Jim & Andy Plot Summary:
Jim Carrey discusses his transformative performance as the late comedian Andy Kaufman from the 1999 film, Man on the Moon, with archival behind the scenes footage not seen in nearly twenty years.
The biggest crime at the Academy Awards was The Dark Knight not getting nominated for Best Picture. The second biggest crime was Jim Carrey being snubbed a Best Actor nomination for his performance as Andy Kaufman, the late comedian who broke all the rules of comedy in the seventies and eighties. Not only is Man on the Moon one of the most underrated films in history, but for me, Jim Carrey gives one of the greatest cinematic performances of all time. This documentary shows us why.
First and foremost, I am a massive Jim Carrey fan. He had a major influence on me growing up. While his filmography is impressive as hell, I still think it’s a career that has gone underrated. Much like Bill Murray, his comedy is unique. Nobody can do what he does. As an actor though, he’s exceptionally talented. Man on the Moon links both the comic and thespian together in the performance of a lifetime.
Aside from actual footage, we get a candid interview with the man himself. As most geniuses are, he’s a bit eccentric. His ramblings sound like Nicolas Cage at times, or even Tom Cruise-esque. He has some interesting views on free will, and at one point talks about floating through the universe. It might be a little out there, but you can’t argue the man isn’t engaging. It’s this type of mentality why he was able to give the performance that he did as Andy Kaufman.
People love to throw the term method actor around all the time, but Carrey’s performance goes well beyond that. In the beginning of the documentary, Carrey says Andy Kaufman tapped him on the shoulder and said, “Step aside. I’ll be doing my movie.” Carrey really believes he became Andy Kaufman. It’s easy to say that, but in this footage, you’ll believe it too.
For someone like me who loves a peek behind the curtain on movies, this was a damn goldmine. Jim Carrey was never Jim Carrey on the set. He was only Andy. This includes playing elaborate pranks on Jerry Lawler. Creating legit on set drama with cast and crew. He even talked to Andy’s real family as Andy, including getting into an argument with the actor who played Andy’s dad in the movie while Carrey was getting makeup. Without spoiling it, the reaction this got from the makeup artist was incredible.
It was fascinating to watch Milos Forman, a legendary Academy Award winning director, have to put up with this utter insanity. You can see it weigh on Forman in the footage. At one point in production, Milos asks “Andy” if he could speak to Jim on the phone later that night. Carrey tells a great story about how Milos just wanted to hear Jim’s voice to make sure Jim was still there.
Not only did everyone have to deal with “Andy,” who was known for creating drama that people constantly questioned if it was real or not, but they also had to deal with Andy’s alter ego, Tony Clifton. If you’ve seen the movie, you know Clifton is a loud, obnoxious drunken lounge singer. That’s what Carrey was like on set whenever he played Clifton – a complete nightmare.
Carrey even took his antics off set. Kaufman’s writing partner, Bob Zmuda, played by Paul Giamatti in the film, was always on set with “Andy,” and they acted exactly as they would if Andy was alive. Bob would sometimes play Tony Clifton, so when Carrey got invited to the Playboy Mansion, a surprise guest came instead to make a ruckus in front of Hugh Hefner.
This doesn’t even cover half the stuff that went on during filming. The real powerful moments come towards the end when Carrey has to play the scenes where Kaufman gets cancer. That’s when it really hits everybody on the set. There’s also a story about an interaction that “Andy” has with Kaufman’s real daughter who was put up for adoption, and who Andy never knew. I honestly can’t decide if that story was touching, or just plain strange. Maybe it was both. Either way, it’s a story worth hearing.
Aside from the Man on the Moon production, you get great stuff on Carrey’s early days as a comic, the famous story about the $10 million check he wrote and some personal stories about his dad that really hit home for me. And for all you Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind fanatics, you get a couple great tidbits there as well.
Carrey bookends the documentary when he talks about when production wrapped, and what it was like to be Jim Carrey once more. He also gives an interesting story on why he declined to appear in the R.E.M video for the film.
If you’re a Jim Carrey fan, this is required viewing. If you’re just a fan of filmmaking or acting specifically, it’s also required viewing. Whether you love or hate Man on the Moon, or don’t even care for Carrey’s performance, there’s no way you don’t find what he did to prepare for this role fascinating on some level.
I doubt this movie will win Best Documentary at the Oscars, but it would be ironic if the movie about Carrey playing Andy Kaufman won, but the actual performance did not. That sounds like something Andy Kaufman would have liked.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10 (Really Great)
