‘Thank You Very Much’ Review: Andy Kaufman Doc Throws Up A Complex Portrait Of A Cryptic Comic – Venice Film Festival
deadline.comWhen Andy Kaufman passed away in May 1984, it was the final full stop in a life that seemed to be endlessly self-regenerating.
Or was it? Rumors that this was another of his bizarre stunts were rife at the time, so much so that one of the mourners at the comedian’s funeral poked the body that lay in the casket to see if it would move.
Premiering this week in Venice Classics, Alex Braverman’s feature-length documentary Thank You Very Much is an attempt to locate the man behind the myth, and though there’s plenty of firsthand testimony and a treasure trove of archive material, it soon becomes achingly clear that the real Andy Kaufman likely never will be unmasked.
It seems fitting, then, that Kaufman seemed to appear fully formed from nowhere when comedy impresario Budd Friedman, owner of The Improv, booked his first slots in the early ’70s.
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