As impressive as Jim Carrey's immersion of himself into Andy Kaufman was, the real star of this show to me was his own philosophizing over the stages of his life, and the segments we see of his career. On top of all his other talents, Carrey is one thoughtful, profound guy. It ties in beautifully though - Kaufman, a performer who always seemed be putting on an act and doing weird, absurd things, and Carrey, method acting as the guy who put on act, taking on a pro wrestler who also regularly put on act. It all blurs together, causing us to question the nature of things, e.g. what's real and what's entertainment, maybe showing how Kaufman broke a few barriers in that way. I would have loved to have seen even more of Jim Carrey and less of Tony Clifton, an annoying character who reminded me of a takeoff on Jerry Lewis's Buddy Love, and in any event, not all that pleasant. Still though, this is quite a thought-provoking documentary, and one to check out.
Quote, Jim Carrey on The Truman Show and real life: "I've stepped through the door, and the door is the realization that this, us, is Seaside. It's the dome, this is the dome. This isn't real. This is a story. There is the avatar you create, and the cadence you come up with, that is pleasing to people, and takes them away from their issues, and it makes you popular, and then at some point you have to peel it away. And, you know, it's not who you are. At some point you have to live, you know, your true man. You know Truman Show really became a prophecy for me. It is constantly reaffirming itself as a teaching almost, as a real representation of what I've gone through in my career, and what everyone goes through when they create themselves, you know, to be popular or successful. And it's not just show business. It's Wall Street, it's anywhere. You go to the office and you put a monkey suit on, and you act a certain way, say a certain thing, and lie through your teeth at times, and you do whatever you need to do to look like a winner, you know. And at some point of your life, you have to go, I don't care what it looks like. You know, I found the hole in the psyche and I'm going through, and I'm going to face the abyss of not knowing whether that's going to be okay with everybody or not, you know. And at times, just like the movie, they try to drown you in the middle of that abyss. They go, 'No, be the other guy. You told us you were this guy. You told us you were Andy. You told us you were Tony Clifton.' You know, no one can live with that forever."
Quote, Jim Carrey on The Truman Show and real life: "I've stepped through the door, and the door is the realization that this, us, is Seaside. It's the dome, this is the dome. This isn't real. This is a story. There is the avatar you create, and the cadence you come up with, that is pleasing to people, and takes them away from their issues, and it makes you popular, and then at some point you have to peel it away. And, you know, it's not who you are. At some point you have to live, you know, your true man. You know Truman Show really became a prophecy for me. It is constantly reaffirming itself as a teaching almost, as a real representation of what I've gone through in my career, and what everyone goes through when they create themselves, you know, to be popular or successful. And it's not just show business. It's Wall Street, it's anywhere. You go to the office and you put a monkey suit on, and you act a certain way, say a certain thing, and lie through your teeth at times, and you do whatever you need to do to look like a winner, you know. And at some point of your life, you have to go, I don't care what it looks like. You know, I found the hole in the psyche and I'm going through, and I'm going to face the abyss of not knowing whether that's going to be okay with everybody or not, you know. And at times, just like the movie, they try to drown you in the middle of that abyss. They go, 'No, be the other guy. You told us you were this guy. You told us you were Andy. You told us you were Tony Clifton.' You know, no one can live with that forever."