SYNOPSIS

In a remarkable and touching performance, Jim Carrey tones down his usual idiosyncrasies to play late avant garde comedian Andy Kaufman in MAN ON THE MOON. In life, Kaufman was a complex, controversial, and, at times, insane performer, and Carrey captures this, as well as the subtle nuances of his more toned-down private life. Director Milos Forman stages faithful recreations of Kaufman’s pranks, method-like immersion in characters, and even scenes from TAXI, the hit TV show that made him a star, but also follows the comedian through his tragic diagnosis with cancer and his loving relationship with his girlfriend Lynne Margulies (Courtney Love). Danny DeVito, Kaufman’s real-life TAXI co-star, plays George Shapiro, the manager who discovers him and is willing to put up with all his antics, acknowledging Andy’s wry genius. Along the way on his self-made rocky road of stardom, Kaufman reinvents himself as a foreign man who mangles jokes, and as Elvis; lip-syncs the MIGHTY MOUSE cartoon theme after a full minute of dead air time on Saturday Night Live; becomes a professional wrestler, and subsequently manages to sabotage his TV career. The supporting cast in MAN ON THE MOON is excellent, including Paul Giamatti has his comedic partner-in-crime, and many members of the real cast of TAXI.


TRAILER


RELEASE DATE

May 02, 2000

DIRECTOR

Milos Forman

WRITER

Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski

COMPANY

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

GENRE

Biography, Comedy, Drama

CERT

15

RUNTIME

118 minutes

IMAGES