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tion" (as Frankfurter says). In this way, the texture of the film reminded me of the "theatre of pain" and industrialist theatre genres where the audience is made uncomfortable, nervous, and sometimes physically ill to attain the desired emotion and response. If nothing else, the feeling is not unlike Kubric's Clockwork Orange where, as the main character goes through treatment that makes him sick of sex and violence by being forced to watch the films, the audience goes through the same treatment while watching Clockwork Orange.
Most film reviews you read will focus on whether the reviewer recommends the film. Some reviewers will even discuss why they liked the film or why they didn't. I have a different perspective and recommend this film even if you don't like it. In fact, I wish I could take you on the journey I took to see the film. If possible, you should see the MSNBC behind-the-scenes look at Man on the Moon. One of the smaller reasons to see the documentary is that watching Man on the Moon shows relatively little about the entire life of Andy Kaufman. One of the better reasons for seeing the documentary is that, unfortunately for the film, some of the comments made during the documentary are more universally important than the majority of the film's dialogue sequences.
The biggest comment for me was Shapiro's statement that Kaufman, who is considered a comedian probably because we have no other category in which to stick him, has never told a joke and probably never knew how. Shapiro contends that Kaufman is not a comedian or an actor but a performance artist. I don't know that I could have enjoyed the film without watching it from this perspective. Maybe it's just my personal experience, but the common facet of the performance artists I've known is that they never actually come off stage. I believe that because their "stage" is wherever they can attract an audience (therefore affording no geographical difference between their "stage" and the world) the performance artists' stage has no physical or philosophical entrances or exits.
With this in mind, the MSNBC documentary shows Kaufman's friend Zmuda say that Kaufman's friends were never sure what was an act and what was real for Kaufman. They never knew when he was playing a character and when he was the character. Along with this, Danny Devito talks about Kaufman and his lounge singer character as if they really were two different people. If you stay tuned with me here, MSNBC also has an interview with Jim Carrey where he says he actually walked around the set the entire time being Andy Kaufman. Milos Foreman says that Carrey showed up only twice during the filming, as Kaufman was on the set the rest of the time. Carrey also says that he had to take a month break after the film to get away from Kaufman and actually find himself. He says he would even question himself while thinking and have to ask if this was something he believed or something Kaufman believes. If this seems impossible, remember that Jonathan Winters and Dana Carvey both retired because they lost themselves in the characters they played and that Dustin Hoffman was told when preparing for a part to "For God's sakes, man, try acting."
Most film reviews you read will focus on whether the reviewer recommends the film. Some reviewers will even discuss why they liked the film or why they didn't. I have a different perspective and recommend this film even if you don't like it. In fact, I wish I could take you on the journey I took to see the film. If possible, you should see the MSNBC behind-the-scenes look at Man on the Moon. One of the smaller reasons to see the documentary is that watching Man on the Moon shows relatively little about the entire life of Andy Kaufman. One of the better reasons for seeing the documentary is that, unfortunately for the film, some of the comments made during the documentary are more universally important than the majority of the film's dialogue sequences.
The biggest comment for me was Shapiro's statement that Kaufman, who is considered a comedian probably because we have no other category in which to stick him, has never told a joke and probably never knew how. Shapiro contends that Kaufman is not a comedian or an actor but a performance artist. I don't know that I could have enjoyed the film without watching it from this perspective. Maybe it's just my personal experience, but the common facet of the performance artists I've known is that they never actually come off stage. I believe that because their "stage" is wherever they can attract an audience (therefore affording no geographical difference between their "stage" and the world) the performance artists' stage has no physical or philosophical entrances or exits.
