Who knows what made Andy Kaufman tick?

Rating: 8/10 (10 January 2000)

There has been much panning of this film because it does not delve into Kaufman's inner workings. The people who were the harshest most probably had not viewed "I'm From Hollywood" or "A Comedy Salute To Andy Kaufman" before watching "Man On The Moon." Andy was best known as the adorable Latka on Taxi, but his other characters were focused on much more. This film made many people uncomfortable because you're not supposed to laugh at some obnoxious person named Tony Clifton degrading and spilling beer on his audience. As I laughed aloud, almost through the entire picture, it was almost more funny to see the audience reacting to the few people laughing than the film itself. Most people unfamiliar with Andy Kaufman's deeds during his career have misguidedly labelled "Man On The Moon" as shallow, and although almost all critics have recognized Jim Carrey's performance as truly impressive and unique he is likely to get snubbed again in the 2000 Academy Awards. The truth is, probably no one knew or knows what made Kaufman tick, but who cares. His legacy survives as a comic pioneer not because of who he was, but what he did. "Man On The Moon" fell out of the top ten at the box office in mere weeks because of what it is, an inside joke for all Kaufman fans.