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Man on the Moon
Universal Pictures


9.0

based on 34 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 13 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

FILM:

MPAA RATING: R for language and brief sexuality/nudity

Starring Jim Carrey, Danny DeVito, Courney Love, Paul Giamatti, Vincent Schiavelli, Gerry Becker, Jerry Lawler, and Leslie Lyles

Jim Carrey stars as the late Andy Kaufman, who was considered one of the most innovative, eccentric and enigmatic performers of his time. (Universal Pictures)

GENRE(S):	Drama
WRITTEN BY:	Scott Alexander Larry Karaszewski
DIRECTED BY:	Milos Forman
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: May 30, 2000 Video: May 30, 2000 Theatrical: December 22, 1999
RUNNING TIME:	118 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Jim Carrey's performance is an impersonation on the level of genius.

100

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Less a biography than an essay on theatrical illusion and the changing nature of comedy. Love it or hate it, you've never seen anything quite like it.

100

Baltimore Sun Ann Hornaday

Actually moves, whisking the audience on a funny, sad and extraordinary journey through a singularly compelling moment in American pop culture.

100

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Less a conventional biography than a performance film - one that stuns and delights.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

What is most wonderful about Man on the Moon, a very good film, is that it remains true to Kaufman's stubborn vision.

Time Richard Schickel

Just gives us Andy, the pop postmodernist, and permits us to make what we will of him, which is a fascinating activity.

TNT RoughCut Sarah Raskin

This Andy has "Oscar" written all over it.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

It offers no special insights into its subject, it doesn't connect on any higher level, and it left me feeling vaguely dissatisfied and let down.

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

Carrey gives an otherworldly, possessed performance as Kaufman.

San Francisco Examiner Wesley Morris

A fascinating, sometimes profound curiosity.

USA Today Mike Clark

A movie of moments whose ultimate legacy may be to get Carrey out of formula comedies forever.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

Carrey's amazing transformation in Man on the Moon does justice to Kaufman's undefinable talents and his peculiar outlook on entertainment.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

Strictly texture, a romp over the surfaces of Andy Kaufman's life with not much insight into its core.

Mr. Showbiz Kevin Maynard

Unsuccessfully attempts to fathom Kaufman's lunatic sensibilities, supplying scant psychological insight into what made the outrageous comic tick.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

It's not that the movie is bad; it's merely uninspired and relatively clueless about Kaufman.

Boston Globe Jay Carr

Remains a frustratingly opaque study. There's something missing, namely Kaufman.

Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector

Though it suggests intriguing ideas about the nature of performance, humor, ambition, and the consumption of spectacle, the movie only superficially explores them.

Film.com Tom Keogh

Jim Carrey is magnificent as Kaufman.

LA Weekly Chuck Stephens

The sort of sick humor even Andy Kaufman would have recognized as well beyond the pale.

Newsweek David Ansen

Forman's decision to stick to the surface is probably, in the end, a wise one. Kaufman always wanted to keep us guessing, and this movie respects his wishes.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

You won't forget the way Carrey transcends mere impersonation to find the roots of Andy's torment.

The New York Times Janet Maslin

What is missing here, though it might have been the first thing expected from an ostensible film biography, is an answer to the simplest question: Who was Andy Kaufman, and how did he get that way?

Dallas Observer Gregory Weinkauf

If this movie is a pedestal, it is far too tall and wide for a performer of Kaufman's stature.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

Unfortunately for Man on the Moon, Kaufman is definitely a person more interesting to hear about than to experience, an acquired taste few will be tempted to acquire.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

All credit to Carrey, whose one-man performance is almost enough to redeem the movie.

Film.com John Hartl

Carrey's performance, and Forman's lively attempts to ask serious questions about the nature of comedy, keep it interesting. Certainly it's never dull.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

Though Man on the Moon is lost when it comes to Kaufman's inner life and motivations, it offers a detailed account of his career.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

Milos Forman's film is a series of incredible simulations that never quite cohere into a movie.

Film.com Elizabeth Weitzman

Regretfully, the beginning of this movie is as good as it ever gets.

Village Voice J. Hoberman

The filmmakers don't even attempt to give Kaufman an inner life.

Slate David Edelstein

I bet that what Carrey saw from inside Kaufman's head would be more illuminating than anything in the movie.

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

It would seem the purpose of this movie, if not to deify, is to define -- and in this it fails miserably.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

Too conventional to capture Kaufman's insanity and too haphazard, too shapeless, to recapture Kaufman's energy in any meaningful way.

Variety Todd McCarthy

Never comes close to making the case that its subject is worthy of the viewer's interest.

The average user rating for this movie is 9.0 (out of 10) based on 13 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Erick C gave it a10:
Hats off to jim carrey he really is andy in this movie amazing, breathtaking! a must see!

Katie B. gave it a 10:
Amazing! Incredible! Fantastic! Wonderful! Perfect! Absolutely lovely! Go see this film!!

Pat C. gave it a 5:
I disagree with Hoberman's review. This movie did a fine job attempting to recreate Kaufman's inner life, but I suspect he didn't have one, at least not that I'd find interesting. That's the trouble with most stand-up comedians - they're only interesting when they're working.

Yoon C. gave it a 7:
A faithful tribute to the 'genius' of Andy Kaufman the movie lacks the edginess of Kaufman's humor. It's too gushing an homage to resurrect the spontaneous lunacy of Kaufman. Carrey does a creditable job of impersonation but what's the point of one successful comedian slavishly aping another?

Romanski gave it a 10:
WHAT A WONDERFUL FILM!

Tom L. gave it a 10:
This movie is past the level of genius.You forget totally that is jim carrey and not andy. To me this was an absolute piece of art. Kudos to Milos forman who knows and appreciates perfomance movies and not the same old same old formulaic comedies. All and all it was robbed of an academy award but jim won a well deserved golden globe!

Adam E. gave it an 8:
In this film, Jim Carrey tries something different and the result is very pleasing. A well directed and touching film with a great soundtrack.

Man on the Moon Universal Pictures

Man on the Moon
Universal Pictures