Day 16 Jim
& Andy: The Great Beyond [2017 documentary]
Director Chris Smith
Cinematography Brantley Gutierrez
Subject Behind-the-scenes footage of Jim Carrey
portraying Andy Kaufman in 1999 film Man on the Moon.
Production VICE films (Spike Jonze)
IMDb 7.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes 100%
This
is up there with my favourite documentaries. A lot riding on whether you like
Jim Carrey or not BUT THAT SHOULDN’T STOP YOU WATCHING THIS FILM. I don’t
understand those who don’t like Carrey, or those that say he has gone crazy
recently. He is a seriously talented man who is often misunderstood, and at his
peak was the highest paid actor in Hollywood. The Truman Show, The Mask, Ace
Ventura, Bruce Almighty, Eternal Sunshine, Dumb and Dumber, Me, Myself &
Irene, the list goes on and on and even if you hate one or all of those films,
you can’t deny that a lot of people love them and Carrey is the leading man. I
grew up thinking he was the funniest guy I’d ever seen, I loved his movies. Yes,
looking back on Ace Ventura and The Mask they are pretty dumb,
but it doesn’t take away from Carrey’s performances. I can still sing all the
words to 'Cuban Pete'. Anyhow, this film is all about Carrey going into
Daniel Day-Lewis mode whilst portraying Andy Kaufman in Man on the Moon.
It’s full method. It shows Carrey’s mental side, but it’s not Carrey, it’s
Andy, or it’s Tony Clifton, and underneath it’s Carrey, and no-one knows what
is going on. Not even Carrey himself. But it’s brilliant! Watching an actor go
into the mind of another human being and not imitate, but become that person,
to the point where Andy’s own family and friends said that it was like having
Andy back (Kaufman died relatively young from lung cancer, which his friends
and family thought was another of his gags). The film shows old footage mixed
in with Carrey being interviewed about it now. It works very well and we see a
side to him that isn’t too crazy, he’s relatively switched on considering he
has one of the most recognisable faces in film and has been a global superstar,
exposed to all the horrible publicity that is common in this media saturated
world. I totally agreed with Carrey’s comment on the fact that the
behind-the-scenes stuff was the real film, they should have intercut it with
the real movie. I am sure I will be disappointed if I watch Man on the Moon
having watched this. I won’t go into any more detail. It’s not my style. Just
trust me and watch this shit. It’s epic.
Subject Matter 3.5 / 4
Shock Factor 3.5 / 4
Production 3 / 4
Music 2 / 4
HWF rating 4 / 4