Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond...

Jim Carrey as Andy Kaufman

Chris Smith's Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond... is a behind the scenes look at the making of Milos Forman's Man on the Moon. The documentary also traces the arc of Andy Kaufman's and Jim Carrey's careers. The film chiefly documents Carrey's staying in character during the down moments of the shoot much to the bewilderment of the cast and Forman. That this film is surfacing nearly twenty years after it was shot is summed up by Carrey in a present day interview in which he says the studio felt it made Carrey look too much like an asshole. This gets no argument from me, but I found Carrey's candor refreshing.

The old clips of Kaufman's and Carrey's television work would alone make this rewarding viewing, but it is the behind the scenes footage that is a boon to the cinephile. I'm not a huge Forman fan and think Man on the Moon is underwhelming as cinema, but I found Carrey's quest to find his character interesting and felt a flood of sympathy for old Milos as he tries to deal with his star's shenanigans. This was Forman's last Hollywood film and one wonders if the aggravating nature of this shoot drove him out of La La Land. Carrey's star has dimmed and I think it is safe to say that he is a peculiar individual, but there is no denying his talent. Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond... lets us look behind the curtain of a demented business.