Man on the Moon (1999)
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The story
Andy Kaufman is a struggling performer whose act fails in nightclubs because, while the audience wants comedy, he sings the Mighty Mouse theme song and refuses to tell conventional jokes. As the audience begins to believe that Kaufman may have no talent, his previously timid "foreign man" character puts on a rhinestone jacket and does a dead-on Elvis impersonation. The audience bursts into thunderous applause, realizing Kaufman had tricked them. Soon after fooling the audience in Saturday Night Live, Kaufman catches the eye of talent agent George Shapiro, who signs him as a client and lands him a television series, Taxi, much to Kaufman's dismay, as he does not like sitcoms.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Andy Kaufman is a struggling performer whose act fails in nightclubs because he refuses to tell conventional jokes. After a successful prank on Saturday Night Live, he is signed by agent George Shapiro and cast in the sitcom Taxi as Latka Gravas. Kaufman creates the persona of Tony Clifton, a bawdy lounge singer, to trick audiences and his peers. His fame grows through unconventional acts, such as reading The Great Gatsby for four hours and engaging in a public feud with wrestler Jerry Lawler. Despite his success, Kaufman struggles with the demands of fame and his own conflicting identities. He eventually faces a terminal cancer diagnosis and seeks a medical miracle in the Philippines before dying in 1984. The film concludes with a tribute to his legacy, including a posthumous appearance by his character Tony Clifton.
- First release year
- 1999
- Runtime (minutes)
- 119
- Production countries
- United States; United Kingdom
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Miloš Forman
- Writers
- Scott Alexander · writer; Larry Karaszewski · writer
- Cast and characters
- Jim Carrey · Andy Kaufman / Tony Clifton / Latka Gravas; Danny DeVito · George Shapiro; Courtney Love · Lynne Margulies; Paul Giamatti · Bob Zmuda / Tony Clifton; Vincent Schiavelli · ABC Executive Maynard Smith; Peter Bonerz · TAXI Producer Ed Weinberger; Jerry Lawler · himself; Gerry Becker · Stanley Kaufman, Andy's father
- Genres
- biographical tragicomedy; biographical drama; comedy-drama
- Themes
- Identity; Performance vs. Reality; Fame; Artistic Integrity
- Tone and mood
- tragicomedy; melancholic
- Premise and plot tags
- Biographical; Comedy; Drama; Based on True Events
- Source material / true-story basis
- The life of Andy Kaufman
- Reception
- The film was commercially unsuccessful and received mixed reviews, though Jim Carrey received critical acclaim and won a Golden Globe for his performance.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 58 · scale: 100 · review count: 34
- Awards and nominations
- Golden Globe · Musical or Comedy · Win
- Production trivia
- Jim Carrey used extreme method acting, staying in character as Kaufman on and off set.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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