Cinematic Rubbernecking

Rating: 8/10 (14 June 2000)

Throughout this film, I didn't know whether or not to be impressed or disgusted by Andy Kaufman. I had the same feeling one might get while driving past a car wreck. We wonder, "Is the driver all right?" but even if that's not the case, it's hard to look away.
Was the "driver" in Andy Kaufman's head "all right"? The movie makes some hints that he was. It even drops some hints that he might have been beyond normal understanding and in some ways a genius. On the other hand, it also gives you the option of seeing him as a raving loon.
There is one aspect of this film that is not evident until the very last seconds (no, this is NOT a spoiler) that leads me to believe that a LOT of people saw him as a genius: many of the people who worked with him had cameos in the film in which they portrayed their shock and dismay, yet they were not listed in the credits. Was this an homage?
How often do celebrities spurn the scrolling letters at the end of the film? They DO often remove their names if they are disappointed in the movie, but since they were playing themselves, and were showing their shocked reactions, it's hard to see how leaving their names off the credits would be any kind of statement.
You couldn't have paid me to watch Andy Kaufman, but I think that underneath his heavy-handed theatrics he did have some kind of message. I'm not sure the writers of this movie knew what that message was, and I'm not sure if Kaufman knew. Something about the perception of reality? Programmed reactions? Our ability to be manipulated?
I'm going to be thinking about this movie for a long time.