For the second time in recent years director Milos Forman has made a movie about an American who is difficult to understand or even like... first there was Larry Flynt and now there`s Andy Kaufman. Kaufman was an American comedian who rose to fame on the television show Taxi which co-incidentally starred Danny de Vito... in Man on the Moon de Vito plays Kaufman`s agent George Shapiro who spots some glimmer of something different in Andy in a nightclub... well, something different was right - Andy was like no other - a performer who pushed the edge of comedy into practical joke zone who enjoyed making audiences uncomfortable and who never backed away from his strange and dangerous talent... Staying very true to the essence of Kaufman director Milos Forman doesn`t provide easy insight into this very difficult man, but he does give us a portrait of him... and it`s a fascinating one. Jim Carrey is simply stunning as Kaufman, Carrey has a strong screen personality which he subdues brilliantly to depict the enigma of this singular talent. This is a finely crafted film with great supporting performances from de Vito and from Paul Giamatti who plays Bob Zmuda, Kaufman`s friend and co-conspirator, Courtney Love reteams with Forman to once again play the girlfriend of the central character although her role in this is less significant. I came away from Man On The Moon totally exhilarated... and more a fan of Carrey than ever - how dare they ignore him at the Academy... it`s outrageous...
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