After he got the part as Andy Kaufman in the biopic of the comedian’s life – the 1999 film “Man on the Moon” – Jim Carrey says he started talking telepathically to people until one day the late comedian’s spirit showed up and took over and played the role.
Chris Smith’s documentary “Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond – Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton,” debuting Friday on Netflix, tells the story of two unique and extreme comic talents.
The heart of the film centers on a recent Carrey interview about the making of Milos Forman’s “Man on the Moon,” along with on-set footage shot by Kaufman’s former girlfriend, Lynn Margulies, and his frequent comedic conspirator, Bob Zmuda. It was supposed to be a documentary to go along with the release of the film, but Universal thought it made Carrey look bad, though he uses a more colorful term.
While making “Man on the Moon,” Carrey, who had grown up in awe of Kaufman, went full Daniel Day-Lewis. He channeled his idol throughout the production even when even when off camera. And if he wasn’t Andy, he was Kaufman’s smarmy, obnoxious lounge-act creation Tony Clifton.
Forman found it frustrating and sometimes intimidating dealing with the situation, but didn’t confront the actor, perhaps fearing the movie would fall apart. At one point, you see Forman trying to get his directing points across by asking Tony to talk to Andy, hoping this will break through to Carrey.
Twenty years later, Carrey talks about the experience of the performance in terms of what “Andy wanted.” He even remained Andy when the comedian’s real parents visited the set.
Kaufman, who died of lung cancer in 1984 at the age of 35, was known to often take things beyond the fringe. He was really more of a performance artist than a comedian. He was known for reading “The Great Gatsby” until an audience became restless or walked out. He wrestled with women while berating them, acting as a chauvinist pig. He would even send Zmuda to performances pretending to be Kaufman as Tony Clifton.
Carrey describes Kaufman as being interested in the “absurd truth” behind the veil, “Ultimately that chews you up, and it may have chewed him up a little too much,” he adds.
In 1992, Carrey pulled his own Kaufman by appearing “drunk” on Arsenio Hall’s show and calling the host a “bastard” around the time of the Los Angeles riots. Archival clips of Kaufman’s and Carrey’s performances are interwoven in the film.
“Jim & Andy” also digs into Carrey’s own insecurities, which would pop out while channeling Kaufman. It’s also a platform for the comedian’s philosophical musings.
Whether the documentary is on the level or not is certainly a legitimate question. There are so many weird echoes within it, like Danny DeVito, who starred with Kaufman on “Taxi,” playing himself in “Man on the Moon” and then dealing off camera with Carrey as Andy or Tony.
At times you wonder if the film is an elaborate Kaufmanesque put-on.
Whichever way you take it, “Jim & Andy” is strangely touching. “Sometimes people exist so completely in their character they maybe not know how to get out of it,” Carrey offers toward the end. “So they take another road. They might take the ultimate road, you know.”
Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond – Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton
What: Documentary about Jim Carrey playing Andy Kaufman in “Man on the Moon.”
When: Available Friday.
Where: Netflix.
