Well, looky here. A test screening of MAN ON THE MOON, and very quickly after the voice of doom was sounded. Good, at least now the folks at Universal will be hearing a bit from a real audience and not that of a profit-thought driven microcosm. Word has reached me that Milos Foreman is still in flux a bit with the film. Searching for answers and questions as is his normal filmmaking process. As a result, that is what this screening was for. Test screening is not, in it's nature, an evil thing. For some filmmakers it's absolutely integral to the filmmaking process. It's where they can show the film to a crowd and see if it's working, where it's working and isn't working. And because this film isn't complete you have to look at these reviews as a 'state of the film' as it is now. Incomplete, without finished score, titles, etc. My favorite comment is when people say, "It looked like the final cut to me." Folks, you never know it's the final cut till the day of release. I'm sure the people that saw ALIENS when it was at the director's cut stage thought that was that... Well, no it wasn't. There are SPOILERS below, so read at your own risk. Do know though that both viewers used the term GREAT to describe the quality of this film.
I just got back from the first test screening of Man on the Moon. It was here in San Francisco at the UA Galaxy theatre and director Milos Forman and the two screenwriters were there.
I wasn't expecting to see this at all and was completely surprised. As a thirty-year old I was allowed to bring a guest, but the teenager behind me was told to bring as many of his friends as possible. Getting this film was a shock, though.
So, the move was pretty great. It starts out bravely with Jim Carrey facing the audience as Andy Kaufman and talking to them about the movie, then jumps into his life story and quickly gets to Taxi, Tony Clifton and wrestling. It is a dark and troubling look at this comedian and it is never a traditional biopic. Instead, it explores why people like to be entertained and like to be fooled, as Kaufman's whole approach to comedy and entertainment was about stretching the limits of believablity.
Carrey is brilliant. If Forman could direct Woody Harrelson to an Oscar nomination, Carrey will defintely be nominated for this work. Paul Giammatti is great, as well, as Kaufman's doppelganger Bob Zmuda.
Universal execs were out in force. You could tell them from the others because they had their heads up their asses. They are clearly worried about the ending, as much of the questioning seemed to be about it. You previously reported that there were three endings. This one goes from Kaufman's funeral straight to one year later and a performance by Tony Clifton. And that is all. It was an okay ending, but I wish it had ended as strongly and as boldly as the film opened. Of the three endings you mentioned, I think the one where "the real Andy Kaufman" comes out and talks to Jim Carrey about how to do him correctly would have worked the best. It would have better maintained the off-kilter sensibility of Kaufman, continued the theme of "what is entertainment" and created a complete whole that matched the opening sequence.
LAJoan
And here's the Godot view....
Just got back from a test screening for "Man in the Moon" here in San Francisco. We were assured repeatedly (and by suspicious rote) that it was "the first screening in front of a general public audience." Great movie. Although it lacked end credits and had little to no music to speak of (that R.E.M. song twice) it sure seemed like a final cut to me. Admittedly I have absolutely no formal film knowledge or expertise to speak of, other than a rather uncritical enthusiasm for "cool" movies. That being said, I will attempt to convey some of my immediate impressions (I hesitate to call them criticisms, I did really like the movie) - minor possible spoiler warning ahead.
Jim Carrey - very good, especially at doing Kaufman's character bits (way beyond doing an impression - channelling maybe), although there didn't seem to be too much depth there beyond that. Of course, perhaps that's the point - when was Kaufman ever not "in character"? He just seemed a bit too...well...saintly to me at times - not devilish enough. It didn't seem like he was enjoying pissing people off enough - it was more like he had to do it, had no choice. Again though, perhaps that was the point.
Courtney Love - adequate. Maybe even good. Tough to say, as she didn't seem to really have much to work with. Her character went from despising Kaufman to moving in with him, without (for me) enough character interaction in between.
"Taxi" - curiously flat. All the original actors were playing themselves (except for Danny DeVito, who was already playing Kaufman's agent), but there seemed to be no chemistry or energy between them. Perhaps because we got to see so little of them - less than 5 minutes out of a nearly 2-1/2 hour movie. Perhaps because, with the exception of Christopher Lloyd and Danny DeVito, they have not aged particularly well.
The wrestling - too much. Well over half the movie, it felt like, focused on the Cross-Gender Wrestling and the Steve (?) Lawler stuff as the highlight, and high point, of Kaufman's career. Well, perhaps.
The cancer - moving, even powerful, although a bit abrupt. "I'm sick." "This is another joke, right?" A possible miracle cure? Taps.
Which brings us to...The Funeral. Perfect. Absolutely perfect. The movie could, possibly should, end right there. That it doesn't is okay, but it might have been more powerful if it had.
Once again, I really liked this movie. The above are minor quibbles that did not particularly detract from my enjoyment of the movie, they are just what comes to mind upon immediate reflection. Alas, I was not one of the lucky few chosen to participate in the focus group immediately afterwards (with Milos Forman, the lucky bastards) so instead here I am giving my rambling and overlong impressions to you. Hopefully it wasn't too painful wading through my excess verbiage; I'll try to tighten it up next time I have anything of interest to report. But for now, this is Buck Godot, signing off.
