10 Box Office Flops Much Better Than Their Reputations

8. Man On The Moon

Universal Pictures

Budget: $82 million

Worldwide Gross: $47.4 million

For most viewers, Jim Carrey-as-Andy Kaufman in Man on the Moon was all a bit confounding: this was a dramatic biopic about a famous anti-comedian that was largely short on laughs. Its contrasting nature was sort of the point, but just like the real life Kaufman, many people were too confused to really enjoy it.

Those who could suspend the need for giggle fits and a conventional structure, however, were treated to one of the best all-around biopics of the 90s.

First of all, it should be stated that Carrey completely nails it in the role of the comedian's comedian, Andy Kaufman, who was as big of a Hollywood outsider as they come. Carrey deftly recreates all of Kaufman's career highlights - including a montage of him wrestling women and his famous Mighty Mouse bit on Saturday Night Live - with that squirmy, constantly-evaluating quality that made Kaufman such a rare delight.

You don't have to like the person at the centre of this biopic - in fact, it practically goes out of its way to ensure that you won't for the most part - but you have to appreciate the exuberance with which Kaufman dedicated himself to finding new ways to deliver comedy, and the commitment with which Carrey embraces that philosophy for the film.

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Jacob is a part-time contributor for WhatCulture, specializing in music, movies, and really, really dumb humor.