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 Man
on the Moon
 
(BUT Carrey
gets 5 stars for his performance!)
Starring: James Carrey, Danny DeVito, Courtney Love,
and Paul Giamatti.
Directed By: Milos Forman
Anytime
Jim Carrey (who plays Andy Kaufman to perfection) hits a screen
the ride is often hysterical and always wild. Sure James
is a rubbery marzipan faced comic, but he's proving he can also
act.
Back when Truman came out the Carrey Camps were
posted around the world. Seemed the public either 'loved' it
completely, or 'hated' it with salt and vinegar poured over
a freshly ripped wound. Admittedly I was in the 'loved'
Truman group. Geeze let the guy grow people! Carrey
has a great timing and those wildly animated eyes of a comic
(or perhaps a serial killer if he hadn't pursued comedy).
He's a tad handsome as well. Quite frankly -'tween you and I
- I'd jump on him like a rabid Rhesus monkey if given the chance!
Look at him! He's about six-feet something of pure grade A
manly Angus meat that's been marinated and thrown on a searing
Texas grill just a waiting for steak sauce to be slathered all
over him. Scrumptious! But I digress...
Man
On The Moon is
the story of Andy Kaufman. Best known as the idiot immigrant,
Latka, on the 80's show Taxi.
Kaufman is often referred to as 'ahead of his time' by the,
um, press. The current (1999) press that is. Spare me with a
blunt butter knife please. Back in his zenith 1983/84, when
he was everywhere you looked for comical stress relief (the
still funny SNL or the wisecracking fresh faced David Letterman-before
he hated his job and when he still just hated people
for example) you heard the press whine about how very much they
despised Andy's 'style' and wished he'd retire
from the scene. Press is press I suppose. Andy's "in"
again, so they take a spin ride...
Did
you know death plus one year = comedy? Well, press feels death
plus Hollywood backing = overtly fluffy reworking of printed
- documented - opinions without guilt.
Andy
was a comic. Granted a comic with powerful people around
him - hence the 'ahead of his time' tag instead of the 'whack
job with warts' obituary. But, he was a comic. Comics are a
special breed. They will try anything for a laugh. They
don't care if it doesn't get a laugh all the time, most are
up there for themselves not you. Their verbal therapy
if you will. Which works for all when it works.
Andrew
used a good old fashioned schtick (impressions and accents matched
with monotone expressions) in his act. When things go to the
level of absurd that Kaufman brought things to, with his insulting
characters or wrestling scam, we laugh -nervously- like
when your 86 year old grandmother trips on the ice laced stairs
and flies at about 102 MPH towards the on coming dump truck
in the road...you don't mean to laugh. We kind of project
ourselves up on the  stage
and feel bad for this clueless individual, then laugh
so he won't go home and kill himself cause he really sucked.
Kaufman seemed to use this psychology in his favor- in his act.
Admittedly most of his stand-up bits were a tad too helter-skelter
for my tastes.
Yeah,
I never dug Kaufman like some of the "culty" fans.
But, I respected what he was about---BALLS. Big bouncy steel
ones... Man On The Moon is a glimpse into his rise to
stardom and his ultimate death by a rare lung cancer.
Man on
the Moon was entertaining.
Carrey was fab per u-shoe-all. But, the story had crater-like
holes holes and gaps. We never really got to see the 'real'
Kaufman, aside from a soft spoken oddball hell bent on just
one more practical prank on the world.
Courtney
Love plays Kaufman's girlfriend. Sometimes elements other than
your talent stand in the way of a good performance...script...director...flu.
So we'll leave it at that, because I really think she's usually
great.
 Paul
Giamatti is here. He's someone you know you just don't know
you know. A great actor. Also, Danny
"Do no wrong except for that suck ass Twins'' DeVito
plays super Hollywood agent/producer George Shapiro. He was
wonderful.
See this
immediately if your a Carrey fan. He's diabolically good
as Kaufman. But a warning, an A&E biography on Kaufman
Man on the Moon aint. Your not gonna learn anything here
folks. Best picture say Golden Globes? No way. Carrey or Love
must be doing the dirty with a Golden Globe judge. MOTM
is interesting if not riveting cinema. Best actor for Carrey?
AHHHHHBSOLUTELY! Carrey is exquisite.
Snack Recommendation:
Milk and Cookies
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