Man On The Moon

UK Release Date. 5 May 2000
Certification. 15 
Running Time. 1 hour 58 mins
Director. Milos Forman
Cast. Jim Carrey, Danny DeVito, Paul Giamatti, Courtney Love.
Rating. 21%

Review.

I'm just about old enough to remember the television series, Taxi with its distinctive opening title sequence featuring a yellow Checker cab driving east across the Queensboro Bridge accompanied by the memorable lo-fi jazz-funk theme song [Angela by Bob James]. At the time I was drawn to the character Jim - so memorably played by Christopher Lloyd - not Judd Hirsch's central character, Alex or the immigrant mechanic, Latka Gravas, played by the enigmatic Andy Kaufman.

In the late 1970s, Kaufman, though largely unheard of in the United Kingdom, was fast becoming a unique comic force in the United States. Part comedian, part stand-up, part performance artist, part lunatic - Andy Kaufman influenced a generation of American comedians, among them Jim Carrey, Will Ferrell and Larry David.

I first became consciously aware of Andy Kaufman, I suspect, through the R.E.M. song, Man on the moon, 

"Mott the Hoople and the Game of Life [yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah],

Andy Kaufman in a wrestling match [yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah],

Monopoly, 21, checkers and chess [yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah],

Mister Fred Blassie in a breakfast mess [yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah]..."

The band's lead singer, Michael Stipe also cites Andy Kaufman as a major influence. Stipe recalls Kaufman's early appearances on Saturday Night Live and his Elvis Presley impersonations.

But whilst some regarded Kaufman as a comic genius, most of the American public simply didn't understand him. Therefore, I wonder if your enjoyment of Milos Forman's Andy Kaufman biopic, Man On The Moon is determined by your relationship with Kaufman himself?

What begins as an apparent rise to stardom storyline implodes, featuring an obnoxious and talentless lounge singer, wrestling matches, several car-crash appearances on Saturday Night Live and Letterman, and culminating in Kaufman's possible descent into self-absorbed madness. Many of these outrageous antics alienated fans who had initially warmed to Kaufman in the role of Latka Gravas in Taxi.

And even when diagnosed with lung cancer, Kaufman struggles to convince those around him - his own family members - that for once, he is genuine. This is one area of the film I wish Forman had explored in greater depth, instead of pandering to the urban myth of Kaufman's death being an elaborate hoax. Indeed, parts of the final 30 mins felt (mercifully) rushed.

Naturally, such a film stands or falls on the central performance - the portrayal of Andy Kaufman. Carrey is superb, and slowly, almost imperceptibly, Jim Carrey melts from view and Andy Kaufman comes to life before your very eyes. Carrey perfectly imitates Kaufman, including the comedian's trademark, "Thank you veddy much." At no point, does Forman forensically examine Kaufman's motivations. This is an unabashedly flattering look at Kaufman's life. The problem I have with the perspective is that I don't find the Andy Kaufman of Man On The Moon likeable and am, at best, ambivalent to his self-destructive behaviour. 

The solitary highlight of the film was the montage of the Taxi episodes with original cast members Judd Hirsch, Christopher Lloyd, Jeff Conaway, Marilu Henner and Carol Kane reprising their original roles, albeit briefly.