SummaryJim Carrey earned critical acclaim and a Golden Globe for the performance, but many of the production’s most Kaufmanesque moments played out behind the scenes, thankfully captured on video by Andy’s former girlfriend, Lynne Margulies and former writing partner, Bob Zmuda. In Jim & Andy, Carrey looks back at the resulting footage 18 years...
SummaryJim Carrey earned critical acclaim and a Golden Globe for the performance, but many of the production’s most Kaufmanesque moments played out behind the scenes, thankfully captured on video by Andy’s former girlfriend, Lynne Margulies and former writing partner, Bob Zmuda. In Jim & Andy, Carrey looks back at the resulting footage 18 years...
The result isn’t another ho-hum documentary likeness in which all the elements neatly and often flatteringly stack up. “Jim & Andy” is instead a complexly layered and textured Cubist portrait, one that’s been constructed from fragments of its two title subjects and their work.
This is a brilliant, stimulating, and in a sense desperate portrait of a (not so young anymore) artist who lost and, perhaps again, found themselves in the most impossible-to-us mortals situations of identity lost, disintegrated, and then miraculously found and reinvented again. Perhaps to some, it won't be as profound as it appears (and wants, I guess). Jim Carrey is the best example of the "comedy man edition" after Peter Sellers and Jerry Lewis. He is quick to take on the role of another man, depressed enough to act as though his life depended on it (this is so similar to Sellers), otherworldly in his improvisation, and simultaneously terribly heartbreaking. If you consider yourself to be one of his biggest supporters.
Interesting documentary that tells you about how Jim Carrey prepared for the role of his lifetime and how crazy it actually got and how dedicated he was for te role that he actually became Andy Kaufman himself.
You come away from Jim & Andy wondering — not for the first time — about the cost to great artists of what they do, envious of their talent and thinking, “I’m glad that’s not me.”
In director Chris Smith's "Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond," you're not only given a satisfying - if appropriately frustrating - look at the meta, mind-bending logic behind Jim Carrey's legendary performance as Andy Kaufman in Miloš Forman's "Man On The Moon," you're also delivered a suitable look at the genius, ahead-of-its-time antics implemented throughout the aforementioned comedian's tragically short career, effectively giving the world its first look at what would later be dubbed as "performance art." It truly is one of those labyrinthine documentaries that will get you thinking, theorizing, and hypothesizing about the many philosophical, ethical, and psychological questions layered throughout, even if some of them may not ever be truly answered. In short, it is a fascinating doc indeed.
Everyone knows about different acting methods and a lot of people knew about what Carrey did on the set of Man on the Moon but obviously we never saw it, but that's what this documentary is and although it's not spectacular or anything, it gives another look at the work of the actor and it becomes an excellent companion to the film and especially serves as a testament of one of Jim Carrey's best acting jobs.
One of the most irritating documentaries I’ve watched in awhile.
I love Jim Carry, but man does he come across as a pretentious and narcissistic **** bag in this documentary and the behind the scene clips of ‘Man on the Moon’. So up his own ass while trying to act deep and insightful…mostly about himself.
On the set of ‘Man on the Moon’, the looks on Danny Devito and Paul Giamatti faces during Jim's chaotic method acting were my personal highlights. Devito looks bewildered, and Giamatti looks like he’s questioning if acting was a mistake.
For those saying that Jim is doing what Andy did by getting a rise out of people in style of a performance art, well here’s the thing, I don’t think he understands Andy that well. He doesn't even play Andy Kaufman like Andy. He plays Andy like Jim Carrey. At least Kaufman knew how to be subtle and would never have been that rude to people, because a lot of co-stars and friends came on record to say that whenever Andy wasn’t in character, he was the most caring and gentle person out there. Jim seems to be more interested in the wild side of Kaufman and left out everything else.
So yeah, Jim’s “incarnation” was poorly portrayed.
Probably the most creepiest and tasteless part of the documentary is when he spoke with Andy's actual kid - and made it out like, 'this was the first time they had a real conversation with their father'. What’s even weirder is Andy’s parents also treated him like Andy, especially with the cancer treatment bit. So gross.
There’s even a part when Jim slips up when talking about a particularly scene they shoot where he says, “He got me upside- …..he got Andy upside down.” Basically saying “No wait, I am ANDY!!”.
Overall rating: It’s not a terrible documentary by any means as there were some entertaining parts, mostly from the crews reaction to Jim’s crazy antics. However, I will never watch this again. Just thinking about it makes me more and more angry.