If you believe they put a man on the moon...

Rating: 10/10 (13 February 2000)

Andy Kaufman has come alive in Man on the Moon, the movie based on his own life. They say that Jim Carrey is the star of this movie but I certainly never saw him. Instead I saw Jim Carrey as Andy Kaufman. Not the Jim Carrey of Dumb and Dumber or Ace Ventura or even The Truman Show. There were no usual, obnoxious, gross Jim Carrey jokes. Instead Jim Carrey is Andy Kaufman in Man on the Moon. The one thing that makes this movie special is Carrey's `performance' which I think you can hardly call a performance because it is beyond that of a performance. He does something with his character of Andy Kaufman that we have rarely seen before. Something like Tom Hanks did with his character named Forrest Gump. Like Hanks, Carrey fuels the movie with his portrayal. Carrey does everything perfect as Kaufman including the nervous looks, the many voices, and the multiple egos that Andy had. Carrey not only portrays Andy Kaufman perfectly but all of Andy's characters including Taxi's Latka, the infamous Tony Clifton, and even Elvis perfectly. He is especially good as Tony Clifton, the Vegas lounge singer who to this day is still a mystery. Tony produces many of the laughs in Man on the Moon with his highly offensive behavior that often includes making fun of others. Carrey also recreates many of Kaufman's acts throughout the movie including ones on Taxi, Carnegie Hall, and Saturday Night Live. These recreated shows are some of the most interesting things about Man on the Moon due to the fact of how accurate they are. Some of the other stunts recreated in this movie are Andy's infamous appearances on The David Letterman Show and his highly controversial wrestling matches with whom he wrestled women. All of this is highly entertaining to watch and will make you love and hate Andy Kaufman's character all at the same time. However, Man on the Moon is not just a movie about Andy's acts and many different personalities. It is a movie about Andy as a person. It shows with much heart and feeling how Andy was affected by his many triumphs and tragedies. How he rejoiced when leaving Taxi and how his whole world was an act with him playing the main character. He was in character all the time never coming out. Never revealing his true nature to anyone, not even himself. There never was a `real' Andy. It shows how he always would almost abuse the crowd always making them angry with him and making the tension build between the audience and himself. If he did not like the audience he would simply bore them but if they were a good crowd going along with his never before seen humor and antics he would please them and try to put on his best show for them. Andy never liked to be recognized for just one character like he was for many years with Latka. He wanted people to know him as his many personalities not just singling out one character to know him as. His famous run on Taxi was the thing that made him characterized as Latka for those many years. One of the best parts in the movie comes when Andy is trying to do his act while everyone in the audience is yelling for him to do Latka. This of course makes Andy mad and very disgusted with the crowd. So instead of doing his act Andy decides to bore the audience by reading The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. He does not stop until the whole book from cover to cover is complete. When he looks up after the act is over and after finishing the book the few members of the audience who are left are asleep. This might well be the best scene in Man on the Moon. A great supporting cast and a legendary director back up Jim Carrey in this superb movie. Paul Giamatti, whom I am sure you have seen before as either the notorious `Pig Vomit' in Private Parts, Ed Harris' assistant in The Truman Show, the reluctant hostage in The Negotiator, or as the soldier who knocked down the wall while trying to get a rock out of his boot in Saving Private Ryan, plays Bob Zmuda. Zmuda is Andy's writer and partner in crime who helps Andy think up his many acts, stunts, and pranks. Zmuda is the best supporting character in Man on the Moon. Danny DeVito plays George Shapiro, Andy's agent. You may remember DeVito was one of Andy's fellow cast mates in Taxi. DeVito also serves as one of the producers of the film. His performance is solid but nothing special. Courtney Love (The People vs. Larry Flynt) plays Lynne, Andy's wife. She does a decent job and seems to have good chemistry with Carrey. The are a number of cameos in this movie including ones by Christopher Lloyd and Jerry Lawler who both portray themselves. The renowned Milos Forman expertly directs Man on the Moon. He is well known for his works such as One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest and Amadeus which both earned him an Academy Award. He puts his expertise into Man on the Moon to make it a great picture. Man on the Moon should appeal to many people. Kaufman fan's or not they will enjoy this movie and have a great time seeing it. If you do not like Andy and his brand of humor you still might be satisfied with this movie because watching Jim Carrey at work as Andy Kaufman is an incredible thing. If nothing else see this movie for Carrey's performance alone. The best thing that Man on the Moon does is it does not try to explain why Andy did what he did or why Andy was why he was. Both of these things are unexplainable and if this movie had attempted that it would have turned into one big mess. It simply shows who Andy was and it makes you laugh and cry along with him. It makes you appreciate Andy and his style of humor and it makes you want to see more of him. Man on the Moon forces you to become emotionally involved with Andy and his life. But Man on the Moon ultimately makes you wish Andy were still with us making us mad and stirring up controversy. ****(cinematic ecstasy)