Andy
Kaufman and “Classy” Freddie Blassie star in this spoof of Louis Malle’s My
Dinner with Andre. I can’t imagine
anyone outside of die-hard Kaufman (or wrestling) fans enjoying this, as it’s
mostly an extension of his wrestling gimmick.
(He’s still wearing the neck brace from when Jerry “The King” Lawler “broke
his neck” with a pile driver.) Even as a
fan of Kaufman, Blassie, and co-director Johnny Legend, I have to admit that it
sort of wears out its welcome before the credits roll (and it runs just under
an hour too). However, since there’s
only a finite amount of Kaufman’s filmed performances, it’s still worth
watching, if only as a curio piece.
Kaufman
and Blassie go to breakfast and discuss among other things, personal hygiene,
annoying autograph seekers, and wrestling.
As they eat, they’re pestered by fans and Andy tries to pick up a girl
(played by his real-life girlfriend, Linda Margulies, Johnny Legend’s
sister). Things turn sour when an
annoying fan (Kaufman’s writing partner, Bob Zmuda) pukes on the floor.
My
Breakfast with Blassie was shot on video to give it the look like it was
actually happening live. (There were
only two or three cameras used so it looks like an old Folgers
commercial.) Even though everyone involved
(except for maybe the waitress) is clearly in on the joke, it still feels kind
of staged. That doesn’t mean it’s not
funny when Kaufman gets irritated at the diner patrons and begins mocking
them. The table talk between he and
Blassie is quite amusing too and it’s fun just hearing them swapping bits of
wrestling minutia back and forth.
All
of this should be amusing for fans of Kaufman and his unique brand of humor. What’s it all mean in the end? Not much, I’m afraid. It might not be the breakfast of champions,
but I’m certainly glad I watched My Breakfast with Blassie.
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