Before going to see Man on the Moon, I didn’t know who Andy Kaufman was. I just knew him as that weird guy on that show I watched at 2 a.m. on Nick at Nite when I couldn’t sleep. But I did know who Jim Carrey and Courtney Love were, so I was willing to give it a shot and see if it was any good.
The humor in the movie was the kind that makes you shift in your seat: you know you’re supposed to laugh but you can’t because you can’t see how that could be classified as humor. Tony Clifton—a character Andy Kaufman created as an alter ego complete with a fake chin, nose, mustache, and voice—is supposed to be funny. Really, he’s just obnoxious, rude and mean. In his first act, he makes fun of almost everyone in the audience, yells at everyone to shut up constantly, and tells them to not even laugh. When making a guest appearance on ‘Taxi,’ he insulted Hollywood and everyone on the set. Was I supposed to find that funny? Not even Jim Carrey could change my straight face.
I didn’t get it
I didn’t see what was so great about Andy Kaufman. He wrestled women just to get people mad (and believe me, it made me mad), he didn’t really care about people’s feelings, and he didn’t want to be a comedian. Well, then what was he? I felt for his friends in the movie though. Even though I didn’t get Andy Kaufman’s humor, every single person supporting him looked like they went through a lot of heartache because they loved him so much.
The only thing I did like was the acting. This was probably because of all the preparation they went through for the role. Each cast member researched their character and interviewed that character if they were still alive. My dad, who played a supporting role in the movie, learned on the first day on the set that Jim Carrey would only answer to Andy Kaufman. A few other cast members did this too.
Overall, I was disappointed. If you get Andy Kaufman, you’ll get this movie. I find myself now wishing I understood Andy Kaufman, though. So, in a way this movie did its job because it made me think, even after I left the theater.