Thank You Very Much
Directed by Alex Braverman
Unrated
Runtime: 1 hour and 39 minutes
In limited theaters March 28

by Kate Beach, Staff Writer

“Hope this one doesn’t make me cry!” I wrote in the MovieJawn writers’ Discord channel as I settled in to watch Thank You Very Much. An hour and forty minutes later, I updated the group: “I cried.” As a Nick at Nite kid who was obsessed with Kaufman first through Taxi and then through, well, everything else about him, I had a feeling Alex Braverman’s new documentary would get me. It’s a loving tribute to a singular comedic voice that doesn’t try too hard to solve the puzzle of what made him tick.

How do you capture the spirit of Andy Kaufman? How do you explain it to people who don’t already appreciate the shock and delight of his subversive work? Is it worth even trying? Braverman thinks so. Thank You Very Much weaves together archival footage and contemporary interviews with Kaufman’s friends and collaborators, and occasionally tries to explain what made Andy Kaufman such a strange, confusing artist. At its center, of course, are Bob Zmuda and Lynne Margulies. Kaufman’s best friend and partner, respectively, have spent the decades since his death as keepers of his legacy. They provide insights into the man behind the bits, with Zmuda in particular offering incidents from Kaufman’s childhood that may (or may not) explain Kaufman’s penchant for toying with perception and reality.

“My movie begins with the climax,” we hear Kaufman intone as Thank You Very Much opens. He narrates the vision for his film, a nonlinear timeline that Braverman brings to life and punctuates with quick cuts to the fulfillment of Kaufman’s various plans and fantasies. Thank You Very Much covers the broad strokes of Kaufman’s life and career - his childhood trauma, dreams of show business and early forays into stand up, then controversial appearances on Saturday Night Live, and the role that made him a star, Latka Gravas on Taxi (based on his own Foreign Man character). Later on, his wrestling career and appearances as Tony Clifton seemed to be done in direct contrast to his image as the sweet, innocent Latka, a role he surely felt was confining him to other people’s desires and expectations.

Beyond Taxi, Kaufman had countless performances and bits that have become legend, and Braverman wisely lets a number of them play out through performance footage. You can’t explain why Kaufman sternly reading The Great Gatsby to a confused and increasingly agitated audience is funny; just show a clip. Thank You Very Much frequently shows how Kaufman delighted in creating a reaction, especially frustration and anger. Talking head after talking head appears to recall a story of Kaufman committing to a bit long after other comedians would have left the stage. The artist Laurie Anderson, whose spoken word piece “The Rotowhirl” is about her friendship with Kaufman, described his desire to “elicit things, to make them feel something. Let’s see who you are and if I can mess with it.” Anderson often played the role of a planted heckler in Kaufman’s audiences; her storming the stage to wrestle him was an early moment in his pivot to become the self-proclaimed Inter-Gender Wrestling Champion of the World. He didn’t just want to be a pro-wrestler; he wanted to be a heel. He taunted crowds with misogynistic insults and threatened to sue his detractors. That jeering, infuriating act paired easily with his longest-lived character, Tony Clifton. A crass, grotesque lounge singer who was constantly feuding with Kaufman, Clifton technically still exists today, further muddying the waters of Kaufman’s life after death.

It’s remarkable to see what Kaufman accomplished in his brief career before his death from lung cancer in 1984. He was only thirty-five, and had built such a reputation for misdirection that for years, rumors persisted that he’d faked his own death. It’s touching to watch his friends and colleagues wistfully hold out just a sliver of hope that he’s out there somewhere, living the ultimate commitment to the bit. The film also delves into his commitment to transcendental meditation, and his pursuit of both traditional and alternative medicine to treat his cancer. This culminates in Kaufman receiving psychic surgery, a fraudulent medical treatment that relies on sleight of hand.

Any attempt to demystify one of the most purposefully mystifying artists of the 20th century feels misguided. Kaufman so badly wanted to keep people guessing; as his Fridays costar Melanie Chartoff notes, “He loved taking the audience prisoner.” Thank You Very Much is best when Braverman lets audiences submit to the bit, to let Kaufman play with our reality from beyond the grave. Bob Zmuda and Lynne Margulies vowed to keep Kaufman’s legacy and his mystery alive. Thank You Very Much respects their promises by acknowledging that yes, of course Kaufman died. But wouldn’t it be something if…?

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