‘Andy Kaufman Is Me’ Review: Solid but Unrevelatory Doc Uses Puppetry to Tackle the Iconic Comic

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Over time, I’ve watched too many repeated documentaries about topics like Fyre Festival, the unfortunate submarine incident, and Woodstock ’99. While they don’t cause much harm, they don’t offer much new insight either when it comes to understanding these events.

Watching Alex Braverman’s film “Thank You Very Much“, which debuted at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, doesn’t automatically make it a negative aspect that Clay Tweel’s new documentary, “Andy Kaufman Is Me“, premiering at Tribeca, seems to recycle many of the same biographical events and significant TV appearances from Andy Kaufman.

The two documentaries about Andy Kaufman offer distinct perspectives, as they contain very little repetition from talking heads and focus on different significant events in his life that shaped him. While both films make a great effort to reach the same obvious conclusion, it’s clear that Andy Kaufman’s life was performance art, and since he passed away in 1984, we may never truly know the real Andy Kaufman. Yet, our curiosity drives us to attempt a basic psychological analysis, albeit unsuccessful, in an effort to solve the enigma surrounding him.

Andy Kaufman’s Identity Unmasked stands out with its unique style, likely something Kaufman himself would admire, and it edges out the other excellent documentaries on him. However, I believe we’ve reached a dead end in our exploration of this elusive, enigmatic icon. Perhaps we should wait another decade or so for a new perspective on Andy Kaufman, once fresh ideas emerge.

Presented as a film “Crafted in Collaboration with The Andy Kaufman Estate,” Andy Kaufman Is Me undeniably gives off an air of authenticity and official endorsement.

Tweel, along with Dwayne Johnson and others, constructs his portrayal of Kaufman’s story using extensive interviews with Michael and Carol (Kaufman’s siblings), Kaufman’s personal audio recordings, and a variety of recorded discussions between biographer Bill Zehme and Stanley (Kaufman’s father) as well as other crucial figures. These close relationships lend an emotional depth, but may not provide profound understanding into the real person that Kaufman evolved into.

The Braverman documentary, featuring interviews with long-time collaborator Bob Zmuda and girlfriend Lynne Margulies of Kaufman, offered a more personal perspective during Kaufman’s time of greatest fame and controversy. In my opinion, these two documentaries complement each other well, despite the sense of repetition that comes from revisiting the same mystery. It’s like watching Sherlock Holmes still trying to unravel the mystery he couldn’t solve in “A Study in Scarlet,” continuing to insist that the case wasn’t unsolvable but rather extremely challenging.

As I delve into the world of Andy Kaufman, this documentary offers a unique and enlightening perspective, particularly on his community college days and how they molded his ambitions. While his early career is well-known to even casual fans, it’s his meteoric rise that truly captivates. He was like a pioneer in the alt-comedy scene, with his unconventional sets that were, as many noted, more performance art than traditional stand-up comedy. His fame skyrocketed thanks to his stint on Saturday Night Live and frequent late-night appearances that left hosts equally puzzled and entertained.

Through a taxi service, he gained more prominence, yet never achieved the stardom he desired, as he struggled with the constraints of scripted sitcoms. His character Tony Clifton and his controversial forays into wrestling antagonized both friends and followers. Later, he was diagnosed with cancer, sparking speculation about whether he truly passed away or fabricated his demise. If your belief in the Andy Kaufman Memorial Complex relies on that conspiratorial viewpoint, then you might subscribe to it.

Tweel’s starting point is the semi-autobiographical novel by Kaufman titled “The Huey Williams Story“, which plays a significant role in the 84 hours of personal tapes that the director managed to obtain. This book was initially published in an unfinished form by his brother in 1999, but Tweel views it as a glimpse into Kaufman’s mind, a view that can only be expressed effectively through puppetry by the Bob Baker Marionette Theater.

The portrayal of Kaufman and Clifton with lifeless eyes effectively creates an unsettling and detached atmosphere, implying that understanding the real truth about Andy Kaufman might require observing him from another fictional perspective. The puppetry is both whimsical and spooky, aligning well with the Carnegie Hall special where Kaufman crossed paths with Howdy Doody, a significant event that recent documentaries rightly identify as a key milestone in his career. Tweel’s artistic decision to shape Andy Kaufman Is Me into a four-act narrative reminiscent of a hero’s journey from a book is commendable, but I’m not convinced that this structure significantly enhances the production, and it never quite achieves the intense surrealism that Kaufman’s writing aimed to convey.

Tweel doesn’t seem to be deeply invested in the puppetry and narrative aspects of the documentary, at least not entirely. At certain points, the film temporarily halts its progression to allow figures like David Letterman, Eric Andre, and Tim Heidecker to discuss Andy Kaufman’s influence. This information is both factually correct and intuitively clear in this context, as Kaufman’s impact on comedy and performance art is well-known.

I’ll always welcome spending 100 minutes revisiting Kaufman’s iconic sketches and being awestruck by the dreams he couldn’t realize. For now, though, let’s pause documentarians from presenting unique perspectives on Kaufman’s life – until something genuinely new arises.

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2025-06-09 23:24