Jim Carry *is* Andy Kaufman

Rating: Null/10 (3 January 2000)

It seems that one's impression of this film is going to be largely dependent on one's impression of Andy Kaufman. I hesitate to call myself a fan of his.. I don't know that you can truly be a "fan" of Kaufman's. He didn't want "fans" and in fact, often tried to create the exact opposite- enemies. I do appreciate his work and what he was trying to do though, so I went into this movie hoping to get a glimpse of the mind behind the man.
Jim Carrey is absolute brilliant as Kaufman, encompassing the late performer so completely that often it was hard to believe I *wasn't* looking at Andy himself. He recreates some of the best and most famous of Kaufman's performances and if you loved or hated them originally, you will feel the same here.
However, after the recreations of what I already knew, I was hoping to see what led Andy to perform the way he did. What motivated him? Why was he so dead set against ever letting the audience in on the joke (his one-upping the executive after the "Fridays" staged argument) These questions the film doesn't answer. Perhaps this is in keeping true to Andy's enigmatic persona but in a bio-pic I expect these kinds of revelations more than just finding out the truth about him & Jerry Lawler.
Speaking of the wrestling. Way too much of this too-short film is dedicated to Andy's "wrestling" career. Now, in all fairness, too much of Andy's life was dedicated to his wrestling career as well, but that doesn't mean the filmmakers have to make the same mistake.
Here's to hoping there is a 3 1/2 director's cut lying around somewhere that gives more background on this fascinating performer.