Man on the Moon

Theatrical Release Date: 1999 12 22 (USA)

UPC: 025192072024

Studio: Universal Studios

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Brief Nudity, Adult Humor, Profanity, Sexual Situations]

Summary: Comedian Andy Kaufman gave performances that were bizarre and difficult to categorize, in which he might do or say almost anything: show cartoons, impersonate Elvis Presley, play conga drums while singing children's songs, read aloud from The Great Gatsby, or take the audience out for milk and cookies. Written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski and directed by Milos Forman (the team behind The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996)), this biopic takes an in-depth look at Kaufman's life and art, with Jim Carrey as Kaufman, who could (and would) be any number of different people onstage: the quiet and childlike man, the little foreign guy, the overbearing showbiz "professional," the violently obnoxious wrestler, or the world's worst lounge singer. As Kaufman rose from comedy clubs to guest appearances on Saturday Night Live and a spot on the TV sitcom Taxi, his performances became more complex and dangerous -- so much so that when word got out in 1984 that he was suffering from lung cancer, many fans and associates thought it was just another bizarre stunt; the disease took his life later that year. Man on the Moon features Danny De Vito as Kaufman's manager George Shapiro, Courtney Love as his girlfriend Lynne Margulies, Paul Giamatti as his friend Bob Zmuda, and David Letterman, Judd Hirsch, Marilu Henner, Carol Kane, and Christopher Lloyd as themselves. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Category: Comedy Drama

Awards: Best Picture - Musical or Comedy – null Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama – null Best Actor – Screen Actors Guild Silver Bear for Best Director – Berlin International Film Festival Best Actor - Runner-up – Toronto Film Critics Association Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Picture - Musical or Comedy – Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Features: "Spotlight on Location: The Making of Man on the Moon"
Deleted scenes
R.E.M music videos "Man on the Moon" and "The Great Beyond"
"Andy Kaufman: This Is His Story" featuring live performances
Both Dolby Digital and DTS audio tracks
Theatrical trailer
Special DVD-ROM features

Man on the Moon

Format: DVD

Release Date: 05/30/2000

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Cinemascope

Audio: 5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, 2 PCM stereo

Runtime: 119 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,French

Subtitles: English

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Lucia Bozzola

Another oddball biopic by the writers of Ed Wood (1994) and The People Vs. Larry Flynt (1996), Man on the Moon (1999) attempts to take on the willfully unfathomable Andy Kaufman. Eschewing explanations of a man who blurred all lines between "self" and "performance," director Milos Forman and writers Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski opt instead to simply portray Kaufman's bizarre existence and premature death. Kaufman's singular mode of self-presentation, however, does not always comfortably fit Hollywood bio conventions; still, Jim Carrey's masterful portrayal of Kaufman (with the star reportedly fully immersed in character off as well as onscreen) makes his famous routines come to life, even as the "inner" Kaufman remains a mystery. Paul Giamatti provides strong support as Kaufman's friend, collaborator, and co-conspirator Bob Zmuda, as do Danny De Vito as Kaufman's manager and Courtney Love as Kaufman's girlfriend. Kaufman proved to be as much a niche attraction at the movies as he had been in life; Man on the Moon sputtered at the box office despite Carrey's presence. Though he won a Golden Globe, Carrey was passed over for an Oscar nomination, as he was the year before with The Truman Show. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Christopher Lloyd  Actor 
Norm MacDonald  Actor 
Judd Hirsch  Actor 
Jeff Conaway  Actor 
Mary Lynn Rajskub  Actor 
Marilu Henner  Actor 
Carol Kane  Actor 
Lorne Michaels  Actor 
David Letterman  Actor 
George Shapiro  Actor 
Christina Cabot  Actor 
Fred Scialla  Actor 
Danny DeVito  Producer 
Scott Alexander  Screenwriter 
Milos Forman  Director 
Michael Hausman  Executive Producer 
Larry Karaszewski  Screenwriter 
Michael Shamberg  Producer 
George Shapiro  Executive Producer 
Stacey Sher  Producer 
Howard West  Executive Producer 
Bob Zmuda  Executive Producer 
Jim Carrey  Actor 
Danny DeVito  Actor 
Courtney Love  Actor 
Paul Giamatti  Actor 
Vincent Schiavelli  Actor 
Peter Bonerz  Actor 
Jerry Lawler  Actor 
Gerry Becker  Actor 
Leslie Lyles  Actor 

Country: USA