Man on the Moon

Starring: Jim Carrey, Danny DeVito, Paul Giamatti, Courtney Love
Directed by: Milos Foreman
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Comedy
1999

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Comedian Andy Kaufman (Jim Carrey) quickly rises to stardom, but his bizarre sense of humor threatens to topple everything by alienating the very audience who loved him.

Review:

Tim: This is a very interesting look at the life of an enigmatic, unconventional, bizarre human being. Andy Kaufman is as fascinating as he is strange, and the story of his life is one that translates well to the big screen.

The reason this film is so successful is because you get caught up in the fascinating tale of this insane, unique individual. We are so focused on the story of Kaufman that we spend almost no time examining the performance of Jim Carrey. We're so caught up that we are fully engaged in Kaufman's life. This also speaks volumes to the performance of Carrey. He is frighteningly accurate, but not to the point of derailing the movie. The focus is always on the character of Andy Kaufman, never on the performance of Carrey. How he managed to pull this off is amazing.

Danny DeVito and Paul Giamatti both give very strong performances. They're both excellent actors, and they do not disappoint. DeVito is especially likeable here. Courtney Love was an odd choice, and she doesn't add much at all.

Probably my favorite scenes are the wrestling ones. Kaufman really went off the deep end here, and it is fascinating to watch a man teetering so precariously between genius and madness. The scenes with Jerry Lawler are excellent. The film is really, really interesting to watch. The movie does lose some effectiveness as they show Kaufman's decline and death. These are not emotional enough, and don't work as well as the comedic ones.

Man on the Moon is a very good movie about a one-in-a-trillion human being, the likes of which will never exist again. This is a movie that might not be incredibly appealing, but it is well worth your time.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Majestic, The Truman Show