This is Good
October 17, 2008 9:18 AM Subscribe
Andy Kaufman - I'm From Hollywood -- with Jerry Lawler, Tony Danza, Robin Williams, Marilu Henner and Jimmy "Mouth of the South" Hart.
Sorry if this sounds mean, but Andy sucked like Sam Kinison, God like.
posted by Mblue at 9:35 AM on October 17, 2008
posted by Mblue at 9:35 AM on October 17, 2008
Comparing Andy Kaufman to Sam Kinison is well beyond ludicrous.
posted by solipsophistocracy at 9:39 AM on October 17, 2008
posted by solipsophistocracy at 9:39 AM on October 17, 2008
Comparing Andy Kaufman to Sam Kinison is well beyond ludicrous.
They both used, shall I say, juxtaposition. They both failed.
posted by Mblue at 9:46 AM on October 17, 2008
They both used, shall I say, juxtaposition. They both failed.
posted by Mblue at 9:46 AM on October 17, 2008
They both used, shall I say, juxtaposition. They both failed.
what a strange thing to say since they're both well respected legendary comedians. well, i'm sure you know better.
posted by shmegegge at 10:26 AM on October 17, 2008
what a strange thing to say since they're both well respected legendary comedians. well, i'm sure you know better.
posted by shmegegge at 10:26 AM on October 17, 2008
Makes heavy use of The Bobs which means it's beyond good.
posted by waraw at 10:31 AM on October 17, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by waraw at 10:31 AM on October 17, 2008 [1 favorite]
They failed at juxtaposition? I'm genuinely curious what that means...
posted by dosterm at 10:31 AM on October 17, 2008
posted by dosterm at 10:31 AM on October 17, 2008
I think they are better juxtaposed with each other, Kinison and Kaufman.
thenkyooveddymuch aughAUUUUUGHHHHHH!
posted by not_on_display at 10:48 AM on October 17, 2008
thenkyooveddymuch aughAUUUUUGHHHHHH!
posted by not_on_display at 10:48 AM on October 17, 2008
Andy, you sure could rattle them. They still don't get the joke.
posted by doctorschlock at 10:52 AM on October 17, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by doctorschlock at 10:52 AM on October 17, 2008 [1 favorite]
I've watched that documentary several times and those scenes inside that arena in Memphis are wondrous to behold. Doctorschlock is right, I love it when they went back and interviewed the good people of Memphis later and they still hated Andy.
posted by zzazazz at 11:23 AM on October 17, 2008
posted by zzazazz at 11:23 AM on October 17, 2008
Elaine Boozler tells a story about how she and Andy would go to wrestling matches in NYC in the 70's and go in character. He as foreign guy and she as her Long Island woman character. I don't remember if that is in that documentary or not.
posted by zzazazz at 11:25 AM on October 17, 2008
posted by zzazazz at 11:25 AM on October 17, 2008
If you love I'm From Hollywood as much as I do and want more of the greatness, there's an official Andy Kaufman v Jerry Lawler DVD out there that actually has footage of the Letterman appearance
posted by jtron at 11:32 AM on October 17, 2008
posted by jtron at 11:32 AM on October 17, 2008
Wasn't part of Kaufman's joke the people who didn't get it? Maybe he tapped some sort of anti-humor, which made those unimpressed or confused part of a larger show.
And maybe I'm theorizing outta my arse. Either way, your favorite comedian sucks.
posted by filthy light thief at 12:24 PM on October 17, 2008
And maybe I'm theorizing outta my arse. Either way, your favorite comedian sucks.
posted by filthy light thief at 12:24 PM on October 17, 2008
Wasn't part of Kaufman's joke the people who didn't get it?
Or maybe he was as subjective as any other comedian. I can respect his achievements, even if I found him uninteresting. That said, if someone "doesn't get it", that strikes me as failed humour. If you have to explain the joke, it's dead.
But whatever, people are free to like what they want. I'm not here to crap on the man; he clearly made something of his talent -- regardless of my own, personal view.
posted by Dark Messiah at 12:39 PM on October 17, 2008
Or maybe he was as subjective as any other comedian. I can respect his achievements, even if I found him uninteresting. That said, if someone "doesn't get it", that strikes me as failed humour. If you have to explain the joke, it's dead.
But whatever, people are free to like what they want. I'm not here to crap on the man; he clearly made something of his talent -- regardless of my own, personal view.
posted by Dark Messiah at 12:39 PM on October 17, 2008
Even when I "got" his concepts, I always had the feeling he was one step ahead of me, somehow distorting my understanding of his intentions. He was mocking me for thinking I understood, which of course, made me laugh at the entire situation I'd become a part of, not him. I'd say that was genius.
posted by davebush at 1:36 PM on October 17, 2008
posted by davebush at 1:36 PM on October 17, 2008
That doco is brilliant [no ending?] while not always laugh out loud - but found the Letterman with Lawler & Kaufman interview genuinely funny [1][2].
posted by meech at 2:05 PM on October 17, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by meech at 2:05 PM on October 17, 2008 [1 favorite]
Burhanistan: "Your favorite awkward situationist sucks."
No, yours does. And I'll wrestle you to prove it. Or read The Great Gatsby in full. Or maybe just cry and cry and cry and have a flameout on this thread.
posted by not_on_display at 2:10 PM on October 17, 2008
No, yours does. And I'll wrestle you to prove it. Or read The Great Gatsby in full. Or maybe just cry and cry and cry and have a flameout on this thread.
posted by not_on_display at 2:10 PM on October 17, 2008
I think he was a genius. The problem was he was bound up with fame and the studio system, etc. And he had some flaws. Sometimes genius isn’t enough.
But he apologized for Heartbeeps which was nice. I mean, if you cut Clooney a break for Batman and Robin, offering refunds, same deal here.
posted by Smedleyman at 3:50 PM on October 17, 2008
But he apologized for Heartbeeps which was nice. I mean, if you cut Clooney a break for Batman and Robin, offering refunds, same deal here.
posted by Smedleyman at 3:50 PM on October 17, 2008
Some of that stuff was pretty funny. I wonder what ever happened to him?
posted by sluglicker at 7:02 PM on October 17, 2008
posted by sluglicker at 7:02 PM on October 17, 2008
I met Andy in a donut shop in Noe Valley (S.F.) and told the donut shop lady who had just asked him to do that Taxi Latva voice that he was not really Andy Kaufman; he was just a guy who went around pretending to be Andy Kaufman to try to get free tickets and stuff...
Andy did not smile at this improv performance art attempt. I did not realize at the time that he knew he was dying of brain cancer.
Sad.
posted by kozad at 9:35 PM on October 17, 2008
Andy did not smile at this improv performance art attempt. I did not realize at the time that he knew he was dying of brain cancer.
Sad.
posted by kozad at 9:35 PM on October 17, 2008
That said, if someone "doesn't get it", that strikes me as failed humour. If you have to explain the joke, it's dead.
If someone doesn't understand calculus that doesn't mean that the derivatives market isn't lucrative.
Apples and Volkswagens man.... Although, humour and derivatives both do make me giggle.
posted by Dark Messiah at 10:05 PM on October 17, 2008
If someone doesn't understand calculus that doesn't mean that the derivatives market isn't lucrative.
Apples and Volkswagens man.... Although, humour and derivatives both do make me giggle.
posted by Dark Messiah at 10:05 PM on October 17, 2008
Got it on DVD, had it for years. Watched it this morning.
Andy is, was and will forever be a misunderstood genius.
posted by cerulgalactus at 11:35 PM on October 17, 2008
Andy is, was and will forever be a misunderstood genius.
posted by cerulgalactus at 11:35 PM on October 17, 2008
“To conquer death, you only have to die” I Am Santa Christ Superstar (the artist formely known as andy kaufman)
posted by l33tpolicywonk at 5:06 PM on October 19, 2008
posted by l33tpolicywonk at 5:06 PM on October 19, 2008
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posted by vronsky at 9:21 AM on October 17, 2008