Jim Carrey is Andy Kaufman in Man on the Moon, a movie that isn't quite sure whether it wants to be a comedy with dramatic aspects or the other way around, but is still very entertaining.

First off, before the previews started popping up, I had never heard of Andy Kaufman. I have no idea how true to fact this picture is, but, judging on what Carrey tells us in the first few hilarious movies of this film, the facts aren't that factual. But that doesn't really matter. Man on the Moon, which exception to maybe fifteen or twenty minutes scattered through the movie (and mainly collected in the end), is pure comedy. It isn't a drama. In fact, this one makes Patch Adams look like an absolutely serious film.

Most of the movie is funny, especially the opening sequence. Jim Carrey is superb and funny. He has grown a lot since his early days a few years ago, but still manages to maintain his crazy wit and facial expressions. He is just hilarious.

Another great aspect of the film is that, while it is unclear to the people in the movie whether Andy is joking or not, it is also unclear to the film audience. When he breaks in to wrestling, it is unclear whether it is a hoax or not. He changes his mind so many times that it is hard to know until the director presents it flatly. And that's a good thing.

Sure, some people are looking at this thing as the next great drama, but it isn't. The movie is made to show the silliness of Andy Kaufman, not the dramatic side to him. The ending is a little watered down, unfortunately; while the rest of the movie is hilarious, the ending suddenly shifts to "feeling" mode.

Man on the Moon is a hilarious film, but it definitely is not a great drama.

Review by Erik Samdahl unless otherwise indicated.