Thank You Very Much

Greetings again from the darkness. It's been more than forty years since cancer took the life of 35-year-old Andy Kaufman, and we still don't know how best to describe him: actor, comedian, illusionist, performance artist, prankster, or something more bizarre. It's like no one knew 'the real Andy', and whether that was his intent or not, that's the feeling we are left with after watching this bio from Alex Braverman.

Despite often stating that he was born on an island in the Caspian Sea, Andy was actually from Long Island, and Braverman describes what was truly a turning point in young Andy's life. He was incredibly close to his grandfather ... theirs was a special relationship. When he died, Andy's parents decided to tell young Andy that the grandfather took a long trip. This feeling of rejection and abandonment changed the boy's personality and perspective. It also formed the structure of his career - misdirection and trickery - a way to mess with reality.

Braverman includes input from many of Andy's contemporaries, friends, and associates. We hear from Danny DeVito, Steve Martin, Robin Williams, Marilu Henner, Laurie Anderson, and Garry Shandling (first name often misspelled as Gary). We also hear from Andy's dad, who confirms the mistake regarding the grandfather's death, Andy's longtime girlfriend, and his friend and writer, Bob Zmuda. We even hear from his college friend who claims to be the 'real Latka', the inspiration for Andy's beloved character in "Taxi".

A treasure trove of archival clips reminds us of some of Andy's most memorable performances, as well as some we've not previously seen. His initial performance at The Improv is complemented by a memory from the club's renowned owner, Bud Friedman. Andy's stint on "The Dating Game" remains stunning, and we even get a clip of his 1975 screen test for SNL ... where on the first episode he did his "Mighty Mouse" bit.

Transcendental Meditation and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi played a role in helping him get clean, and we learn how important his Carnegie Hall appearance was to him. Along the way, there were some baffling moments. His Elvis impersonation. The whole Tony Clifton phase. Reading "The Great Gatsby" on stage. Each of these had their detractors, but it was Andy's wrestling - first with women - and then his confrontation with Jerry Lawler, that had folks wondering if he was slipping from reality.

Andy was often so far "out there", that when he visited a healer in The Philippines, many wondered if his cancer was simply the next prank. Braverman's film drives home Andy's desire to make people laugh AND squirm (one or the other was not enough). He was truly a visionary and performance artist, and the documentary gives him his due.

Opens in theaters on March 28, 2025.

There was an opportunity to do something very daring / apropos / Kaufmanesque with the intro, but for some reason (fear of losing: the audience? Funding? Awards?) they only ran a few yards with it.

I still thoroughly enjoyed this doc as it was both a heartwarming and inspiring watch. While it seemed to struggle to find the right balance between "dissecting a frog" and "perpetuating a mystique", I appreciated the undoubted love for Andy that went into this.

Ultimately, I am just happy another Kaufman documentary is out there with new and interesting anecdotes.

Review is copy / pasted from one I wrote on Letterbox.

Andy My Idol was able to translate his oddities into something with mass appeal. Normal humans are able to relate, and so, can laugh. That's what I find so fascinating with Andy. Premises from left field. He takes steps away from traditional reality and this film captures his spirit effectively.

So who was the real Andy? That IS the real Andy. Everything you see. As with Phil Hartman, I feel they both wear disguises and probably have done so most of their lives. This is normal to them.

And Andy's cancer WAS a joke! But it was also real. That's what we do. We turn reality into a stage to try and extract every drop of entertainment from it, so we can ignore the suffering.

I followed Andy Kaufman on TV and in the news, and I saw Man in the Moon, so I thought I knew pretty much knew the story; but this movie filled me in on more stuff that I was glad to find out. On the downside, the filmmakers decided to intrusively insert their own creativity where it wasn't really called for. For example, it's remarked that the depths of the sea may symbolize the deep mental state of transcendental meditation in contrast with the turbulence we can feel at the mental surface-- and so an image of the stormy sea pops in out of nowhere from time to time so that we won't forget. I want to shout "The hell with this, I want to hear more from Andy's friends and colleagues!" but in a couple of seconds, it's back to hearing from Andy's friends and colleagues so there's never a chance to get too irritated.