Jim and Andy: The Great Beyond – Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton (Chris Smith, 2017): English

Reviewed by Hayden Schoenfelder. Viewed at AFI Fest in Hollywood.

This film is a documentary within another documentary, which is really amazing to watch, I mean who doesn’t love some good Jim Carrey humor? In this one, Jim is reflecting on footage of him acting as Andy Kaufman himself. He dives deep into character inside and outside of the set. Giving people improv performances of his character Andy. Some enjoy it, some really do not. Another character that was involved was Tony Clifton, a total drunk, but everyone seemed to have mixed feelings about him. Jim has a scene devoted to just being Tony, with a complete change of face and makeup, it looked strikingly similar.

Looking into the filming process of this movie, there were many shots showing the camera equipment on the actual set for The Great Beyond but no real tell on who got the footage. Most likely a personal hand held camera, it was very interesting to follow since you felt right in the same trailer as Jim Carrey.

The next aspect of this film is the commentary between Jim Carrey and Chris Smith (Director) of the behind the scenes clips. Jim had a very amusing approach towards the questions given, he just was super down to earth and enjoyed all of the moments during that time period in his life.

Some would call Andy Kaufman and Jim Carrey comedy and impressionist geniuses, but I do feel that is a correct statement. I haven’t seen too much from these two gentlemen but enough to have a good understanding on their personalities. Simply, if an actor can put on makeup and all the matching clothing as the person he/she is trying to give an impression towards, and do such an amazing job that it’s hard to tell who the real person is, that is a definition of a great actor.

Overall my opinion on the film was it was a blast to watch, very funny and well structured. Also looking at younger Jim Carrey vs. older Jim is a really interesting aspect of the film. Giving it texture, a before and after type of feeling. Jim & Andy – The Great Beyond was just a awesome way to finalize my AFI Fest experience.