Film Forum

U.S., 1999
Directed by Miloš Forman
Screenplay by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski
Starring Jim Carrey, Courtney Love
Approx. 118 min. New 35mm print.

"Working again with the LARRY FLYNT screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, Forman sank his teeth into this lively biopic about another cultural provocateur, Andy Kaufman. Jim Carrey famously immersed himself in the role of Kaufman, the anti-comedy legend who played Latka on “Taxi” but shaped his persona in late-night and stage performances that were rife with inside jokes, offensive behavior and weird sideshows. For better or worse, Carrey sucks up much of the oxygen, but Forman’s characteristic attention to period detail helps put Kaufman’s antics in their proper cultural context." – Scott Tobias, The New York Times

Reviews

“A heroic performance from Jim Carrey, who successfully disappears inside the character of Andy Kaufman.”
– Roger Ebert

“Carrey was the obvious choice to play a weirdo who never let his mask slip…He dons one persona after another while at the same time hinting that there may be a real Andy beneath the mimicry and mayhem….His plentifully recreated routines are mostly very funny, and the script wisely wrongfoots us as a regular ploy. Like Kaufman's manager (DeVito), his girl (Love), his partner in crime (Giamatti) and his public, we're constantly kept guessing as to what's real or false. Intriguing. 
– Time Out

“Jim Carrey, in a solemn and conspicuous act of ancestor worship, plays Kaufman, and Milos Forman directs: a return to his familiar themes of madness and creative inspiration.”
– The Guardian