Bizarre but good

Rating: 7/10 (13 January 2007)

You all know that the world becomes crazier and crazier. With our jobs, our occupations, our families and our ruled-by-the-clock existence, we could believe that we just can't afford the risk of losing our seriousness. But anybody will tell you that getting some good laughing will help feeling better.
"Man on the Moon", a biopic based on the life of Andy Kaufman, acts as a strong message. It shows that annihilating every bit of seriousness can become a threat and not a remedy.
Directing a movie about Kaufman is very complex because the guy himself is very complex. Apart from his name, it was impossible to define Andy Kaufman. He was not an actor, neither a humorist, and especially not a comedian. "I'm not a comic!", says Kaufman himself in the beginning of the movie.
So, Kaufman is Kaufman. And what about his performances? Easier to categorize? Well, what would you say about an artist who reads Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" until the audience leaves or falls asleep, play conga drums restlessly and wrestles with women? Jim Carrey is the ideal guy to personify Kaufman. Not only does the physical resemblance is convincing, but Carrey himself is an out-of-ordinary actor who performed many different (and bizarre) roles since the beginning of his career.
Here, Carrey gets the jackpot. He gets profit from his emerging dramatic talent, but he stays in contact with his manic and hilarious manners, especially when he's on stage or on air. Carrey perfectly switches from the childlike Latka to Elvis Presley to the unforgettable Tony Clifton, Kaufman's stage alter-ego, who is also an horrible lounge singer and a dreadful person.
So, the character is bizarre and the actor is bizarre. Could the movie itself be bizarre too? Yes, it could and it is! Especially at the beginning. Frankly, have you ever seen a movie beginning with the end credits? The movie is good, but there's something missing. Or too many things. I think that both statements are true. There's something missing, because Kaufman did many more sketches than those presented here and it doesn't do justice to him. However, the movie performances are some of the most memorable of his career, but there are many, many of them and the movie becomes overloaded.
Apart from Carrey, there are not many important characters. Courtney Love appears as Kaufman's girlfriend but their relationship doesn't look very real. I'd say that the relationship between Kaufman and his manager George Shapiro, played by Danny De Vito, is far more personal and interesting.
"Man on the Moon" feels more magical and surprising when you watch it for the first time, because there are many unexpected events which don't share the same appeal once you see them for the second time. Those who watched Kaufman performing know these events. There's the famous "Fridays" opening show on NBC, the Kaufman-Lawler incident and the 'death' of Eleanor Cody Gould on the Carnegie Hall stage.
"Man on the Moon" is not a perfect movie, but it has some charm and its unusual content makes it worth a watch. You'll laugh a lot and you'll feel like you're a member of the "Saturday Night Live" or "Taxi" audiences. So, why should you avoid it?