Good movie but grossly overrated

Don't listen to the negative reviews

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

I just finished watching "Man on the Moon" for the first time, and it's already one of my favorites. I had a tiny amount of knowledge on Andy Kaufman before now, and I'm sure not everything in the film is 100% accurate, but as a film, this really really holds up. Kaufmans whole character, and Jim Carey's portrayal of him is absolutely fantastic, wildly funny and brilliant. I really appreciated how many of the people in this film were portrayed by the people who actually were there at the time (Loren Michaels, Christopher Lloyd, Richard Belzer, and ESPECIALLY THE MAN THE MYTH THE LEGEND JERRY THE KING LAWLER) Paul Giamatti and Danny Devito are class acts as always, and really lend a great weight to the film, balancing Carey out wonderfully. Carey in comedic/serious roles strikes me in all the right ways. Everything about this movie strikes me. I love entertainers like this (both Kaufman and Carey's portrayal of him) and this film just really played my emotions in all the right ways. The only time I ever was slightly disappointed with this film was during the milk and cookie scene, as the closeup on Carey's face and the music swell was a little too intentionally sappy and "redeeming" for my taste, but it's a nitpick really. Usually I don't bend backwards for "feel good" stories, but the way that this story is depicted before it gets to that point really had me, and it's one of the only times that the ending of a film made me emotional: I highly recommend this film. 10/10

"The Man on the Moon" stars Jim Carrey, as the highly debated comedian Andy Kaufman, as well as Danny DeVito, who plays Andy Kaufman's manager, George Shapiro. Jim Carrey has starred in "Dumb and Dumber" as well as the masterpiece "The Truman Show", yet has managed to produce one of the his best performances to date thanks to a hilarious, interesting film directed by Milos Forman, who also directed "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest".Based on a true story, the film follows the life of an eccentric American comedian Andy Kaufman, and his practical, crude jokes which he employs to "entertain" his audience. Jim Carrey is brilliant in his role as Andy Kaufman, capturing pure comedic essence in his performance and precisely, if not perfectly, mimicking Kaufman's original movements and gestures. With a brilliant performance, all that remained was a brilliant script; which was delivered. The script is constantly hilarious but despite a small lag in the middle section and an abrupt ending, the script is fabulously pieced with twists available and lovable characters- "You're insane, but you might also be brilliant".

...in other words, everything a biopic about Andy Kaufman should be.While it has plenty of faults, Milos Forman's heartbreaking and humorous tribute to the great comedic performance artist Andy Kaufman is simply astounding. Jim Carrey's performance is no less than astonishing and may be the best among his widely varying comedy career. He impersonates Kaufman in a way that captures both the legend and fantasy of Kaufman's character, as well as the soul that hid behind the act. The rest of the cast is jam packed with recognizable faces and they all perform splendidly.As a fan of the pioneering Kaufman, I found this film to be thoroughly entertaining, and those who have never heard of the man will likely also find much to be astonished here. The film is not flawless, and some sequences were over exaggerated pointlessly, although the film itself is quite faithful to the true story.

Man on the Moon (1999):Dir: Milos Foreman / Cast: Jim Carrey, Danny De Vito, Courtney Love, Paul Giamatti, Jerry Lawler: It showcases an individual who seeks recognition through diversity. Comedian Andy Kaufman died of lung cancer in 1984 and his thoughts were far away from the expectations of others. He was a daredevil whose stunts included characters like Tony Clifton the rude nightclub singer, or a wrestler who challenges women. Danny De Vito plays George Shaprio who discovers him, which leads to stints on Saturday Night Live and Taxi. It is not a pleasant story but director Milos Foreman brings insight into it as he did Amadeus and The People Vs Larry Flynt. Jim Carrey does a remarkable job portraying the wild personality of Kaufman. De Vito is excellent as a voice of reason and an onlooker of awe. Courtney Love as Kaufman's wife is first seen as one of the women he wrestles. Love also portrayed Larry Flynt's wife in The People Vs Larry Flynt. Paul Giamatti plays his partner in his acts and even sometimes becomes involved in the actual characters just to suspend the illusion. Wrestler Jerry Lawler is involved in an interesting subplot where he attacked Kaufman and eventually annihilates him in the ring. This is another triumph for Foreman who often documents controversial figures. It is a sad story of a joke that comes to an end at the expense of the joker. Score: 9 / 10