reviews
COMEDY Man On The Moon (15) 119 mins
Comedian Jim Carrey impersonates comedian Andy Kaufman
You may not know much about Andy Kaufman, but in America he’s known as one of the most infamous comedians ever (REM have written two songs about him). Practical joker's a better way to describe Kaufman — he was also known variously as a 'nihilistic elf’, ’Zen guerrilla’ and ‘dadaistic comedian'. So much was this the case that, though he died in his 305 of cancer, Kaufman is widely believed to have faked his funeral and shacked up somewhere with Elvis Presley.
Presley was, coincidentally, one of people Kaufman impersonated on stage in brief, spontaneous and uncannin accurate explosions before retiring back into his shy, awkward persona, the Foreign Man. And Foreign Man is how UK audiences best know Kaufman, thanks to his appearances — renamed Latka Gravas the garage mechanic — in the TV series Taxi.
But that’s the tip of iceberg. The more famous Kaufman became the wilder his pranks would get: there’s the reading of The Great Gatsby, on stage, in its entirety, beginning with the copyright info; there’s the brutal wrestling of women live on TV; and his hideously offensive nightclub singer pal Tony Vegas.
There’s more, much more, but the less you know of Kaufman's career the better. Working again with his Larry Flynt screenwriters, director Milos Forman mirrors Kaufman’s infuriating practical jokes with his own on film. Finally, the casting of Jim Carrey as Kaufman is genius (and Danny Devito playing himself ain't bad either). It's a straight role, really, one that Carrey took so seriously he did all his interviews at the time of the film's release in character. What a joker. Superb. (Miles Fielder)
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Janice Beard 45wpm (15) 78 mins l'x' ta o.."‘e\, o’ lance Beard :: amt: We s..r>e't) E Iee'i \.‘.alsr‘, st‘t'“ r)" stage '1Uscanp,whose e s ar'rt)”.ro'r s to sane enough "=<>"t"‘, to ge‘. i'er‘rtrrlent lor her She heads to l()"(l()." to becon‘e a secretary, and
ano'aphom "ure-
(lest) fe e'aborate tale-tellrng and na.'.‘ no dr.'.’ ness manages to sur\.r\.e ll‘r‘ .l( 'ousr‘ess of tlie typrng pool and ‘(all ‘or Sean the post boy rRhys llans), '.'.'\o s plottrng a spot of rndustrral sabotage Easy watc hrng \t'rth plenty of atrghs and some (llllllsV characters o‘trce types may Just recognrse l.lefro(lorne 'Jane Harnrltonr
Stuart Little (U) 92 mins
l:\.’e ac tzon Wrth a computer generated tallcrng mouse vorced by lslrc bael J Fox, Rob Mlnkofl's adaptatron of F B VVhrte's (lassrc clrrldrens' book sees the sweet wee rocler‘t orphan berng adopted by affluent Manhattanrtes the Lrttle famer Stuart’s problems begrn Wrth a new. nemesrs, the mean-sprrrted, rrtapp'oprlately-named famrly cat Snox‘bell The message of the lrlm rs lrttle guy drscovers the 'r‘ear‘rng of lamrly, loyalty and T'nendshrp but of more Interest to \I're\.‘./ers both small and large wrll be the lom And Jerry-style antrcs. lColu'nbra l'rrstar) (Mrles Frelder)
RETAIL
American Beauty
(15) 117 mins ~~v
lhe good news rs that Sam Mendes’ dark satrre on US suburban (onlormrty works Just as well on the small screen as rt drd when rt (aptwated c rnema goers earlrer thrs year Takrng place a couple of avenues up the marnstream road from Davrd lync h, Amer/car) Beauty rs about the way nobody frts the mould Kevrn Spacey's lester Burnham rs as mm b a mrslrt as hrs teenage daughter or hrs hornophobrc nerghbour All brrrn Wrth sad, rnartrc ulate rage lt could have pac l;ed more polrtrcal clout, but rt could hardly have been more sharply observed rUnrversall (Mark Frsher)
The Girl On The Bridge (15) 88 mins
Pat," ce Lec onte's beautrful and perverse r'ornantrc drama concerns tho rost souls, a depressed woman Vanessa Paradrsr who, about to take her lrle by rumprng from a brrdge, rs prc ked up by a travellrng knrfe thrower rDanre! Auteurl), who regularly lrnds wrllrng targets rn such s'tuatror1s In her he sees luck that won I allow her to be harmed; rn hrs ‘.'.'or'ld she sees an excrtement she's sorely been mrssrng, so together they urn away and have a mad adventure an crrcus and cabaret bars and aboard oceaf‘: lrners Bonkers rn the best way Pathe £15 99) (Mrles Frelderr
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heagu-eIQf. Gentlemen - Series basis -‘ Familiar To “Milllions rare; ass
Robbie Williams - When Eagles Dare
Any Given Sunday
Reservoir Dogs
Fantasia 2000
(U) 72 mins * *
Walt Drsney’s concept of creatrng anrrnated sequences to accompany famous classrcal works was a lrmrted success lrrst trme round and rs no better an rdea 60 years on (rt was also Uncle Walt's notron to perrodrcally update the frlm) Only ’The Sorcerers Apprentrc‘e' (featurrng Mrckey Mouse and the brooms) rs reprrsed from the orrgrnal and the new seguences are stylrsh but dull (Depressron-era New York as told to ’Rhapsody In Blue’) or Just abstract and surreal (whales swrmmrng rnto outer space) Proof that Drsney was always better at tellrng stones. (Buena Vrsta £16.99)
(Mark Robertson)
STAR RATINGS
. t t t 1r Unmrssable
r t t 1 Very 00d
,1 re t Wort a shot
* 1* Below average
1 You've been warned