Jim Carrey plays Andy Kaufman as a man who refuses to play by the rules. That is the whole premise of Man on the Moon, and it is the same premise that makes the film frustrating in equal measure. This 1999 biopic, directed by Miloš Forman and written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, tries to capture the essence of a performer who became famous for making audiences uncomfortable. It mostly succeeds, but the film struggles to balance its tragicomic tone with the genuine tragedy of Kaufman’s later years. The result is a movie that feels both essential and uneven, a portrait of a man who could not stop being himself even when it cost him everything.
Trailer, via Universal Pictures.
The Kaufman Method
The film opens with Kaufman (played by Carrey) failing in nightclubs. Audiences want jokes, and he gives them the Mighty Mouse theme song instead. When he finally puts on a rhinestone jacket and does a dead-on Elvis impersonation, the crowd erupts. The gag is on everyone. From there, the story moves through Kaufman’s early gigs, his appearance on Saturday Night Live, and his breakthrough role as Latka Gravas on Taxi. Each step is a trick, a performance designed to upset the expectations of the people watching him.
Kaufman catches the eye of talent agent George Shapiro (Danny DeVito), who signs him and lands him the sitcom. Kaufman accepts the role despite disliking sitcoms, because the money, visibility, and promise of his own television special were too tempting. He turns his timid “foreign man” character into Latka Gravas, the mechanic who becomes the show’s breakout star. The irony is that Kaufman secretly hates doing the show and wants to quit.
Clifton and the Feud
The film devotes significant attention to Kaufman’s creation of Tony Clifton, the villain character he shares with his creative partner, Bob Zmuda (Paul Giamatti). Clifton is a lounge singer who is actually Kaufman in disguise. When Shapiro sees Clifton perform at a nightclub and invites him backstage, Clifton takes off his sunglasses and reveals his true identity. The gag is on the audience again. Kaufman’s profile increases with his appearances on Saturday Night Live, but his fame brings problems. Audiences dislike his unusual antihumor and demand that he perform as Latka. At one show, he antagonizes attendees by reading The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald aloud and non-stop for approximately four hours.
The film also covers Kaufman’s feud with wrestler Jerry “The King” Lawler (Jerry Lawler himself), a long-running “feud” that Kaufman created and sustained for years. Lawler appears as himself, and the film treats the feud as a central part of Kaufman’s legacy. The relationship between Kaufman and Clifton, and the feud with Lawler, are the two major gags that define the film’s structure.
Carrey’s Performance
Carrey’s performance is the reason this film works at all. He plays Kaufman as a man who cannot stop performing, even when the performance is a private one. The transformation into Clifton is particularly striking, as Carrey shifts from Kaufman’s gentle, awkward energy to Clifton’s aggressive, confrontational presence. The scene where Clifton removes his sunglasses and reveals Kaufman underneath is a moment of pure cinema, a visual representation of the man behind the mask.
Carrey earned a Golden Globe for his work, his second in a row after winning for The Truman Show. The win was in the Musical or Comedy category. The performance is a masterclass in physical comedy and controlled intensity. Carrey finds the balance between Kaufman’s strange humor and his genuine pain, and he carries the film through its rough patches.
The Cast Around Him
The supporting cast is strong, anchored by DeVito as Shapiro and Courtney Love as Lynne Margulies. DeVito brings his usual sharp energy to the role, playing Shapiro as a man who sees Kaufman’s potential and pushes him toward it. Love plays Margulies with a mix of tenderness and frustration, caught between her love for Kaufman and her concern about his health. Paul Giamatti plays Zmuda as Kaufman’s creative partner and confidant, a man who understands the game Kaufman is playing.
The film also includes cameos from many of Kaufman’s real-life friends and co-stars, including David Letterman, Paul Shaffer, wrestling announcers Jim Ross and Lance Russell, The Improv founder Budd Friedman, Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels, and actors Vincent Schiavelli and Chad Whitson. These cameo appearances ground the film in the world Kaufman inhabited, even as the story leans heavily into the fictionalized version of his life.
What Works and What Doesn’t
Man on the Moon is a film about a man who refused to conform, and it refuses to conform itself. That refusal is both its strength and its weakness. The film is at its best when it lets Kaufman be Kaufman, letting Carrey’s performance carry the weight of a strange and singular personality. It is at its worst when it gets bogged down in Kaufman’s later troubles, particularly his battle with cancer, which the film handles with less grace than it handles his earlier stunts.
The film’s structure is episodic, moving from one stunt to the next, which can feel disjointed. Some of the middle sections drag, particularly the scenes dealing with Kaufman’s illness, where the film loses its comedic edge. The film also struggles with its tone, oscillating between the comedy of Kaufman’s early performances and the tragedy of his later decline. This tonal shift is a deliberate choice, but it is not always successful.
Here is a quick rundown of the film’s strengths and weaknesses:
- Jim Carrey’s performance as Kaufman and Clifton is the standout element, delivering a nuanced portrayal of a man who could not stop performing.
- The film captures the essence of Kaufman’s antihumor, showing why audiences loved and hated him in equal measure.
- The supporting cast, particularly Danny DeVito as Shapiro and Courtney Love as Margulies, provides solid support to Carrey’s lead.
- The cameo appearances from Kaufman’s real-life friends and co-stars add authenticity to the story.
- The film’s handling of Kaufman’s later illness and death is uneven, losing the sharpness of its earlier comedy.
The film’s strengths outweigh its weaknesses, but they do not erase them. Man on the Moon is a flawed masterpiece, a film that captures a singular personality with a rare kind of precision. It is a film that demands to be watched, even when it frustrates.
| Element | Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|---|
| Carrey’s performance | Nuanced portrayal of Kaufman and Clifton | None noted |
| Comedy | Captures Kaufman’s antihumor effectively | Tonal shifts between comedy and tragedy |
| Supporting cast | Solid support from DeVito and Love | None noted |
| Cameo appearances | Adds authenticity to the story | None noted |
| Later sections | Uneven handling of Kaufman’s illness and death | Loses sharpness of earlier comedy |
Final Word
Man on the Moon is a film that rewards attention but does not always reward patience. It is a portrait of a man who could not stop being himself, even when that self-destructive impulse led him to his death. The film is a worthy entry in the canon of Kaufman’s legend, but it is not a perfect one. Its flaws are real, but so is its power.
Carrey’s performance is the reason to see it, and the film’s commitment to Kaufman’s strange humor is admirable. But the tonal shifts and uneven pacing keep it from greatness. Man on the Moon is a film that will likely be remembered as a key document of Kaufman’s legacy, but it will not be remembered as his definitive biography.
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