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 soundtrack." (sound track)

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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

The title "Man on the Moon" refers to an R.E.M. song about Andy Kaufman from the album "Automatic For The People."

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Goofs

When Tony Clifton walks onto the set of Taxi with 2 prostitutes, the blonde is wearing a light purple top but later when sitting on top of the prop cab she is wearing an orange top.

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Quotes

George Shapiro: You're insane, but you might also be brilliant.

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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

Featured in The 57th Annual Golden Globe Awards (2000)

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Soundtracks

"Hallelujah Chorus"
(1741)
from "Messiah"
Written by George Frideric Handel (as Handel)
Arranged by Charlie Brissette

User Reviews

Hmmm...

Having liked the contrived Latka Gravas, but never really knowing much more about Andy Kaufman than the Headlines, Man on the Moon offered some incredible depictions of this one of a kind enigma.

I was never a big fan of his off-Taxi antics, but then again, Man on the Moon made it clear that I simply did not understand them. I'm not any more of a Kaufman fan than I've been, but Man on the Moon has left me with an incredible appreciation for his genius.

Jim Carrey's performance is chilling. His normal on-screen presence has often made it hard for me to see him as the characters he's played. This time, I forgot that I was watching an actor portraying Andy Kaufman. It was frighteningly good. The entire supporting cast was just as stellar.

Though interesting throughout, mostly because it explained so much that I never knew about events that were so highly publicized, Man on the Moon's amazing insight into the "why" behind the "what" of his antics completely left out the "why" behind the "what" of the person. I now know a lot about what he did, but I still know very little about who he was.

If the creators' intent was to let the world get to know Andy Kaufman the man, then I think the film missed its mark. However, that has nothing to do with the fact that it was an outstanding film in every way. It would be as unfair to detract from the film for this as it would be to call a hammer useless because it doesn't drill holes. A film isn't about what I expect, it's about what it is. In this case, it's astounding from beginning to end.