Man on the Moon(1999)- User Reviews

I used to watch reruns of the classic TV sitcom "Taxi" on my favorite station Deja View, and one of my favorite characters was Latka played with such poise and extreme energy by the late Andy Kaufman. His expressions and his wild antics provided hours and hours of non-stop laughter. His versatility to change from a lovable character like Latka to a cunning character like Vic gave me the impression that this was a man who loved and enjoyed his craft. But then, I got a burst of reality after watching the classic biopic, "Man on the Moon".
Jim Carrey brings the kooky comedian to life in this thought-absorbing biopic of a man who was trapped in a world he never really wanted no part of. Here we see the real Andy Kaufman struggling through long excruciating hours on "Taxi" for six long years, just to get attention from the fans. He caught media attention by fighting in inter-gender wrestling matches against women wrestlers, even getting in the face with wrestling legend Jerry "The King" Lawler. He took his life to a downward spiral and did everything can to recify from all that's gone awry in his personal life. In 1984 at the young age of 35 years old, Kaufman died and the worst part, no one took it seriously either at first. All his life he wanted to be understood, but unfortunately that never happened and though he was admired as a comedian, his personal life hit a sad chord. What's even sadder is that the real Andy Kaufman can only be described in this biopic 25 years after his death in this 1999 classic "Man on the Moon." This is the only opportunity to see the real Andy Kaufman so for those who are curious about him, I would suggest you go out and this remarkable classic.
Jim Carrey who's also known for being off the wall himself was the perfect choice for the role as the controversial Kaufman. It was like Kaufman was resurrected from the dead because Carrey threw himself into this role to star as Kaufman. Everything even up to the Latka character, Carrey was simply amazing. It was the right time for Carrey's silly expressions to come to great use and it was excellent to see Carrey show that he could play silly even when he really isn't at all, but reliving the short life of Andy Kaufman. Carrey was sadly rejected from the Oscars here and it's a travesty because at the time, I think Carrey deserved an Oscar. And like Kaufman, Carrey is also very underrated and misunderstood.