Breathtakingly dull

Rating: Null/10 (9 November 1999)

After a brilliant opening sequence, the film lapses into TV movie-of-the-week mode, offering a paint-by-numbers script that does little to delve into what made Kaufman tick (his motivations for some of his more outlandish behavior go completely unexplained). It also didn't do a very thorough job of explaining his celebrity--his standup routines seem lame and stilted, leaving many people in at least my screening audience to wonder what ever made him popular in the first place. His club audiences in the movie, however, roar with atrociously exaggerated delight over every little facial nuance of his. It just doesn't work.
Furthermore, the movie lacked any real visual flair, which was a real surprise coming from a talent like Forman. While Carrey did an admirable job of capturing Kaufman's mannerisms, trust me when I say you've seen this schmaltz before on NBC and CBS. Pointless flashbacks. Rote relationship conflicts. "I'm an underappreciated genius." Ugh. The final frames of the film leave the audience wondering what this guy EVER did to warrant being labeled a "comedian," outside of a somewhat memorable (though minor) character on "Taxi".