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Man On The Moon [1999]


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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

"There is no real you," jokes Lynn Margulies (Courtney Love) to her boyfriend, Andy Kaufman (Jim Carrey), as he grows more contemplative during a battle with cancer. "I forgot," he says, playing along, though the question of Kaufman's reality is always at issue in Milos Forman's underappreciated Man on the Moon.

The story of Kaufman's quick rise to fame through early appearances on Saturday Night Live and the conceptual stunts that made his club and concert appearances an instant legend in the irony-fueled 1970s and early '80s, Man on the Moon never makes the mistake of artificially delineating Comic Andy from Private Andy. True, we get to see something of his private interest in meditation and some of the flakier extremes of alternative medicine, but even these interludes suggest the presence of an ultimate con behind apparent miracles of transformation.

Screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski (The People vs. Larry Flynt) allege that transformation was Kaufman's purpose--more than a shtick but less than a destiny. As we see him constantly up the ante on the credibility of his performance personae (the obnoxious nightclub comic Tony Clifton; the insulting, misogynistic professional wrestler), Forman makes it harder and harder to detect Kaufman's sleight of hand. But it's there, always there, always the transcendent Andy watching the havoc he creates and the emotions he stirs.

Carrey is magnificent as Kaufman, re-creating uncannily detailed comedy pieces etched in the memory of anyone who remembers the real Andy. But while Carrey's mimicry of Kaufman is flawless and funny, the actor probes much deeper into an enigmatic character who, in life, was often a moving target even for those closest to him. --Tom Keogh


Brilliant Film
Review date: 2008-10-04 Rating: 10 out of 10

I first saw this film years ago and enjoyed it but have only recently got back into after seeing it again several years later and even though I like Jim Carrey in other films like "The Majestic" I think this is the film he should have won the awards for. I don't know of much work by the real Andy Kaufman but I like to see a performance where the actor is playing a real person rather than just a character from a script and for Jim Carrey that role is in this film which I think he is spot on with from what I have seen of the real Andy Kaufman.

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Reviews


Me Over The Moon
Review date: 2007-01-26 Rating: 10 out of 10

I thought this film was good until I watched a documentary on the Biography channel and I started doing my own research about Andy Kaufman and I realised that Jim Carrey is a Genuis. If you see actual footage of Kaufman doing Mighty Mouse, Foreign Man, Tony Clifton & Latka you will realise that Jim Carrey must have spent months as he has recreated the character to perfection. It is actually scary when you see real Kaufman footage and watch "Man on the moon" as Carrey is flawless. Sometimes you get lost of what is really Kaufman and what is the movie as it identical in every detail. I read an artical about this movie and Jim Carrey spent so much time getting into character that on set he would act like Andy Kaufman (Or whatever character he was playing that day). People had to call him Andy and he would spend days in Character on and off set. You can tell the Carrey studied this and it shows - As you can guess this is one of my favourite films ever.

Thank you very much.
Review date: 2006-07-16 Rating: 10 out of 10

Man on the Moon, a movie I watched purely because I liked the REM track, a movie I thoroughly enjoyed. In fact I enjoyed it so much I bought a copy. The movie itself represents some of Jim Carrey's finest work in creating an accurate and believable representation of the often controversial but always hilarious Andy Kaufman.

Through Carrey's performance we see the conception and development of Kaufman's favourite characters, his goofy Elvis, the obnoxious Tony Clifton and Taxi's Latka Gravas. We also see some of Kaufman's off the wall comic genius replicated by Carrey, some of Andy's bad taste gags, and in my opinion the best presentation from beyond the grave that I've ever seen.

Most of us in the UK know Andy Kaufman only as Latka in his grubby white overalls and his squeaky staccato speech, but this movie shows us that Andy was so much more. His cross-gender wrestling was both bizarre and hysterically funny, his mad cap Saturday Night live performances (I'll never watch Mighty Mouse the same way again!), and his almost psychopathic desire to make people laugh.

A great movie and in the words of Latka the best mechanic in New York, "Thank you very much!"

Impressive
Review date: 2005-11-17 Rating: 10 out of 10

This is absolutely the best Jim Carrey I have ever seen. The story about Andy Kaufman is of course very much summarized in this movie but in my opinion it sketches a solid picture of the man who was best known in Europe for his role in Taxi (Latka) but in the US was known as a very controversial comedian (and cross gender wrestler). Jim Carrey plays the role of Andy with very much confidence and depth and Danny DeVito is much better then in most of his roles. Anyone who liked Eternal Sunshine should see this performance by Jim Carrey!

Intriguing
Review date: 2005-08-09 Rating: 6 out of 10

Man On The Moon is just like watching Andy Kaufman - funny at times but with long stretches finding yourself feeling slightly confused and uncomfortable.

Carey's performance is undoubtedly good; he's obviously put in a lot of hard work for the role. His 'Foreign Man' and Tony Clifton are very good, and he's unexpectedly believable as Kaufman. However I found the film clumsy at times. There is no real sense of timescale as Kaufman's career progresses, and the introduction of Courtney Love as a love interest is neither here nor there. The movie toys with the idea of exploring the multiple facets of the comic, including the 'real' Kaufman, but never really achieves any depth and ultimately fails in this respect. Paul Giamatti and Danny Devito don't have the meatiest of roles and you get the feeling Courtney Love was left largely on the editing room floor.

If Man On The Moon wasn't based on a true story I might not recommend it. But the story of Andy Kaufman is absolutely enthralling and, along with Carey's enthusiastic performance, carries the film. Worth seeing.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Paul Giamatti
Danny De Vito
Courtney Love
Jim Carrey

Creators:
Jim Carrey (Primary Contributor)
Danny De Vito (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Universal Pictures UK
Manufacturer: Universal Pictures UK
EAN: 5050582336986
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Widescreen, PAL,
Release date: 2005-04-04
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 113 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1999
Language: English (Original Language)

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