Man on the Moon is a wonderful experience. This was perhaps one of the most unique film going experiences I had every had. This will most certainly be a film that people will either love or hate. The ads for the movie blare at you “ Jim Carrey IS Andy Kaufman in Man on the Moon. Believe it. Carrey’s performance is not only Oscar worthy, it’s mind-boggling. In the context of the film and certain scenes, you actually think you’re seeing Andy Kaufman up there alive again.

Anyone expecting a complex story telling the story of Kaufman’s life might be disappointed. Basically what the film does is to take the highlights or in certain instances, lowlights of Kaufman’s life and career and re-create them. The interaction between Kaufman and his agent, George Shapiro ( Danny DeVito) acts as a bridge between the incidents or events. Did I say re-create events; well director Milos Forman painstakingly recreates some of these events with great care and attention to detail.

From Andy’s meeting Lynne Marguilies after wrestling her on the Merv Griffin show to the wacky, even dangerous stunts and pranks pulled by Kaufman and his sidekick/partner-in-crime, Bob Zmuda. Zmuda is played in the film by Paul Giamatti. Many of you should remember Giamatti as “Pig Vomit” in Howard Stern’s movie “Private Parts.”

This is of course a wrestling website, so let me get to the wrestling parts of the movie. Andy becoming the “InterGender Wrestling Champion” is well documented. The “angle” with Kaufman and Lawler is done justice in the movie as well. Nice to see the King with his old trademark goatee again. Lance Russell acts as the ring announcer and good ol JR as the announcer at ringside. Now, if any of you followed the feud as it played out in Memphis, there was a lot more too it than just the confrontation and then match, plus Memphis didn’t use pyrotechnics back then, but its just that there dramatic license we always hear about.
The incident with Kaufman and Lawler on Late Night with David Letterman is re-created very well, so much so as even we see Paul Shaffer and the Late Night band reassembled. Of course after Lawler slapped Kaufman, Andy went into an obscenity filled tirade- that was of course censored on network television.  However, this is a movie with an R rating, so we get to hear some of that language.

Andy’s alter ego, Tony Clifton is well featured as well in the movie. Clifton is of course, the loud mouth obnoxious Vegas lounge singer who added to the havoc that Kaufman and Zmuda set off. When Kaufman signed his contract to be on Taxi, he demanded that Clifton make guest spots. Those demands were met of course and Tony Clifton ended up being physically removed from the Paramount lot, much to Kaufman’s delight. What ended up happening is that back then agents started booking Clifton thinking that would really just be getting Andy Kaufman. Well, that wasn’t the case as it was often Bob Zmuda as Clifton. One example of this is when people were “loving” Clifton’s pathetic singing to have it interrupted by Andy Kaufman. The brutish Clifton chased him from the stage and the people hated Clifton. Job accomplished.

So many incidents of this are re-created , whether it was the fight on the tv show Fridays, problems in night clubs and the wonderful Carnegie Hall concert that Andy played its all here. Of course the lung cancer that took Kaufman’s life is documented as well. What also is shown are his attempts to beat the cancer, whether it be through TM or crystal therapy or to the heart-wrenching trip he took to the Philippines to see his “miracle doctor”.

Tony Clifton made an appearance a year after Andy died. That is documented here as well and the end of the movie has the speculation growing even more. Based upon things that Andy said in the movie and based upon things that are mentioned in Bob Zmuda’s book, “Andy Kaufman Revealed”, rumours abound that Andy faked his death and is still alive.

For more information on that, visit www.andylives.org.

December 22nd- see the movie.

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