Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond (Chris Smith, 2017, USA/Canada)

 

Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond is a 2017 documentary by Chris Smith that explores the making of the 1999 film Man on the Moon. Man on the Moon, directed by Milos Forman, starred Jim Carrey as comedian Andy Kaufman. Kaufman was known for his erratic style that blended real life with comedy and performance art, and over the course of the making of the film, Carrey himself started to, in a sense, “become” Andy Kaufman. Add to this the fact that Kaufman himself had an alter ego named Tony Clifton (who was sometimes played by a close friend), and you can see the craziness that began to emerge on the film set.

On the meta-level, the film, which features an extensive running interview with Jim Carrey, is an examination of fame and celebrity. Carrey, at the time of Man, was experimenting with more dramatic roles like The Truman Show, and one sees him relishing in the ability to turn into someone completely different for the film. The film features extensive behind-the-scenes footage that was essentially buried by Universal Pictures, which thought it made Carrey look bad and didn’t want the public to turn against him (and the movie).  

The entire thing became so meta that Carrey as Kaufman began beefing with the same wrestler who Kaufman beefed with, resulting in a (staged?) fight where Carrey as Kaufman sustained an injury (this made it into the news at the time).  Carrey himself is a pleasure to listen to, and the film is not only a reflection on his career but also his personal life, including his relationship with his wife. Chris Smith does a great job of keeping all the disparate threads together and making something both entertaining and moving.  Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond is worth a watch for any movie fans.

8/10