Interesting and watchable portrait of a professional dysfunctional

Rating: 7/10 (18 January 2006)

When Elvis died some wag said "smart career move" and the same line can be borrowed for the subject of this film. Andy Kaufmann was half a good comedian -- half a weirdo so you could either laugh at him or with him (or not at all). You could even do a bit of both. His premature death allows him to be remember as a pioneer of alternative comedy rather than a cult performer who believed that simply by reversing expectation you could get a laugh or "an experience" -- even if you were the only one laughing or having the experience!
This bio takes the view that the real Andy was a bore and a loon and we spend most of our time looking at the on-stage version. The best and the worst of his gags that seem aimed to alienate any audience other than the doped-out college one (where there was never an empty seat according to this!) When he got voted off Saturday Night Live "for life" that was what the US audience really felt about him -- a one joke crank that they were tired of. Not that he thought of himself as a comedian -- he never told jokes per se.
Milos Foreman took on this project as part of his late "sleeping" period and just lets the camera run and run from middle distance. Film other material like this and it would look like a TV movie. The technique of looking at members of the audience to underline reaction is overused. Every one of them -- it seems -- wearing a brightly coloured shirt with a big collar!
Jim Carey is a natural for this type of material. He manages to look surprisingly like his target although he is a better and more rounded comedian. He is a first division comedian (he could sell out any venue in the world in minutes!) imitating a second division one. It would have been interesting to see a non comedian try and tackle the role and do all the stage business just to see how they would have coped. Or not.
All comedians think up wild ideas and stunts (indeed we all do) but very few of us act on them. AK did act on those impulses and while some are funny (or interesting) others are gross and simply rude. Andy, death took your life, but it saved your reputation. Your best ever gag.