Man On The Moon
Page 2 of 6
Review by Brian Tomasini
It was surprising last February when the Academy Award nominations were announced without a mention of Jim Carrey for his performance as Truman Burbank in "The Truman Show". If the same is true next year for his role as Andy Kaufman in Milos Forman's "Man on the Moon", then I will forever wonder what the Academy looks for, exactly, in a perfomance.
"Man on the Moon" begins with Andy (Jim) addressing the crowd about his feelings on this movie. I don't want to give anything away, but it is absolutely hilarious, as well as a dead-on Andy Kaufman by Carrey. The movie itself starts with Andy as a child performing in his bedroom. He performs a childish animal sing-a-long for his sister, which he then is singing in a night club many years later, which is where Jim Carrey unbelievable portrayal begins.
At Andy's next performance, he is spotted by a Hollywood agent, George Shapiro, who is played very well by Kaufman's former "Taxi" co-star Danny DeVito. He is amazed by Kaufman's antics, especially his impersonation of Elvis.
As the movie progresses, it shows Andy's reluctance to be a sitcom star, and the entire movie deals with his desire to outwit everyone, especially the audience. His friend and writer, Bob Zmuda (played by Paul Giamatti) is there every step of the way and is equally as creative as Andy. The movie keeps the audience forever on its feet, wondering what is real and what is a product of the imagination of both Andy and Bob. It gets funnier and funnier with each trick. Just when you think things have gotten serious and the antics are done with... they aren't.
All of the actors in the movie give spectacular performances, and, in the film, many secrets about the life of Andy Kaufman are revealed for the first time, including information about the infamous confrontation with wrestler Jerry Lawler, the life of Tony Clifton, and Andy's genius side-career as a wrestler. This movie is now my all-time favorite, and I seriously believe Jim Carrey's best performance (and I'm sure his favorite, since he is such an Andy Kaufman fan). It is the absolute perfect combination of amazing comedy and very emotional drama. The only thing I am left wondering is this: If he is over-looked again by the Academy, how amazing do you think his costume will be at next year's MTV Awards? Hopefully we won't have to find out...
Script Review By BCDavis
Script written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski
First Draft - December 8, 1997
Ladies and Gentlemen: this script is wonderful. It puts to film the life of Andy Kaufman the way that "Amadeus" put to celluloid Mozart's biography.
Kaufman's early life is touched on for only a couple of scenes at the beginning of the story. The rest of the tale tells about his adult life, from his first early stand-up to his final curtain call - literally.
The script itself is long - 154 pages, meaning this film could have a 2-hour plus running time easy. But believe me, you'll want to watch every frame. This is an Oscar caliber screenplay, helmed by an Oscar-winning director (Milos Forman), and acted by a stellar cast that includes Jim Carrey as Andy Kaufman, Danny DeVito and Courtney Love.
This review is general for one reason - to go into more depth would be to give away spoilers. Let's just say: "Friday's," "SNL," "Carnegie Hall," "Taxi," and a little bit of Intergender Wrestling all have their places.
It was surprising last February when the Academy Award nominations were announced without a mention of Jim Carrey for his performance as Truman Burbank in "The Truman Show". If the same is true next year for his role as Andy Kaufman in Milos Forman's "Man on the Moon", then I will forever wonder what the Academy looks for, exactly, in a perfomance.
"Man on the Moon" begins with Andy (Jim) addressing the crowd about his feelings on this movie. I don't want to give anything away, but it is absolutely hilarious, as well as a dead-on Andy Kaufman by Carrey. The movie itself starts with Andy as a child performing in his bedroom. He performs a childish animal sing-a-long for his sister, which he then is singing in a night club many years later, which is where Jim Carrey unbelievable portrayal begins.
At Andy's next performance, he is spotted by a Hollywood agent, George Shapiro, who is played very well by Kaufman's former "Taxi" co-star Danny DeVito. He is amazed by Kaufman's antics, especially his impersonation of Elvis.
As the movie progresses, it shows Andy's reluctance to be a sitcom star, and the entire movie deals with his desire to outwit everyone, especially the audience. His friend and writer, Bob Zmuda (played by Paul Giamatti) is there every step of the way and is equally as creative as Andy. The movie keeps the audience forever on its feet, wondering what is real and what is a product of the imagination of both Andy and Bob. It gets funnier and funnier with each trick. Just when you think things have gotten serious and the antics are done with... they aren't.
All of the actors in the movie give spectacular performances, and, in the film, many secrets about the life of Andy Kaufman are revealed for the first time, including information about the infamous confrontation with wrestler Jerry Lawler, the life of Tony Clifton, and Andy's genius side-career as a wrestler. This movie is now my all-time favorite, and I seriously believe Jim Carrey's best performance (and I'm sure his favorite, since he is such an Andy Kaufman fan). It is the absolute perfect combination of amazing comedy and very emotional drama. The only thing I am left wondering is this: If he is over-looked again by the Academy, how amazing do you think his costume will be at next year's MTV Awards? Hopefully we won't have to find out...
Script Review By BCDavis
Script written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski
First Draft - December 8, 1997
Ladies and Gentlemen: this script is wonderful. It puts to film the life of Andy Kaufman the way that "Amadeus" put to celluloid Mozart's biography.
Kaufman's early life is touched on for only a couple of scenes at the beginning of the story. The rest of the tale tells about his adult life, from his first early stand-up to his final curtain call - literally.
The script itself is long - 154 pages, meaning this film could have a 2-hour plus running time easy. But believe me, you'll want to watch every frame. This is an Oscar caliber screenplay, helmed by an Oscar-winning director (Milos Forman), and acted by a stellar cast that includes Jim Carrey as Andy Kaufman, Danny DeVito and Courtney Love.
This review is general for one reason - to go into more depth would be to give away spoilers. Let's just say: "Friday's," "SNL," "Carnegie Hall," "Taxi," and a little bit of Intergender Wrestling all have their places.
| Production Companies |
Jersey Films Mutual Film Corporation Universal Pictures |
||
| Distributor | Universal Pictures | ||
| Director | Milos Forman | ||
| Writers | Scott Alexander Larry Karaszewski |
||
| Producers | Danny DeVito Michael Shamberg Stacey Sher |
||
| Executive Producers | Michael Hausman George Shapiro Howard West |
||
| Associate Producers | Pamela Abdy Scott Ferguson |
||
| Composers | Mike Mills Michael Stipe |
||
| Cinematographer | Anastas N. Michos | ||
| Editors | Adam Boome Lynzee Klingman Christopher Tellefsen |
||
| Cast List |
Jim Carrey Gerry Becker Greyson Erik Pendry Brittany Colonna Leslie Lyles Bobby Boriello George Shapiro Danny DeVito Budd Friedman Tom Dreesen Thomas Armbruster Pamela Abdy Wendy Polland Gerry Robert Byrne Cash Oshman Matt Price Christina Cabot Richard Belzer Melanie Vesey Michael Kelly Miles Chapin Isadore Rosenfeld Paul Giamatti Randall Carver Brent Briscoe Conrad Roberts Reiko Aylesworth Courtney Love Jerry Lawler Bob Zmuda Melissa Carrey David Letterman |
..... Andy Kaufman/Tony Clifton ..... Stanley Kaufman ..... Little Michael Kaufman ..... Baby Carol Kaufman ..... Janice Kaufman ..... Little Andy Kaufman ..... Mr. Besserman ..... George Shapiro ..... Himself ..... Wiseass Comic ..... Improv Piano Player ..... Diane Barnett ..... Little Wendy ..... 'Taxi' AD/Stage Manager ..... Yogi ..... Meditation Student ..... Meditation Student ..... Himself ..... Carol Kaufman ..... Michael Kaufman ..... SNL Assistant ..... NBC Executive ..... Bob Zmuda ..... Himself ..... Heavyset Technician ..... College Promoter ..... Mimi ..... Lynne Margulies ..... Himself ..... Jack Burns ..... Comedy Store Waitress ..... Himself |
|
| Andy Kaufman: | I'm not a comedian. I don't wanna go for cheap laughs. |
| Andy Kaufman: | You don't know the real me. |
| Lynne Margulies: | There isn't a real you. |
| Andy Kaufman: | Oh yeah, I forgot. |
| Andy Kaufman: | I am sick of this shit, Lawler. I am gonna sue you. I'm gonna sue you, I swear to God. Fuck you! Okay? Okay, Lawler? Fuck you! I'm sorry, Dave. I know I'm not supposed to use those words on television. I can't say those words. I'm sorry, I'm sorry! But, you, you are a motherfucking, fucking asshole! Okay? |
| Andy Kaufman: | Since you've all been such good boys and girls, I would like to take everybody in this entire audience out for milk and cookies. There are buses outside. Everybody follow me. |
| Andy Kaufman: | I am from Caspiar, an Island in the Caspian Sea. It sunk. |
| Lynne Margulies: | So, you just pretend to be an asshole. |
| Andy Kaufman: | It's what I'm good at. |
| Tony Clifton: | So... ya wanna see Andy? Anybody gotta flashlight and a couple of shovels? |
"Hello, my name is Andy and this is my poster."
"Hello, my name is Andy and this is my DVD."
"Hello, my name is Andy and this is my video."
"Hello, my name is Andy and this is my Bus."
"Hello, my name is Andy and this is my Banner."
"Hello, my name is Andy and this is my movie."
"Hello, my name is Andy and people are talking about me!"
"Hello, my name is Andy and this is my soundtrack."
"Hello, my name is Andy and this is my website."
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