Man On The Moon (1999)

Milos Forman continued his masterclass in film making with 1999’s Man on the Moon, starring Jim Carrey as Andy Kaufman. The initial budget for the film was between $52 and $82 million and only grossed an initial $47.4 million at the Box Office. On release the film was unsuccessful commercially and had mixed reviews, Carrey received high praise for his performance and won a Golden Globe, the second after his award for his role in 1998’s The Truman Show as entertainment grown Truman Burbank.

Forman uses close-up shots of each character in most of his scenes which allows the audience a chance to connect with the characters and their emotions in heartfelt moments, in the case of Man on the Moon it also allows the viewers to marvel at the likeness between Jim Carrey and Andy Kaufman through the use of amazing makeup and costume techniques. The close-up shots and reaction cuts reminded me of their same use in 1975’s One flew over the cuckoo’s nest also directed by Forman. Another reminder of Milos Forman’s other work was the recurring actors between the two films; for example, Christopher Lloyd and Vincent Schiavelli.

As mostly an American Cult Icon, I hadn’t heard of Andy Kaufman before this film and I believe that the film provided me with a substantial overview of Andy’s life without the film being overly funny itself and losing the tone required for a biopic about an artist that has passed. In my opinion, Carrey performed a perfect imitation of Kaufman which lead me to search YouTube for real videos of his genius. This was my extra cinematic identification with this film.

The R.E.M. soundtrack for the film perfectly accompanied this biopic, with a light tone to end the film on. I had heard the song many times before, but from now on will carry a new level of meaning and importance.