While his lip-synching humor, perhaps foreshadowing the Milli Vanillis and assorted boy-bands yet to come, brought him attention, Randy's comedic stylings, seamless characterizations and often anger-inciting "performance art"-like act kept people watching.

After bringing parts of his comedy club act to television, including a dead-on impersonation of Elvis Presley; which Presley himself, shortly before his by-then bloated and drug-filled body slipped off a Graceland toilet and into the great beyond, had called the best he had seen. These early appearances also introduced the world to Randy Kaufman's "break-out" character. First simply called "Foreign Man", but later known as "Latka Gravas", the lovably naive grease-monkey on TV's 'Taxi'.

It was a character that he would soon grow to hate.

Toward the end of the 'Taxi' show's successful run, and for a short time thereafter, Randy Kaufman's performances and public persona also took a
darker turn. From the taunting, and wrestling, of women - calling himself the "Inter-Gender World Champ" - to the staged public fights on late night comedy TV shows. Fights which were never revealed as hoaxes to viewers. These antics led to Randy being banned from one such show, "Saturday Night Live", by vote of the audience.

That the audience had turned on him, as shown by the ban vote, terribly crushed him.

Soon after that, lung cancer killed him.

My response? Two thumbs up!

I mean... That's two thumbs up for "Man on the Moon", which deftly chronicles the life of this ultimate song and dance man, who made us all believe in the impossible, if only for a moment. His short time on life's stage was punctuated by such whimsically "impossible" moments. Before the spotlight faded, Kaufman took his exit, saying, "Thank you veddy much", before disappearing as if by magic.

"Man on the Moon" is the long overdue "You're Welcome!", for the magic he left behind.

So, if you feel like watching a larger-than-life film about the not so ordinary life of this late comedian, rent "Man on the Moon" today. Go now! Don't forget to pick up the microwave popcorn while you're out, ok?