Man on the Moon (1999)

A film about the life and career of the eccentric avant-garde comedian, Andy Kaufman.

Director:

Milos Forman

Writers:

Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski

Stars:

Jim Carrey, Gerry Becker, Greyson Erik Pendry

Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 3 wins & 16 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jim Carrey	...	Andy Kaufman (as Tony Clifton)
Gerry Becker	...	Stanley Kaufman - Andy's Father
Greyson Erik Pendry	...	Little Michael Kaufman (as Greyson Pendry)
Brittany Colonna	...	Baby Carol Kaufman
Leslie Lyles	...	Janice Kaufman - Andy's Mother
Bobby Boriello	...	Little Andy Kaufman
George Shapiro	...	Mr. Besserman
Danny DeVito	...	George Shapiro
Budd Friedman	...	Budd Friedman
Tom Dreesen	...	Wiseass Comic
Thomas Armbruster	...	Improv Piano Player
Pamela Abdy	...	Diane Barnett
Wendy Polland	...	Little Wendy
Cash Oshman	...	Yogi
Matt Price	...	Meditation Student

Storyline

Man on the Moon is a biographical movie on the late comedian Andy Kaufman. Kaufman, along with his role on Taxi, was famous for being the self-declared Intergender Wrestling Champion of the world. After beating women time and time again, Jerry Lawler (who plays himself in the movie), a professional wrestler, got tired of seeing all of this and decided to challenge Kaufman to a match. In most of the matches the two had, Lawler prevailed with the piledriver, which is a move by spiking an opponent head-first into the mat. One of the most famous moments in this feud was in the early 80s when Kaufman threw coffee on Lawler on Late Night with David Letterman, got into fisticuffs with Lawler, and proceeded to sue NBC.

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Plot Keywords:

comedian | andy kaufman | wrestling | eccentric | wrestler | 

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Taglines:

"Hello, my name is Andy and this is my Bus" [Bus Poster]

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Genres:

Biography | Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and brief sexuality/nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Universal

Country:

UK Germany Japan USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 December 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Andy Kaufman

Filming Locations:

Ambassador Hotel - 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$52,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£264,226 (UK) (5 May 2000)

Gross:

£501,786 (UK) (12 May 2000)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Mutual Film Company, Jersey Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During filming, a story broke out that a fight ensued between Jerry Lawler and Jim Carrey which was also played out by Lawler on WWF Monday Night RAW (where he commentates). The whole story was fabricated to promote the movie.

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Goofs

When Andy Kaufman is getting his Elvis Presley impersonation together he puts on a guitar, but in the next cut when he's facing the audience the guitar is gone.

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Quotes

Andy Kaufman: I am from Caspiar, an Island in the Caspian Sea. It sunk.

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Crazy Credits

The credits lists Tony Clifton as himself. Tony Clifton was a character created by Andy Kaufman, and was portrayed by Andy or Bob Zmuda in real life (and by Jim Carrey in the movie).

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Connections

Features Lassie (1954)

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Soundtracks

"Kiss You All Over"
(1978)
Written by Michael Chapman (as Mike Chapman) and Nicolas Chinn (as Nicky Chinn)
Performed by Exile
Courtesy of Mike Chapman Enterprises, Inc.

User Reviews

dank you veddy much

I've been an Andy Kaufman fan for quite a while now. True, I was around six when Andy died. But somehow this strange man was able to affect both my work and outlook. So needless to say I was looking forward to this film. And I was not disappointed.

Critics complain that while engaging, this film does not let the viewer in on who exactly Kaufman was. It's simple: there was no real Andy Kaufman. He was socially inept, utterly brilliant, and a strange and distant individual. His sense of humor (if he even had one) was not for everyone to understand. THAT WAS THE POINT. So why should a film spoil the mystery? MAN ON THE MOON was as an homage to Andy, NOT an explanation, and far better than those dull, lifeless documentaries on E! or comedy central in which uninteresting comedians try to explain why Andy was brilliant. It's common knowledge that explaining a joke renders it humorous (a notion that Andy toyed with in his Foreign Man routine, remember?)

True, some facts were altered for dramatic purposes (though the truth is just as interesting), or maybe just necessity, but the base story is still pretty accurate. Some of the more humorous moments in Kaufman's career were not mentioned (i.e. his stints on Johnny Carson and David Letterman, his work with performance artist Laurie Anderson, his street corner preaching). But lets face it, everything couldn't and didn't need to be included. The film is capable of capturing the essence of Kaufman's world. If you want to see everything Kaufman did, find a recording of it and watch that.

Carrey is brilliant as Kaufman. Some call it an imitation, though that seems overly simplified and absurd. That was an imitation along the lines of Geoffrey Rush in SHINE, or Hilary Swank in BOYS DON'T CRY, or Richard Farnsworth in THE STRAIGHT STORY. Sure, Carrey observes and uses the many Kaufman quirks without a fault, but his observation goes far beyond what any other actor seems capable of. Carrey is Andy Kaufman. So many seem unwilling to admit that Carrey can act.

Taken on it's own, MAN ON THE MOON is a magical, funny, and wonderful film. Taken with the rest of the sources currently available on Andy Kaufman, this is just another facet to a complex career and an homage to a brilliant man.