quick facts on front: this is a review that may contain some information that will certainly spoil your evening if you were planning to watch this movie. Second: though this picture is about the tragic life of a comedian / performer, comparisons to films such as "Lenny" are useless, because this film is mostly not like anything else. The director of this motion picture is Milos Forman, a man who has lived under the totalitarian regime and escaped it with his life and talent perfectly intact. That is probably why he showed a particular interest in people that dared to be different, that had the courage to go against the stream -- against the system. This devotion for the brave and original can be observed in Forman's films, most of which slightly fictionalized biographies that deal with men who are regarded as mavericks by society ("One Flew Over the Cokoo's Nest", "Amadeus", "People vs. Larry Flint"). Andy Kaufman fits perfectly into that description. Although we know very little about this man, we know one thing: he was not like everybody else. So who was Andy Kaufman? Andy Kaufman was (and still is) a man of mystery. He was not a comedian, not an actor, not a musician, but he was certainly an artist. The man that dared to be different. The man that dreamed about becoming the biggest star in the world and became exactly that. He provoked the audience, tricked and deceived us. This was his profession and his gift. He could provoke real emotions. Andy Kaufman was the most loved and most hated man in the 70s. A man that nobody really knew or understood. The world and everything in it was Kaufman's playground until he died of a sudden cancer at the age of 35.

This information is certainly not excessive. It proves that we do not know much about this man. And the film was going to make it all more clearer, since it is Forman's tribute to Andy Kaufman and his work. Or at least it is supposed to be. What it is, is simply a duplication of Kaufman's most famous performances. It begins in a bizarre and unexpected way as Jim Carey approaches the screen -- looking and acting like Andy Kaufman, saying in the famous Latka-voice "Hello. I am Andy. Welcome to my movie". You have to admit that it is an original innovation. Regrettably from that moment the film enters a certain trance as we are forever stuck as audience members in Kaufman's show, not able to come closer to him as a person. First he creates the insecure and stiff foreigner (who is better known as Latka from TV-show "Taxi"), then he does an Elvis Presley imitation, then he starts wrestling with women, then he invents another character and it goes on and on and on. In addition to the Taxi and SNL bits, many of Kaufman's public appearances are resurrected, including an infamous guest spot on David Letterman's show. This is all very entertaining, because of Jim Carey performance (which by the way truly elevates the film to a new level), but it is also deluding and confusing. We long to finally get behind the masks and illusions -- to the real Andy Kaufman. Unfortunately Forman seems to be much more interested in Kaufman's career than his personality, and all we get is a couple of sentences like: "The world is an illusion" and "We shouldn't take our selves too seriously". Of the two hours that the film goes on, 1 hour and 30 minutes are practically an endless Kaufman show. It's not that it is not interesting or funny. It certainly is, and it may very well be that there is no body who have seen "the real" Kaufman; that he never completely revealed himself to anyone. There is in fact a moment in the film where Kaufman becomes so adept at the art of deception and illusion that, when he discovers he has terminal cancer, no o n family views it as the latest in a series of cruel practical jokes and believes that his doctor is a paid actor. Like the boy who has cried wolf once too often, Kaufman must struggle to convince those around him that, for once, he is serious. This is something that happens at the very end, and is a territory that is never quite explored. Forman doesn't even try. To me it was the biggest disappointment. However there are moments when the screen gets simply positively radiant, when Forman creates pure magic. When the film is moving to the end and Forman decides to "cut out all of the baloney", then some very interesting things start happening. In the end "Man on the Moon" manages to generate emotions, be that laughter or tears, and it never seems to push for either. You might wonder about how it is possible, if indeed I am right and most of the film is just jokes and scams. It is difficult to explain, but I believe that the original material was created by Andy Kaufman himself, who could touch our hearts and provoke reactions and emotions, and I think that Jim Carey manages to do the same. He completes the transition from off-the-wall comedian to serious actor that he began in The Truman Show. Not only does Carrey imitate Kaufman almost perfectly (including matching his trademark "Thank you very much"), but he employs this mimicry in the service of a compelling performance. The forcefulness with which the film conveys Kaufman's character is as much a function of Carrey's portrayal as it is of the script from which he is working. This is a role that Carrey, a lifelong Kaufman fan, wanted desperately, and, once he got it, he poured every ounce of his talent into his work. It would be a disgrace to not nominate Carrey for an Academy Award this year. As for the film itself, it never seems boring or disappointing in any way, and it certainly pays enough respect to the artist that Andy Kaufman was. "Thank you very much"


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