Jim and Andy: The Great Beyond

Dir: Chris Smith

2017

****

Milos Forman’s 1999 Man on the Moon, a biopic of Andy Kaufman, was one of the best films of that year and the first time I actually enjoyed a performance from Jim Carrey. It is also probably the last time I enjoyed a performance from Jim Carrey. I am not a fan in the slightest, I cannot bear to sit through most of his ‘comedy’ films and many of the comments he has made in interviews over the years have made me like him even less. However, Chris Smith’s 2017 documentary sheds light on an aspect of Carrey’s method acting that I cannot help but respect. The film begins with Carrey suggesting that this film should have been made years ago, indeed, it was something he had planned when he first got the part of Andy Kaufman, the largely misunderstood comic who still to this day mystifies audiences, well over thirty years after his (supposed) death. The film was directed by Chris Smith but most of the footage was captured by Kaufman’s former girlfriend Lynne Margulies during the filming of Man on the Moon. Carrey hired Margulies for authenticity and spent time with Kaufman’s long-time collaborator and some-time Tony Clifton performer Bob Zmuda – one of the film’s producers. He was a fan of Kaufman’s and lobbied hard to get the part and then did a lot of research once he got it. On the first day of filming Carrey arrived on set as Kaufman and refused to acknowledge who Jim Carrey was. Tony Clifton would also show up on set, driving his car into a set on the first day and harassing Steven Spielberg’s offices demanding to see the original shark from Jaws. The cast and crew are clearly baffled and eventually annoyed by Carrey’s continual behaviour. Carrey took method acting to a whole new level, something we’ve heard many a great actor do but never seen on film before. Milos Forman had clearly never experienced anything like it as a director and is visibly exhausted by the whole process but understands there is importance behind it. Milos rang Carrey a few weeks into production when the set was closed and voiced his frustrations. Carrey, who was himself for the first time in months, casually suggested that Milos could always fire Kaufman and Clifton and he could come in and do impersonations of them instead, to which Forman declined, stating, “I don’t want it to stop. I just wanted to talk to Jim.”

Back in 1999 you could watch the footage and say that it was the work of a very needy performer who was desperate for attention. It was intended to be used for promotional purposes and to appear on the DVD release, but the studios eventually locked all footage away because, as Carrey put it, they were scared that it made their bankable big star look like a bit of an asshole. You can kind of see where they were coming from. However, this was a film about Andy Kaufman, and Jim Carrey made it about as Kaufmanesque as you could. You never really knew what was real and what was fake working with Kaufman and that is what his intentions clearly were. He sounds a bit of a zen idiot these days taking about the experience, how he looks at life now and something or rather about the telepathy of dolphins, but everything is an experience and Carrey clearly made the production of Man on the Moon as authentic as possible. It probably enhanced the productivity of the other performers, no one will admit it, but I believe it is probably true. Carrey abandoned his own persona to give himself complete freedom of character, just like Kaufman did. Kaufman wound up his co-stars on Taxi by doing this and Carrey does the same here. At times I wondered whether this was in part revenge on the Taxi actors, due to them all getting Andy sacked but all becoming his ‘best friends’ after his death. It’s bizarre to watch but just imagine what it was like for them – luckily it is all captured here in all its mind-blowing glory. Kaufman’s relationship with wrestler Jerry Lawler was revisited with Carrey taunting him and the pair eventually fighting. Lawler said after Kaufman’s death that the whole feud between them was faked and that they were actually close friends in real life. You can’t help but question whether his fight with Carrey is also staged, or whether he really didn’t like Carrey’s portrayal of his friend – wrestlers also know how to method act, but here you just can’t tell if Lawler is that savvy. You can’t help but question everything about it, indeed, Carrey suggests that this is the real Kaufman film and Man on the Moon and the interview he is giving is not ‘real’ life. It’s quite profound when you think about it, but then again, Carrey clearly isn’t all there – or is he? Carrey might be a genius or he might have serious issues, it really isn’t clear and I don’t expect E! Entertainment will be giving us the clear truth any time soon. It begins to feel a bit unethical when members of Kaufman’s family begin speaking with him as if he is the real Kaufman, those that are still profiting from his memory clearly loved it but the whole performance goes into truly strange territory. We only hear Carrey’s side of the story to keep up the pretense and also the mystery, which is a little too easy in my opinion but then again there would have been far too many people to interview and I guess their memories of those events aren’t really what is important here. On one hand I wonder why Carrey can’t get his own character and do his own thing, I really hope this zen version of him isn’t a cheap imitation, but on the other hand I can see this as being an incredible tribute and something that Kaufman would have loved. I found the film to be incredibly annoying and hard to watch at times but also insightful, intriguing and full of passion. Love or hate him, this is an incredible performance, a durability that transcends most performance and peals back layers of reality. It is far more interesting than most of the stuff filmmakers shoot intentionally.