Review of Man on the Moon (1999) by Benwomack — 29 Jun 2020

Andy Kaufmann was an entertainer, who died at 35 from a rare form of lung cancer.

This is a telling of his life. Starts with him as a child, playing on his own, and his father coming up to his room, saying Andy, you need an audience. As a viewer, you see Andy develop his act. He played Tony Clifton, an irate club singer. Also Latka, a diminutive refugee, (which performance got Andy a job on Taxi, a sitcom.).

Andy’s time at Taxi is dealt with via montage. He becomes more interested in wrestling.

Andy is shown, suffering from hubris, ironically. He wrestles women. ( Nice constant scenes between Andy and his mentor played by Danny DeVito- sensitively handled. ) A friend is shown, “helping Andy out”, showing him to the brothel. During his wrestling phase, Andy takes up with a more permanent partner, Lynne. He dies.

Through-out, there are scenes of him discussing a prank with a stooge. When Andy goes to the Philippines for (unidentified healing practice), when it's clear he is ill, he sees that the shaman only pretends to take a cancer out of someone- and Andy laughs on the operating table (before dying) – the joke is on him now; he is not the only, practical joker around.

So what to make of it overall. We are being very sentimental here, but I put it to you how humour is quite an un-sentimental beast. There is often an enemy- and it makes enemies. Show you my world, make you laugh, I have your sympathy. You see what I am up against.

Mr Carrey seems to have interpreted Mr Kauffman as a loveable simpleton (albeit with a bit of stare).

Innocence, then, here, is, in some way, behaving like a child. And that is cynical?, because it says?, there is no way of being innocent and an adult.

I found myself feeling sad... but I wish the m.p. had a bit more breadth and gravity- counterbalance.