Andy Kaufman practiced transcendental meditation, ate health foods, and feared germs and cigarettes. The fact that he died at the scarily young age of 35 from a rare form of lung cancer is a bizarre irony which would fit perfectly in Kaufman’s warped sense of humor. When he died, many understandably felt, particularly the National Enquirer, that this was Kaufman's ultimate hoax.
Jim Carrey brilliantly captures the late Andy Kaufman in the new film, “Man On The Moon.” This is not surprising since Carrey undoubtedly saw Kaufman as a kindred spirit. Carrey, like Kaufman, has never been known for joke-telling. Carrey, like Kaufman before him has always been a favorite subject for supermarket tabloids. The problem with “Man On The Moon” is that while we get to see Jim Carrey act out Kaufman's greatest bits (lip-synching “The Mighty Mouse Theme” on the premiere of “Saturday Night Live,” playing the role of chipmunk-voiced Latka Gravas on “Taxi,” wrestling women around the country in his bid to become “The Intergender Champion”), we learn absolutely nothing about Kaufman's off-stage personality. Practically all of Kaufman’s formative years in Great Neck are ignored. So what we are basically left with is Jim Carrey rehashing “The E! True Hollywood Story: Andy Kaufman.”
The one Kaufman character I had heard about but had never seen was his Tony Clifton creation. With his pot-belly, bad toupee, sunglasses and powder blue tux, Clifton was the ultimate lounge lizard who sang like Georgie Jessel and insulted his audience in a manner which would make Don Rickles wince. When Clifton is on screen, the film lights up.
Danny DeVito and Courtney Love are terrific as Kaufman’s perplexed manager and girlfriend, although their roles are badly underwritten. In a nice touch, Judd Hirsch, Christopher Lloyd and Marilu Henner reprise the parts they played on “Taxi” some 20 years ago. Unfortunately, the “Taxi” crew gets minimal screen time.
The best supporting acting though is delivered by a pair of World Wrestling Federation players, former grappler Jerry “The King” Lawler and veteran announcer James “J.R.” Ross. Lawler delightfully played the role of Kaufman's nemesis when he started devoting his comedic energies to wrestling. Despite his knowledge that he was part of a well-rehearsed act, Ross broadcast their matches with all of the seriousness of Walter Cronkite covering the Vietnam War.
If you want to learn more about Andy Kaufman you should pick up a copy of Bob Zmuda’s “Andy Kaufman Revealed!” (Little, Brown) or Bill Zehme's “Lost In The Funhouse” (Delacorte Press). The fact that two guys whose last name begins with “Z” would write about him is a coincidence Andy Kaufman would have treasured.
Starring: Jim Carrey, Courtney Love, Danny DeVito
Directed by Milos Forman
reviewed by Lloyd Carroll
