The line that separates fiction from real life can, at times, become very blurred. This is the phenomenon that can serve performance artists very well. And it can serve authors of biopics about said performance artists even better. An example can be found in *Man on the Moon*, 1999 film directed by Miloš Forman.
The film is dedicated to Andy Kaufman, American comedian and performance artists whose life and career were very short, but nevertheless left great impression, earning him tribute in “Man on the Moon”, hit song by band R.E.M. After a short prologue in which 9-year old Kaufman (played by Bobby Boriello), much to displeasure of his parents, shows proclivity for unconventional forms of comedy, plot is set in 1970s New York City. Adult Andy Kaufman (played by Jim Carrey) is struggling to build career by performing at various comedy clubs. One of those performances is noticed by agent George Shapiro (played by Danny DeVito), who would later secure Kaufman’s appearance on *Saturday Night Live* television show. This leads to next stage of Kaufman’s career – role of East European immigrant Latka on popular sitcom *Taxi*. Kaufman is, however, displeased with his role and considers it too limiting of his talent and inclinations. Instead, with his good friend Bobby Zmuda (played by Paul Giamatti) he develops gags that often shock audience as much as they make them laugh. Many of those deal with his alter ego Tony Clifton, obnoxious lounge singer and some include staging wrestling matches with women, which cause protests by feminists. Among opponents in the ring he finds Lyne Margulies (played by Courtney Love) who would ultimately become his romantic partner. His antics gradually make him unpopular among audience and when he discovers that he has cancer, most of the public believes to be just another of his elaborate and outrageous hoaxes.
Scriptwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski have dealt with eccentric and colourful show business personalities in their two previous films - *[Ed Wood](https://peakd.com/film/@drax/retro-film-review-ed-wood-1994)* and *[The People vs Larry Flynt](https://peakd.com/film/@drax/retro-film-review-the-people-vs-larry-flynt-1996)* (the latter also directed by Miloš Forman). Like in those films, the life of protagonist is shown very selectively and tries to paint him in as positively as possible. In case of Kaufman, ignoring many aspects of his biography can be justified with the fact that Kaufman took great pains to keep his professional life separate from his private life, while his tendency to mix reality with show business probably prevented even him to know what was what. During the film we see only glimpses of “real” Kaufman – his obsession with transcendental meditation and New Age philosophy, liaisons with prostitutes and romance with Lynne – but such apocryphal content doesn’t allow us to solve the enigma and discover what Kaufman truly was.
Director Miloš Forman, on the other hand, doesn’t appear to have the issue with it. He uses Kaufman’s story as an opportunity for ironic spectacle, recreating some of Kaufman’s most legendary stunts, helped in many ways that they were on stage or in front of television cameras. The greatest contribution to the film comes from Jim Carrey, immensely talented comedian and great Hollywood star who had often credited Kaufman as inspiration for his work and used this biopic as an opportunity to show how he could be a “proper” actor. He prepared for the role extensively by studying Kaufman’s appearances and when he appears on screen, similarity with the a performance artist is almost frightening. This was probably one of the greatest roles in Carrey’s career and it is quite shame that Carrey hasn’t got even Oscar nomination for his work. The rest of the cast is also very good, and that includes Danny DeVito who deliberately decided not to play himself during the scenes that reconstruct production of *Taxi*. Despite never properly explaining the phenomenon of Andy Kaufman, *Man on the Moon* brings to the screen just enough of his personality to provide audience with two hours of unconventional entertainment.
RATING: 7/10 (+++)
https://youtu.be/pCcQB-iT7LY
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