Man on the Moon Review
by "Alex Ioshpe" (ioshpe AT online DOT no)November 6th, 2000
DIRECTED BY: Milos Forman
WRITTEN BY: Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski
CAST: Jim Carrey, Danny DeVito, Courtney Love, Paul Giamatti
MPAA: Rated R.
Runtime: USA:118
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RATING:8/10
"[...] All of the most important things in my life have been changed
out and mixed up for dramatic purposes. So I decided to cut out all of
the baloney. Now the movie is much shorter..In fact this is the end of
the movie. Than you very much [...]"
Quick facts on front: this is a review that may contain some
information that will certainly spoil your evening if you were
planning to watch this movie. Second: though this picture is about the
tragic life of a comedian / performer, comparisons to films such as
"Lenny" are useless, because this film is mostly not like anything
else. The director of this motion picture is Milos Forman, a man who
has lived under the totalitarian regime and escaped it with his life
and talent perfectly intact. That is probably why he showed a
particular interest in people that dared to be different, that had the
courage to go against the stream -- against the system. This devotion
for the brave and original can be observed in Forman's films, most of
which slightly fictionalized biographies that deal with men who are
regarded as mavericks by society ("One Flew Over the Cokoo's Nest",
"Amadeus", "People vs. Larry Flint"). Andy Kaufman fits perfectly into
that description. Although we know very little about this man, we know
one thing: he was not like everybody else. So who was Andy Kaufman?
Andy Kaufman was (and still is) a man of mystery. He was not a
comedian, not an actor, not a musician, but he was certainly an
artist. The man that dared to be different. The man that dreamed about
becoming the biggest star in the world and became exactly that. He
provoked the audience, tricked and deceived us. This was his
profession and his gift. He could provoke real emotions. Andy Kaufman
was the most loved and most hated man in the 70s. A man that nobody
really knew or understood. The world and everything in it was
Kaufman's playground until he died of a sudden cancer at the age of
35.
This information is certainly not excessive. It proves that we do not
know much about this man. And the film was going to make it all more
clearer, since it is Forman's tribute to Andy Kaufman and his work. Or
at least it is supposed to be. What it is, is simply a duplication of
Kaufman's most famous performances. It begins in a bizarre and
unexpected way as Jim Carey approaches the screen -- looking and
acting like Andy Kaufman, saying in the famous Latka-voice "Hello. I
am Andy. Welcome to my movie". You have to admit that it is an
original innovation. Regrettably from that moment the film enters a
certain trance as we are forever stuck as audience members in
Kaufman's show, not able to come closer to him as a person. First he
creates the insecure and stiff foreigner (who is better known as Latka
from TV-show "Taxi"), then he does an Elvis Presley imitation, then he
starts wrestling with women, then he invents another character and it
goes on and on and on. In addition to the Taxi and SNL bits, many of
Kaufman's public appearances are resurrected, including an infamous
guest spot on David Letterman's show. This is all very entertaining,
because of Jim Carey performance (which by the way truly elevates the
film to a new level), but it is also deluding and confusing. We long
to finally get behind the masks and illusions -- to the real Andy
Kaufman. Unfortunately Forman seems to be much more interested in
Kaufman's career than his personality, and all we get is a couple of
sentences like: "The world is an illusion" and "We shouldn't take our
selves too seriously". Of the two hours that the film goes on, 1 hour
and 30 minutes are practically an endless Kaufman show. It's not that
it is not interesting or funny. It certainly is, and it may very well
be that there is no body who have seen "the real" Kaufman; that he
never completely revealed himself to anyone. There is in fact a moment
in the film where Kaufman becomes so adept at the art of deception and
illusion that, when he discovers he has terminal cancer, no o n family
views it as the latest in a series of cruel practical jokes and
believes that his doctor is a paid actor. Like the boy who has cried
wolf once too often, Kaufman must struggle to convince those around
him that, for once, he is serious. This is something that happens at
the very end, and is a territory that is never quite explored. Forman
doesn't even try. To me it was the biggest disappointment. However
there are moments when the screen gets simply positively radiant, when
Forman creates pure magic. When the film is moving to the end and
Forman decides to "cut out all of the baloney", then some very
interesting things start happening. In the end "Man on the Moon"
manages to generate emotions, be that laughter or tears, and it never
seems to push for either. You might wonder about how it is possible,
if indeed I am right and most of the film is just jokes and scams. It
is difficult to explain, but I believe that the original material was
created by Andy Kaufman himself, who could touch our hearts and
provoke reactions and emotions, and I think that Jim Carey manages to
do the same. He completes the transition from off-the-wall comedian to
serious actor that he began in The Truman Show. Not only does Carrey
imitate Kaufman almost perfectly (including matching his trademark
"Thank you very much"), but he employs this mimicry in the service of
a compelling performance. The forcefulness with which the film conveys
Kaufman's character is as much a function of Carrey's portrayal as it
is of the script from which he is working. This is a role that Carrey,
a lifelong Kaufman fan, wanted desperately, and, once he got it, he
poured every ounce of his talent into his work. It would be a disgrace
to not nominate Carrey for an Academy Award this year. As for the film
itself, it never seems boring or disappointing in any way, and it
certainly pays enough respect to the artist that Andy Kaufman
was. "Thank you very much"
--
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