An unsatisfying biopic

Rating: Null/10 (10 January 2000)

As a die-hard fan of Andy Kaufman, I am upset to be so disappointed with his long-awaited film biography. While _Man on the Moon_ is a well-made film, it presents a portrait of the comedian that simply does not ring true. I understand that Kaufman was a complex individual whose life cannot be summed up in a satisfying package. But this movie leaves out the one important aspect of Kaufman's multiple personalities that made him bearable and entertaining: his innate sweetness.
Jim Carrey does a good job of aping Kaufman's mannerisms, and he does manage to create a three-dimensional, interesting character. However, his performance is too brutish, too physically intimidating, to really capture what made Kaufman appealing. Carrey's Kaufman is a complete pain and everyone around him knows it. The film makes no attempt to explain why George Shapiro promoted the renegade comedian so relentlessly; why Bob Zmuda put up with his bullying; why his parents and his girlfriend weathered the cruelty of his gags; why the entire cast of "Taxi" admired him despite his prima donna status and his self-centered shenanigans; or why anyone would make a movie honoring such a mean-spirited individual.
Whether or not Kaufman was "nice" is a subject for endless debate. In interviews concerning Kaufman, his onetime colleagues almost unanimously discuss his good-natured sweetness, his generosity, and his boundless creativity. It seems incongruous that the selfish star Carrey portrays would inspire such adulation.
At the same time, the movie soft-pedals Kaufman's more irritating moments as well. When he reads the entire _Great Gatsby_ to his audience, Forman underscores the scene with an orchestral adaptation of the movie's theme song, as if to say "What a misunderstood genius!," giving the scene an elegiac quality that is completely misplaced. Even when Kaufman's acts fail, we are made to feel that audiences were wrong to walk out on him.
As a result, the movie is tremendously unsatisfying. We are left with no idea why anyone would ever find Kaufman appealing. As a Kaufman fan, I could at last admire the last moments of the picture for their touching portrayal of Kaufman's battle with cancer. But I am dismayed to think that for many audience members Carrey's portrayal will be the closest they come to experiencing Andy Kaufman's comic talents.