Truth Bomb Tuesday: This bent my head a little bit
If you’re looking for something a bit out of the ordinary – and a bit mind-bending and inspirational – check out the Andy and Jim documentary on Netflix.
(No affiliate kickbacks, I promise!)
More and more I love a good doco. The reality is that real life is just generally richer and more interesting than anything anyone can make up.
Anyway, this doco is about the time around 2002 when Jim Carey played the comedian Andy Kaufman for the movie The Man in the Moon.
Carey had a film crew following him around the whole time, but the film studio refused to release the footage.. until now.
And I can get why. It’s kind of mind-bending. Horrifying and hilarious. At times it feels like I’m just watching an actor really go deep into a role. Other times it’s like watching a medium channel the deceased.
And maybe it’s just the same thing.
I’m still getting my head around it.
Anyway, that’s not what this is really about. But there were a couple of really touching and poignant moments in the movie for me.
The first is about how Jim Carey, before he was famous, wrote himself a cheque for $10 million, for “Acting services rendered.”
At the time he was a nobody. It was wildly ambitious.
But within a few years, it happened. He was paid $10m for his role in Dumb and Dumber.
Now I’ve heard this story before – about how it proves the power of magic and manifestation and all that.
And maybe it does, but the thing you really appreciate in this movie is just how committed Carey has been to his craft his entire life. He was giving it 110% from a very early age.
It’s quite likely (to me) that the world would have discovered his talents, even if he hadn’t tried to ‘manifest success’.
So look, the point is, sure. Engage with manifestation. Engage with visualisation. But don’t forget to put in the hard work. That’s really where the magic happens, I reckon.
The other really, heart-breakingly beautiful moment was when Carey is reflecting on his father.
His father was a funny guy and a talented Sax player with his own big band. He was living in Toronto, but knew that he needed to head to the bigger cities in America if he was really going to make it.
But he had a family and he had commitments. So he put his dreams of music on ice and became an accountant.
And then what happened?
He lost his job at 51, and it totally broke him.
As Carey says, failure is disappointing. But when you compromise on your dreams, and then fail, it’s doubly disappointing.
And it taught him a lesson. You could fail at whatever you, so you might as well be doing what you love.
I love that.
And it’s true, some people sacrifice their dreams to keep themselves safe. But there’s no guarantees. You can’t guarantee safety.
So why not roll the dice?
Anyway, there’s a lot in this one, so if you’ve got a spare 90 mins, check it out.
It’s definitely food for thought.
DB.