Man on the Moon (1999)

[wildojinx]

Just saw this film, what did everyone think of it? Despite a few historical inaccuracies, i thought it was a great film that pretty much captured what Andy was about (despite the fact that all i know about Kaufman was his wrestling career and a few performances i caught of him on old SNL reruns). Jim Carrey was excellent as Kaufman, and he seemed to almost become Andy Kaufman at times.

[mizerable]

It was pretty good. I have to wonder what we may have gotten if Edward Norton had gotten the role instead? I think one of my biggest issues WAS the historical inaccuracies. Kaufman really fell off the map after Taxi and all but forgotten by Hollywood, despite a couple of very mediocre movies. I think it glamorized a lot of what actually happened, with "reactions" and such, most of which were literally people just standing there confused as opposed to "get upset" like the movie would suggest. Ideally with bio pics, it would be simpler to focus on one crucial part of that person if they really wanted to, but again...with Kaufman it would be insulting if they didn't get the whole story. I guess I remember a lot of people becoming "fans" of Kaufman overnight exclusively due to this movie. He was before my time, but I remember seeing bits and pieces over the years that ranged from genius to awful, so who knows.

I will say that Forman did a much better job on The People vs. Larry Flynt, if you haven't seen that yet...do it. It doesn't paint anyone in a positive light, nor is it insulting. Just a very powerful piece, his best since Cuckoo's Nest.

[Red Impact]

Really good movie. This with The Truman Show really showed that Carrey has a lot of range as an actor.

[Display Name]

Really enjoy it.First time I saw it,that shit made me get super choked up during the funeral..I admit it.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

My mom will put it on sometimes and while I know what will happen, if I have nothing better to do....sure, I would watch it. But yeah, this is one of those movies where we get an actor who these days, a lot of people see as over the hill as far as straight out comedies goes, where you can see them excel in something different.

Adam Sandler has those as well which is sad when you see them do the usual crap.

[Deleted]

The historical inaccuracies and some bad castings really hurt the film considering the real life stories were way more entertaining and the inaccuracies just seem to exist for an easier lazier narrative. Jim Carrey was excellent and probably the perfect Kaufman casting choice. That alone makes me wish this movie is never remade even if the script was perfect

[Deleted]

Nov 25, 2013 1:01:04 GMT -5 mizerable said:

It was pretty good. I have to wonder what we may have gotten if Edward Norton had gotten the role instead? I think one of my biggest issues WAS the historical inaccuracies. Kaufman really fell off the map after Taxi and all but forgotten by Hollywood, despite a couple of very mediocre movies. I think it glamorized a lot of what actually happened, with "reactions" and such, most of which were literally people just standing there confused as opposed to "get upset" like the movie would suggest. Ideally with bio pics, it would be simpler to focus on one crucial part of that person if they really wanted to, but again...with Kaufman it would be insulting if they didn't get the whole story. I guess I remember a lot of people becoming "fans" of Kaufman overnight exclusively due to this movie. He was before my time, but I remember seeing bits and pieces over the years that ranged from genius to awful, so who knows.

I will say that Forman did a much better job on The People vs. Larry Flynt, if you haven't seen that yet...do it. It doesn't paint anyone in a positive light, nor is it insulting. Just a very powerful piece, his best since Cuckoo's Nest.

Anything that lets you experience a range of emotions for the same character is a good thing.

I don't know what to think about Andy sometimes, even after watching some of his material on YouTube. He's a complex person to box into one certain condition.

[Ben Wyatt]

Absolute god damn shame Carrey didn't get nominated for an Oscar for his role. Ditto for Truman Show. Jim Carrey was victimized both years by the fact he's Jim Carrey.

[Deleted]

Nov 25, 2013 4:09:05 GMT -5 @supersweetbotch said:

The historical inaccuracies and some bad castings really hurt the film considering the real life stories were way more entertaining and the inaccuracies just seem to exist for an easier lazier narrative. Jim Carrey was excellent and probably the perfect Kaufman casting choice. That alone makes me wish this movie is never remade even if the script was perfect

I don't know the ins and outs as much about Andy Kaufman but something definitely felt off watching it. It really carried a vibe of "made for TV" and it was a real struggle for me to get into.

That being said I generally hate bio-pics regardless, I'd rather watch a documentary to learn about someone than to take in Hollywood's interpretation of a person and the events in his life when they're obviously gonna juice it up to justify making a movie about it.

[Cela]

So what did they change up about real life to fit their narrative?

[RowdyRobbyPiper]

The segment that featured the Lawler feud really bugged me. Wrestling shows in 1982 did not look like an episode of Raw or. Nitro circa 1998 for atarters. Seeing JR idoing commentary in the film was odd and yes, I realize the reason for that was that Lance Russell played the ring announcer which is odd thing number 3. The famous scene of the Letterman appearance looked like it was shot at the Ed Sullivan theater instead of recreating Dave's NBC set. Oh, and no attempt was made to at least make. Dave and Paul look like they did in 1982. Did they even attempt to make Lawler look like he did in that time period?

[kingoftheindies]

Nov 25, 2013 12:17:07 GMT -5 Cela said:

So what did they change up about real life to fit their narrative?

From Wiki...

The film makes a few changes to Kaufman's life story. As Kaufman explains in the prologue, "all the most important things in my life are changed around and mixed up for dramatic purposes".
The famous Carnegie Hall "milk and cookies" performance, portrayed in the film as one of his last performances after being diagnosed with cancer, had in fact occurred in 1979, five years before Kaufman's death. Also, the film is deliberately ambiguous over whether it portrays his "death" as genuine, or the hoax that some fans[4] believe it to be. Actually, Zmuda enlisted his old Chicago friends and confidants, Joe Troiani and Bill Karmia to stage Kaufman's return from the dead.[citation needed] Dressed as Kaufman's alter ego Tony Clifton, Zmuda returned to the Comedy Store in 1985. Through the use of clever staging, the trio made it appear that Andy Kaufman might have returned to visit adoring fans.[citation needed]
Kaufman and his girlfriend, Lynne Margulies were never wrestling opponents. Nor did they know each other in the 70's. They met for the first time when working on My Breakfast with Blassie, a 1983 movie they appeared in together.[5]
The film implies that the fight with Michael Richards on Fridays was more serious and violent. In fact when it was broken up, Richards (who never retaliated to water being poured on him) was upset, claiming "what? It's funny" and told the stagehands to "butt out" when they tried to intervene, saying "it's all in fun". Also there was no attempt by the producers to tell the audience it was all a prank they were involved in.[6]
Many events in the "feud" between Kaufman and Jerry Lawler, which continued well after the David Letterman incident, were left out of the film. Also left out in the film was Jimmy Hart, who at the time acted as Kaufman's manager. According to Lawler's autobiography It's Good to be the King... Sometimes, WCW wrestler Glenn Gilbertti, better known to wrestling fans as Disco Inferno, was considered for the role of Lawler.
The film implies that Taxi was canceled only once. However, the show went on for one more season on NBC.
The film implies that Carol Kane was a member of the Taxi cast during the show's first season, which in real life was 1978–79. In actuality, Kane did not make her first appearance on the series until the episode "Guess Who's Coming for Brefnish", which first aired on ABC in January 1980 during the show's second season.[7]
The film portrays the first meeting between Shapiro and Kaufman at a nightclub, following Kaufman's set where he performed an imitation of President Jimmy Carter. The film then led to Shapiro booking Kaufman on the first episode of Saturday Night Live, which occurred in 1975, during Gerald Ford's presidency; Carter would not get elected to the position until 1976, nor would he take office until January 1977.
Other inaccuracies include scenes based around "SNL", specifically the first episode's host. Also Lorne Michaels asking the home viewing audience to vote Kaufman off the show, which happened in 1982, two years after Michaels left the show as executive producer and Dick Ebersol took over.[8]
After its release, the film attracted some criticism over various events in Kaufman's life that were left out. Max Allan Collins maintained that the filmmakers didn't understand Kaufman, and that the film "does not give Kaufman the credit for his genius, that he had a complete intellectual grasp of what he was up to and a showman's instincts for how to play an audience".[9] Significantly, these critics included Kaufman's own father Stanley, who was displeased that little of Andy's early life (before show business) and early career was portrayed.[10]
Additionally, since Bob Zmuda was involved in the production of the film, around the same time having written a "tell all" book ("Andy Kaufman Revealed!"), many of its criticisms carry over to the film. Notably, Zmuda is accused of overemphasizing his role in the creation of many of Andy's routines (such as Tony Clifton). Andy's father contends that Andy formulated these bits while in college doing a local TV show: "Uncle Andy's Funhouse" (which is briefly referenced in the film: Andy is wearing an "Uncle Andy's Funhouse" t-shirt in one scene). Zmuda is also portrayed in the film to be present at many events which he was not in real life.
Sam Simon, executive producer on Taxi, revealed in a 2013 interview with Marc Maron for the WTF Podcast that the portrayal of Andy on the show was "a complete fiction", that Kaufman was "completely professional" and that he "told you Tony Clifton was him". Simon also stated that sources for these stories were mostly from Bob Zmuda and a "little bit of press and hype", but conceded that Kaufman would have "loved" Zmuda's version of events.[11]

[Juice]

I love this movie, and Ironically didn't get around to seeing it until a few years ago despite being a fan of Kaufmans. Now I have seen it close to 100 times is my guess. I think most f the gripes here are easy (at least for me) to pass over as simple Hollywood make overs. I didn't think the wrestling scene looked like a packed stadium, it looked to me like a smaller venue.

The one that always intrigued me was the change at the funeral, where most people featured at the wake didn't go in real life because they thought he was f***ing with them. Again, it told the narrative of the story though and as such was a workable change.