“No one really knew what was real or not real half the time…’
I have written before about how much I fucking hated the film Antichrist and not only that but also the fact that I hate the fact that I hate it because that is what director Lars von Trier wanted. He wanted to cause an extreme reaction. Whether that be anger, disgust, awe or whatever else. The reason I mention it here is because I really wasn’t sure at first what reaction this documentary was supposed to provoke. Am I supposed to be awestruck at Jim Carrey’s dedication to his craft? Should I enjoy this as a quirky, behind the scenes, ‘Making of’ film? Because my primary takeaway from Jim & Andy was boy, Jim Carrey was a real prick during the making of Man on the Moon. Maybe that is the point however. Maybe Carrey wanted people to hate him like Kaufman wanted people to hate him…
Man on the Moon is the 1999 biopic about the life of eccentric comedian Andy Kaufman. The portrayal by Jim Carrey was made all the more bizarre by the lengths he went to to stay in character at all times. Jim & Andy intersperses never before seen footage with modern day interviews with Carrey to present something that aims to be profound and just ends up being pretentious as hell. All I see in this movie is Jim Carrey making people feel uncomfortable. I don’t care how much of an artist you are attempting to be (and really… this is Jim Carrey we are talking about. Daniel Day Lewis he ain’t), if you make people feel uncomfortable, on purpose, then you are a douchebag.
That being said, Jim & Andy as a film isn’t terrible. It isn’t dull and it is well produced but I guess your enjoyment of this flick lives and dies with what you think about Jim Carrey, because he is the be all and end all of this documentary. Not one other person involved in Man on the Moon is interviewed, which feels like a massive missed opportunity, yet Carrey is interviewed extensively and says nothing of any real substance.
If you couldn’t already tell, this movie pissed me off. Dressing up a multi millionaire being a self-centered narcissist by calling it art does not make it art. I never really liked the guy or his films before this but really, fuck Jim Carrey.