Review – Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond

This week guest columnist Luciana Rabelo has a look at Jim Carrey’s documentary Jim & Andy.

It’s difficult to know for sure if Jim Carrey truly speaks from the heart or if it is all part of a carefully put together script, but Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond – Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton certainly is an amazing surprise.

For those who, like myself, are in absolute awe of the 7th art, this documentary is a riveting journey into method acting. I’ve read several accounts of actors that do not break character during the entire making of a movie, even when the cameras aren’t rolling, but nothing quite prepares you to see how far Jim Carrey went to portray Andy Kaufman.

Much more than acting and very similar to a possession worthy of many exorcism sessions, Jim Carrey was Andy for an entire period of his life, going so deep into character that it might have broken him for good. After spending the last few years in the spotlight for his chaotic personal life, Jim Carrey has a few interesting things to say about the industry, and certainly this documentary comes in very timely, right in the middle of this tsunami of sexual scandals ripping Hollywood apart.

I felt really touched by his account, and aside from the rumors surrounding him lately, I have always had a profound admiration for his work as a drama actor. Jim certainly got robbed by the Oscars for his portrayal of Andy. For those who didn’t watch Man on the Moon, don’t think twice, it is an amazing movie. And definitely watch Jim and Andy, and try not to cringe to death.

 

Luciana Rabelo is a punch-in-the-stomach movie kind of gal, and takes pictures of her travels in Italy when she’s not reviewing movies, find more of her thoughts on instagram.