I think, perhaps, that
Andy Kaufman is one of the strangest people to have ever walked the earth.. though I might say he
floated, rather than walked, he always seemed to have some crazy
dreamy look about him.
Man on the Moon, well, it's an amazing movie if for nothing but the acting, which has been said.. and the fact that it does tell the story of someone who I, personally, will
never forget for so many reasons. The level this man must have been on, I can't even
comprehend how anyone could have been
so intensely into everything that he did.
R.E.M. did a song for the movie called "
The Great Beyond"..
"
I've watched the stars fall silent from your eyes.."
That line just seems to say so much about Kaufman.. I mean, if you've ever seen him
performing.. you can just see it in his eyes, his complete
dedication,
adoration for the reaction of the audience, the things he was doing. As I was watching the movie, during a scene early on, I think when he was doing his
Elvis impersonation.. they flashed to the faces of the audience and I kind of laughed because they all looked so
captured, kind of on the edge of their seat wondering what on earth he might possibly do next. A few seconds later I realized I'd been doing the
exact same thing.. and then, it occurred to me that he was very much about that. Surprising
people, doing the unexpected but.. to an utterly insane
extreme. Reading entire books, even when he stood there
fidgeting but
silent I couldn't look away, there's something about him.
Of course,
Man on the Moon leaves you wondering as to whether or not he actually passed on.. but to me, I don't think it really matters. He's still
alive in my eyes, and always will be, someone that
incredible just doesn't fade away.
"If you believe
there's nothing up my sleeve, then nothing is
cool." -
R.E.M.