For all the attention he got, Andy Kaufman didn't leave much of a comic legacy. Mostly just his part on Taxi, where his Latka character could be amusing in small doses. So why make a movie about a secondary sitcom actor? Unfortunately, you'll still be asking that question when the movie is over.
What Kaufman was famous for is stunts involving feigned anger or outright verbal abuse that were designed to entertain only himself. People who watched him hoping to see something funny often just saw shouting and threats. He was called a comedian but he preferred being unfunny.
Man on the Moon carefully recreates these episodes. Makeup artists make Jim Carrey look exactly like Kaufman, and Carrey meticulously reenacts all of Kaufman's mannerisms. The producers even cast many of Kaufman's actual accomplices, like wrestler Jerry Lawler. The problem is, when you carefully, painstakingly recreate an unfunny event, you get a careful, painstaking unfunny event. This isn't a failed movie in the sense it doesn't achieve its goal; it's a failed movie in the sense that the goal was never worth achieving.
What Kaufman was famous for is stunts involving feigned anger or outright verbal abuse that were designed to entertain only himself. People who watched him hoping to see something funny often just saw shouting and threats. He was called a comedian but he preferred being unfunny.
Man on the Moon carefully recreates these episodes. Makeup artists make Jim Carrey look exactly like Kaufman, and Carrey meticulously reenacts all of Kaufman's mannerisms. The producers even cast many of Kaufman's actual accomplices, like wrestler Jerry Lawler. The problem is, when you carefully, painstakingly recreate an unfunny event, you get a careful, painstaking unfunny event. This isn't a failed movie in the sense it doesn't achieve its goal; it's a failed movie in the sense that the goal was never worth achieving.