MAN ON THE MOON--Acting Part 1
This month, we begin with some acting philsophy.
Part 1--A Review of Man on the Moon, Finding Character,and Losing Self
Part 2--Stanislavski, Mostly a Simple Review
Part 3--More Real than Literal
If I have come away with nothing else from Man on the Moon, I at least understand the R.E.M. song. "If you believe they put a man on the moon...." We live in an age where even the lunar landing is questioned by conspiracy theorists. We believe in nothing. Since we believe in nothing, the possibility would seem remote that anyone could fool us, but certainly Andy Kaufman did from time to time. In keeping with this theme, the film starts with the Kaufman character telling us that the film is no good and to leave. We then sit through his failing as a stand-up comic and laugh nervously when he gets up at The Improv and tells pitiful jokes and does a non-imitation of Jimmy Carter. Then we expect his failure when he says he will impersonate Elvis. As he prepares to impersonate Elvis, "Thus Sprach Zorathustra" strikes up (Bombom Bombom Bombom BOM!), Kaufman turns around as Elvis, impresses Shapiro, and a career is launched. How fitting for a career of someone whose ambition is to be the biggest star in the world to start with this song-a song named for Nietzsche's novel (Nietzsche who also wrote Beyond Good and Evil and explained the Superman) and made famous in Kubric's 2001.
Either you believe or don't believe that they put a man on the moon. If you don't and believe it's a hoax, then you believe that anything can be a hoax. If you do believe, as most of us do, that the lunar landing actually happened, then there is very little we can do on earth that would inspire awe. Can any action be more amazing than that giant leap for mankind? Can there be anything more entertaining than a trip designed more to inspire nationalism than to find moon facts? Do we even look to entertainment and sports heroes to inspire us to be "better people"? Most of the time, we don't care if they are better people themselves. Remember that in this final year of the 1990's, we've seen the end of Charles Barkley's full career and the beginning of John Rocker's.
By the end of the movie, we are surprised by many things and have to wonder at the end if the director and screenwriters want us to believe that Kaufman may still be alive. The films of the nineties that will stand out as being representative of our time are those that make us question reality as the film rolls along. (Along with this film, I add Donner's Conspiracy Theory, Fincher's The Game, Weir's The Truman Show, and Kubric's Eyes Wide Shut to the representative list.) From a presentational standpoint, this film succeeds by tricking the audience as it presents one of the merriest pranksters of our time. As we see Kaufman try to figure out how he will shock an audience that is used to his tricks, the audience wonders how a movie that has tricked us all along will trick us again. The silent and slow moments of the film, like those of Kaufman's routines, may be the most exciting as they build "anticipa
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