TIFF 2017: Jim & Andy: the Great Beyond - the story of Jim Carrey & Andy Kaufman with a very special, contractually obligated mention of Tony Clifton

I love seeing tons of films every year at TIFF, but I am not interested in spotting celebrities or stalking them near the theatres. As I was filing in to see Jim & Andy: the Great Beyond - the story of Jim Carrey & Andy Kaufman with a very special, contractually obligated mention of Tony Clifton, there was crowd of fans looking at Jim Carrey in front of the theatre, and shouting at him to come over to see them (and autograph their stuff). One yelled "I'm your biggest fan, Jim". It completely validated my decision not to become an extremely talented and famous Hollywood celebrity.

Jim & Andy ... (it turns out the full title will fit in a tweet, but just barely with 2 characters to spare) is a documentary using behind the scenes footage from the making of Man On The Moon, in which Carrey plays Andy Kaufman. That footage is blended with archival footage of the careers of both Andy Kaufman and Jim Carrey, and an interview with Carrey talking about what playing Kaufman meant to him. More than any other role I have read of, Carrey truly became Andy Kaufman (and at times his alter-ego, lounge lizard Tony Clifton). He stayed in character at all times when on set, which caused a great deal of stress for Man On The Moon director Milos Forman and others. The role clearly was perfect for Carrey in every way, as his career was largely inspired by Kaufman, and the two share a sense of the absurd as a way to entertain people.

The film doesn't dig deep into the lives of either Carrey or Kaufman, but mostly focuses on the making of the film and what that meant to everyone involved. Carrey felt it was in a very real way a reincarnation of Kaufman for those close to him.

There was a good Q&A after the film. Jim Carrey spoke a lot (both int he film and in the Q&A) of his spiritual outlook on life, which seemed very Daoist/Zen to me, and very much not focused on the individual. And partway through he pointed out that Tony Clifton himself was in the audience, sitting a few rows behind me (apologies for the poor photo quality; the lighting was better on the stage than in the audience!).

I'd definitely recommend this film to anyone who loves the work of Andy Kaufman, Jim Carrey or both.

TIFF 2017 Overview