Review: Man On The Moon

Man on the Moon is a biopic that highlights the life of estranged “song-and-dance man,” Andy Kaufman

Director: Milos Forman

Writer(s): Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski

Starring: Jim Carrey, Danny DeVito, Courtney Love, Paul Giamatti

Released: December 22, 1999

Plot: Man on the Moon is an American biographical comedy-drama film about the late American entertainer Andy Kaufman.

3/5 Tonies

I'm not a comedian. I don't wanna go for cheap laughs.

To many Andy Kaufman is nothing more than a nutcase, but to others, like myself, he is considered a genius. A true entertainer that did more than stand on stage and tell a few jokes or used spectacle to sell his show. He strove for something different and completely unique. He took all things that most audiences find appalling and used it against them. He turned these things around and had the audience laughing, but at what? At Andy himself or at themselves? It's as if he was waving his middle finger at the audience while at the same time, entertaining them. Until the release of the film many, maybe even most people despised Kaufman and all his shenanigans. This film alone has helped shape and mold the audiences view of him.

Man on the Moon is a biopic that highlights the life of estranged “song-and-dance man,” Andy Kaufman. The film showcases all the major events of his life from landing a spot on Saturday Night Live to his all to early death. It allows to step into the mind of a struggling artist who wanted to do more than just make people laugh. It shows the internal and external conflicts Andy faced in order to win the hearts of millions through his bizarre antics.

Jim Carrey does an outstanding job at imitating Andy Kaufman. Not so much through appearance, but through his action and mannerisms alone. He portrays Andy in such a way that you begin to forget that it is Jim Carrey on screen. He embodies everything that is Andy Kaufman. Acting out each of Andy's characters on point. Not only do we see a perfect impersonation, but a true act showcasing the rise and fall of a human being. Carrey lends some much needed depth to a screenplay that, in its bare form, often seems undernourished and underfed. It makes me wonder why Jim decided to do a film like Liar, Liar.
Supporting actors Danny DeVito and Paul Giamatti also helped create the comical and uncanny atmosphere the film had to offer. They stood as beams who balanced Carrey's performance.

The script is quite standard. It goes from birth to death with all the major events in the middle, but this film gives a bit more than this. It offers you an experience that gives you the opportunity to step into the mind of a very misunderstood artist.

The film actually begins with Kaufman standing by a small record player that keeps having to be restarted. He goes on explaining how what we are watching is actually the end of the film and he then walks off screen. Moments pass and he comes back congratulating you on a job well done for sticking around. This alone shows the mind of Kaufman. It gives an idea of how he enjoyed messing with the audience. Awaiting their shock and then complete laughter. The film shows various moments such as this one.

 There were a few problems in the film. One being the study and credibility of Andy Kaufman and his life. The events leading up to many of the key moments seem to have been rushed. He goes from birth to bombing a performance in a night club to having a manager to being on SNL and so on. It all happens so fast that this meteoric chronicle of his life has you questioning the credibility. It also leaves you to wonder what happened in between these moments. Were all these things really just handed to him or did he struggle to make it to where eventually got to? Leaving questions that cannot be answered withing the film.

Another problem was the underdeveloped relationship between Kaufman(Jim Carrey) and Lynne Marguiles (Courtney Love). Not only was it underdeveloped, but completely unnecessary. It felt as if they threw in her character to add a different theme or emotion for Kaufman. Most of her actions are nothing more than simple gestures that show acceptance or worry. There is no real relationship being developed on screen. It is just there and you forced to watch it. I will say this, amongst all the antics and shenanigans pulled by Kaufman this relationship allowed us to see a different side of him. In the film you constantly hear people tell Kaufman, “You take nothing seriously” or “Everything is a joke to you.” This relationship helps that change. We see that behind his act he is a loving and caring human being. But in a grand scheme of things this was all completely unnecessary and something the film could have done without.


Overall, Man on the Moon was an enjoyable film. Especially for fans and new comers. Was the film actually good? Yes and no. It portrayed Kaufman in way that couldn't have been done any better, but the film itself had room for much needed development. Man on the Moon ultimately becomes more compelling as a steppingstone, for fans and new comers development of an artist who once was.

Pros: Acting, ANDY KAUFMAN, great feeling and overall tone.

Cons: More room for development, felt rushed.

Rating: 3/5 Tonies

Written by Anthony Centeno