After his first serious role in The Truman Show in 1998, Jim Carrey got a shot at playing his idol, the late comedian and performance artist Andy Kaufmann, in Man on the Moon in 1999. When he got the role, a role of a lifetime, Carrey decided to honor Kaufmann’s legacy by transforming into him (and his alter ego Tony Clifton) and, in true method-acting fashion, never to leave character. Jim & Andy is the result of 100 hours of behind-the-scenes footage shot at the Man on the Moon set, which was withheld for 20 years over fears of Universal Studios that people would think Carrey was an a**hole. While Carrey was a complete and utter imposition to the film’s director, Miloš Forman, and everybody else on set, including Danny DeVito, his transformation (or obsession) was a unique, transformative experience for Carrey, who had been sick of fame and acting before he took on this gig. Whether you buy into this view or see it as a vanity piece of a complete maniac, this is one of the most unique and insane documentaries on Netflix. A mind-blowing portrayal of a complex mind.
"Jim & Andy finds Carrey in an intriguing place, what he calls "a quiet, gentle seat in the universe.""
— Ian Crouch
"Smith weaves footage of Kaufman's emergence onto the comedy scene with Carrey's, and suggests that both performers drew from a similar (if not the exact same) well of pain."
— David Edelstein
Offbeat documentarian Chris Smith provides a behind-the-scenes look at how Jim Carrey adopted the persona of idiosyncratic comedian Andy Kaufman on the set of Man on the Moon.
Amazing interview, but you need to have seen ‘Man in the Moon’ for it to make any sense.
no not necessary
Great documentary that covers just how far into a roll Jim went and leaves you with a true understanding of how difficult it was as a result for Jim to come back out from being, Andy.
Oh god, how mad is this film. Carey in his obsessive personality is masterful and blurs the line between acting and real documentary. Fascinating.