Andy Kaufman Is Me is a revelatory documentary about the late provocative comedian and Taxi star, featuring interviews with friends and family.

My introduction to Andy Kaufman was through the 1999 biopic, Man on the Moon, starring comedian Jim Carrey. Being a student of comedy, it’s no surprise that the film piqued my interest upon seeing the Tribeca listings in April. I highly recommend Andy Kaufman Is Me for Kaufman fans, whether you’re the casual or die-hard fan. There’s something to take away for everyone.

The film wisely moves between contemporary interviews, archival footage, and never-before-heard audio recordings. The audio recordings alone should be enough to pique anybody’s interest in the film. After all, Kaufman has been dead for 41 years last month. The fact that he still has gifts of any kind for his fans is just absolutely astounding! For what it’s worth, Andy Kaufman Is Me was made with the full support of the comedian’s estate–hence the unprecedented access to his recordings!

The recordings featured in the film are more or less his personal journals. They capture what he was thinking at the time, be it performances or even a semi-autobiographical book–The Huey Williams Story–that was never finished. But even though the book was never finished, filmmaker Clay Tweel still finds a way to bring those pages to life in a way that one expects Kaufman would support. Can one make the argument that the book is finally finished? Maybe, depending on one’s point of view.

But comedians are more than what they show us on stage and in their talk show appearances or comedy specials. It’s through the recordings and interviews in Andy Kaufman Is Me that Tweel is able to show us just exactly who Kaufman was. He may have appeared to be provocative when he performed, but beneath the facade lay an entirely different person altogether. His life was more nuanced than anyone could have probably ever gave him credit for. That’s what I appreciated about this documentary. It’s not the basic Wikipedia documentary that one might expect, not to say anything bad about Wikipedia documentaries but there should be something that captivates the audience. Thankfully, there is.

There are plenty of archival clips featured throughout Andy Kaufman Is Me. If you’ve seen the aforementioned Man on the Moon, you already know this film wouldn’t be complete without the Late Night with David Letterman footage, especially when it came to the iconic and staged feud with Jerry “The King” Lawler. There’s also the 1982 Saturday Night Live episode where SNL held a phone vote asking viewers to keep or dump Andy. More callers voted to Dump Andy. Gary Kroeger announced the results.

Siblings Michael and Carol Kaufman represent the family in the film. Friends and colleagues in the film include David Letterman and Carol Kane. Kane–who didn’t become a series regular until Taxi’s fifth season–is the only cast member from the sitcom. In a way, it makes since because Kaufman’s Latka Graves married Kane’s Simka Dahblitz-Gravas. However, you’d still think that someone like Judd Hirsch, Danny DeVito, or other cast members would have been included. Maybe it came down to scheduling.

Andy Kaufman Is Me shows us the legendary comedian through a new light, while giving us what may be one final gift.

DIRECTOR: Clay Tweel
SCREENWRITERS: Clay Tweel, Luis Lopez, Shannon E. Riggs
FEATURING: Michael Kaufman, Carol Kaufman, David Letterman, Carol Kane, Tim Heidecker, Eric Andre, Kristin Schaal

Andy Kaufman Is Me holds its world premiere during the 2025 Tribeca Festival in the Spotlight Documentary program. Grade: 4/5

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