Man on the Moon (1999)

The life and career of a legendary comedian, Andy Kaufman.

Director:

Milos Forman

Writers:

Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski

Stars:

Jim Carrey, Danny DeVito, Gerry Becker

Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 4 wins & 23 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 (1978), 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 (1982), got into fisticuffs with Lawler, and proceeded to sue NBC.

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Plot Keywords:

comedian | wrestling | eccentric | wrestler | gym | 

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Taglines:

Hello, my name is Andy and this is my video." [video release]

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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

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:

$82,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,515,585, 26 December 1999, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$34,580,635, 20 February 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:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Jim Ross, most of his wrestling commentary was ad-libbed.

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Goofs

Lorne Michaels plays the executive producer of Saturday Night Live in 1982, when the infamous vote to ban Andy Kaufman took place. In reality, Dick Ebersol was executive producer of the show; Michaels left the show in 1980 and did not return until 1985. The vote was presented by then cast member Gary Kroeger.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Andy Kaufman: Hello. I am Andy and I would like to thank you for coming to my movie. I wish it was *better*, you know, but... it is so stupid! It's terrible! I do not even like it. All of the most important things in my life are changed around and mixed up for dramatic purposes. So, I decided to cut out all of the baloney! Now the movie is much *shorter*.
[pause]
Andy Kaufman: In fact, this is the end of the movie. Thank you very much.

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Crazy Credits

At one point in the movie, Kaufman clucks his way through the Sextet from Lucia di Lammermoor. In the music credits at the end, it's listed as performed by "Clara Cluck".

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Connections

References 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

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Soundtracks

Angela
(1982)
(Theme from Taxi (1978))
Written and Performed by Bob James
Courtesy of Tappan Zee Records, Inc.

User Reviews

Man on The Moon, indeed.

"Man on The Moon", indeed. I remember seeing Andy Kaufman's act on TV as a teenager, and I admit, I wrote him off as another comedian, with an incredibly expressive face and a flair for silliness. Years later, I'm watching him on "Taxi" reruns. I admired the easiness where he could go from loving Latka to malicious Vic with ease, and I thought, "Wow, this guy really loves what he does". And then I watch "Man on The Moon". Reality check.

This picture, I believe, redeems Andy Kaufman. He endured five grueling years in "Taxi" just so he could get some laughs out of people. He did wrestling stints just for the heck of it. He came real close of hitting rock bottom just to save himself at the end. He died of cancer at the age of 35, ridiculously young, and even then his own family didn't buy it. He lived misunderstood, and died misunderstood. And years later, he gets a biopic. Just what he deserves. It is sad that many people will know Andy's talent and understand him only after watching this film. But still, let's face it, at the end he did get the last laugh.

The true cornerstone in this film is Jim Carrey. Yes, you've heard endless reviews about him immersing himself into Andy, not just playing him. But this is acting beyond your dreams, trust me. Especially when he plays Andy's foreign character, Carrey lived and breathed Kaufman air. This is the movie where his silly-putty face comes handy, as it seems to help Jim turn into Andy. (If only we could do something about those teeth...) NEWSFLASH FOR THE ACADEMY: Jim Carrey can act!!! I remember Tom Hanks beginning with the same kind of movies that Jim did: loud, colorful, goofy and silly (films like "Bachelor Party" come to mind). Then he did "Big", then came "Philadelphia". When is Carrey's "Philadelphia" coming along? I can't wait to see him at the Academy Awards this year.

Man on the moon, indeed.