I'm a huge Kaufman fan and believe Carrey had the will to play his hero, but I did not find his portrayal accurate or good. Maybe no one can accurately play Kaufman. The movie seemed incredibly rushed also, so maybe writers or forman are more to blame, but Kaufman was soo much more than this disappointing film
sharei know they could have done better if they edited the crap out of it, but you have to admit there wasnt really anyother (famous) celebrity that could have done it better....
*imagines pauly shore as andy kaufman* "hey buddy what ya doing to my TV set... ohhh nice nail gun can i take it for a little test drive" oh god i think i'm gunna be sick
I thought Carrey was outstanding, portrayed Kaufman really well.
thats why he won a golden globe for it for best actor.
Jim Carrey was robbed of an Academy Award. He was that brilliant. Kevin Spacey for American Beauty...please. And Sean Penn for Sweet and Lowdown. Or Richard Farnsworth...what was that a post-humous nomination!
shareI would give Kevin Spacey the slight edge, but really... no nomination for Jim Carrey?
Possibly one of the worst mistakes the Academy has ever made... and they've made a LOT.
I remember it annoyed the hell out of me that Jim wasn't nominated that year.
shareIf you don't think Kevin Spacey deserved the Oscar, then there is something severely wrong with you.
shareJim was great in this.
And it's a pretty good movie if you ask me. 7 out of 10
He didn't kevins charcter was not as difficult to play as jim was he was snubbed easily and out performed spacey. Kevin just was in a better movie.
"I have not yet begun to defile myself"
^Greatest Performance Ever^
.'Or Richard Farnsworth...what was that a post-humous nomination!"
Richard Farnsworth passed away years after his nom.
What are you talking about?
And Carrey got screwed is right.
Sorry ...Jim Carrey was very good ...uhm sorry
shareEdward Norton looks like andy, i think he could have done a great job.
*beep* your orange star. >:-)
I thought Jim did a wonderful job he was very believable in a dramatic role [which as most people know, not too many comedians can pull off]. He did a very good performance with a lot of subtle nuances that made the character more three dimensional and belivable.
And I thought he had a pretty close resembelence to Andy.
And having been a fan of Andy's this was probably a big thing for him and would have meant way more to him than to some other actor, regardless of whether or not they look more like Andy.
To alcohol: the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems.
When they were shooting the bongo scene, Andy's mother came and visited the set and broke to tears when she saw Carrey because she thought her own son was standing there playing the bongos.
So much for "Carrey did a bad job".
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Before time began, there was.... the cube.
They should have gotten an unknown. Whatever happened to that concept? Discover some new talent. This was just watching an extended Jim Carrey impersonation of Andy Kaufman bit. You never forgot it was Carrey. How can anyone who is familiar with the real Kaufman be thrilled by this movie?
shareI thought that Jim played a very mean and angered Kaufman, he barely smiled or had an happy face, just watching a few clips of the real Kaufman shows quite a different persona from the one Jim played on the movie, I think the movie is still great just not an accurate representation of Kaufman.
sharelol i truly believe only carrey could play andy and he did the perfect job
people who thinks the imdb list means anything it doesn't its fan voted
I thought that Jim played a very mean and anger Kaufman, he barely smiled or had an happy face, just watching a few clips of the real Kaufman shows quite a different persona from the one Jim played on the movie, I think the movie is still great just not an accurate representation of Kaufman.
I agree with you to a large degree, and I understand what you're saying.
First and foremost - I love Jim Carrey and he gave a respectable performance, overall. And there is no doubt in my mind that Andy was with him in spirit "steering the car" (as they said in the DVD). But to be honest? I think Andy would've been there in spirit with any actor, helping them out.
Here is a very good example of what Andy is to ME. This is a link to a 1983 interview. --->
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIGrVXuMAEM
You see... I think Jim Carrey missed the mark a little bit when it comes to his personality. As you can see, Andy was a little more laidback and gentle than what Jim Carrey portrayed. I would've liked to have seen more of THIS. But instead, with Jim, it's almost like we just got a two-hour long impression of Andy. (A really good one, granted, but...)
It seemed to be fate that Jim would play the part, given that he and Andy both have the same birthday (Jan. 17), Jim loved Andy so much, and Andy's loved ones were so impressed with him on the set. On the DVD extras, Lynne Margulies said that Jim even picked up on physical mannerisms of Andy's that, as far as she knows, never appeared on film in any performances or interviews of his.
But still... I can't shake the feeling that there is another actor out there who could've nailed the part just a bit better. Maybe even an unknown.
And I agree with Andy's father, Stanley Kaufman, that the movie should've been based on the book Lost In The Funhouse by Bill Zehme, instead of how they decided to do it. It would've had a lot more heart. Mr. Kaufman felt that a great deal of heart was missing from Andy's story. I have to agree with him. I never could quite describe what I thought was missing before... but Stanley Kaufman voiced it perfectly.
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I cannot find the words to describe how much I admire this performance of Jim Carrey as Andy Kaufmann. It should be shown and analyzed in acting schools.
If you honestly think Jim nailed it... then I think the two of us must have VASTLY different interpretations of who Andy Kaufman was.
I like Carrey, but I did "forget" it was Jim and reached a stage where i was "watching Andy" not just someone impersonating Andy. I guess each person is drawn into an impersonation by different things.
As an aside, i also felt the same thing watching Walk The Line. JP pulled me into believing I was watching JC.
my god its full of stars
How can anyone who is familiar with the real Kaufman be thrilled by this movie?I'm so glad I found someone who knows what's good and bad in art. Please direct me to your website where you review movies for a living. Obviously I've been watching many of the wrong ones, and I want so very much to find out what parts I sould be laughing at. share
When they were shooting the bongo scene, Andy's mother came and visited the set and broke to tears when she saw Carrey because she thought her own son was standing there playing the bongos.
So much for "Carrey did a bad job".
DoctorKay - are you sure you don't mean his dad, girlfriend, or another loved one? Andy's mother Janice passed away five years after he did, in 1989.
When they were shooting the bongo scene, Andy's mother came and visited the set and broke to tears when she saw Carrey because she thought her own son was standing there playing the bongos.Shades of Buddy Holly's widow's reaction when she heard tapes of Gary Busey doing his own vocals in The Buddy Holly Story. Thought it was the real thing.
So much for "Carrey did a bad job".
Edward Norton looks like andy, i think he could have done a great jobGriffin Dunne from Scorcese's black comedy "After Hours." I've seen him on a couple of reruns of L&O:CI doing dramatic turns as a sleazy record producer/night club owner, and he is a great character actor with a remarkable range of talent. I think he could've pulled it off.
Carrey was as good as it gets.
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Jim should at least have been nominated for an Oscar.
He deserved an Oscar for Eternal Sunshine too.
Agreed, he was brilliant in this movie. He should have gotten a nom, even though Spacey deserved to win. Carrey should have gotten noms for Truman Show and Eternal Sunshine also, but for some reason the Academy doesn't take him seriously, when he's proven that he has incredible range as an actor. It's not fair, but awards seldom are.
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I thought he deserved a mention at least.
I think a greater upset is the fact he was overlooked for Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind. I watched that film for a 2nd time with a few of my housemates and after about 40 mins one of my housemates says "is that Jim Carrey?" He was amazed, and we all just fell about laughing at how long it had taken him to realise.
Pretty good act methinks.
Spacey probably deserved the oscar that year, as American Beauty was a superb movie and the actors around Spacey all put in great performances. But with Man on the Moon, it would have fallen flat if Carrey hadnt been playing Kaufman, so he deserved a nomination at least. Loved this movie though. Even though i never really followed Kaufmans work. His accents were amazing. He may still be alive ... who knows!!
RIP: Peter Osgood and Ronnie Barker
Easily Carrey's best performanceEternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
I disagree 100%. I remember when i first saw the movie in theaters, i was thinking it was going to be another comedy but it turned out to be an extremely heartfelt movie and was one of my favorites that year. His performance was fantastic. I even went back and watched it again recently and its still wonderful. Mind you, Im 25 and when that movie came out i was 13 or 14 and didn't know much about movies, my viewing again was to see if it was still impressive as it was to me when i was younger, and i ended up finding it better than i remembered. I think he didn't get nominated just cause he was such a silly guy then and no one thought he could pull it off. I'm sure if he did something like that now, people would talk about it and maybe he would get the nomination he deserved.
You know what it takes to sell real estate? It takes brass balls.
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You're absolutely right. I just rented it from netflix and the envelope said 2000. Crazy, I couldve sworn it had come out earlier than that. Only time I saw it was in theaters; up until recently so my memory was real foggy on it. Mustve watched it liked 5 times since I thought about it in the last couple of months though, so good.
You know what it takes to sell real estate? It takes brass balls.
yawn....yeah yeah we get the idea sliat. you think spaceys character was a pedophile. the fact is he was not. but even if he was it still would have been a great movie. repeat to yourself....its only a movie, its only a movie
shareI thought Carrey was fantastic in this. I thought the film was great, although it could have been better I think. I always felt like it reached an early peak with his first few awesome performances, then it kind of levels out to just "good" and just about manages to hold that for the rest of the film.
I felt it was a little rushed, especially in the second half. All of the wrestling stuff and the Courtney Love parts just didn't seem to quite hit the target, it went too fast and felt a bit thin and then it was the end.
But yeah, Carrey was really great.
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Sounds to me as if you may have some issues Sliat. It's a movie. And I don't recall any mention of the girl being under the age of consent for whatever state is it set in. I am from the UK and the legal age of consent over here is 16. Admittedly, anything under that age is frowned upon but girls seem to quite like older men don't they? They do mature more quickly than most average males.
You are entitled to your opinion as is everybody, but why keep going on about it in this case? It's a great movie and that was just part of the story. Are you currently stalking Mr Spacey whilst holding a copy of Catcher In The Rye close to your chest? After all, he is a child molester!!
And.....as you are being so petty in pointing out my mistakes..........
let me introduce you to one of yours....."What you you mean"
This film is not even based on a true story, you lunatic.
I bet you were horrified at the old lady being sent flying through her roof on her stairlift in Gremlins. How could they treat an old lady like that? It is downright disgraceful !
rayraysworld, Sliat does have issues. The pedophile thing is something he/she brings up all over the place. Your note here makes a lot of sense, but I'll bet you'll get a crazy, abusive response that has nothing to do with anything you wrote. It's posters like Sliat that degrades IMDB, which is otherwise a terrific forum for sharing thoughts, debating opinions, and generally celebrating movies.
shareThanks for your message, nfaust1. I just thought that Sliat had hijacked the thread and changed the whole feel of it. The thread is about Jim Carrey and Sliat had changed it into a rant at Spacey for his portrayal of a fictional character.
Let's hope this thread can get back on the right track.
I thought Carrey was excellent in this movie and was intrigued by the whole Kaufman phenomenon. I am from England and we don't really know much about Kaufman. But this made me want to know more.
rayraysworld, you will note that Sliat, in his/her usual way, has commented on our messages. I expect more will come.
You're right about Carrey in the film. It was perfect casting. There's a wild, anarchistic streak in Carrey, too.
My problem with the film wasn't the performances. Thought Forman missed an opportunity to actually say something about the Kaufman phenomenon. Instead, he made a film that ultimately functioned like a Kaufman put on. Though such an approach seemed warranted, a more specific meaning could have been communicated.
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