Too conventional, but very well done conventionality

Rating: 7/10 (15 January 2000)

To truly capture the spirit of Andy Kaufmann, the movie should have been much more experimental in style, not Hollywoodizing so much the life of the man who was to comedy what John Cage is to classical music. The one thing Andy himself would have liked the film is the last scene. If you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about and if you haven't, I won't ruin it for you. Enough criticism, let me tell you what's good about it. Although I believe a conventional biography format was wrong for this film, it was still a very, very good conventional biography. I was a fan of Andy long before it was fashionable, and I've seen as much of his work as anyone of my generation (Andy died when I was 4), and Jim Carrey does such a good job that at some points (especially Mighty Mouse and The Great Gatsby) I actually forgot it wasn't really Andy playing himself. That's how good the performance is.