I'm From Hollywood

Starring:Andy Kaufman, Jerry Lawler, Robin Williams, David Letterman, Tony Danza, Jimmy Hart, Lance Russell, Bob Zmuda, Marilu Henner
Director: Lynne Margulies, Joe Orr
Studio: Rhino / Wea
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
Show biz wasn't enough. Andy Kaufman's true dream was to be a wrestler: a star, a pro wrestler. However, he had his obstacles. He was too small, too weak, and had no talent at the sport. To make up for these inadequacies Kaufman decided the only way he could be a champion in the ring was to start wrestling women. One night, in the midst of a heated battle, the great champion Jerry "The King" Lawler stepped into the ring to defend a woman's honor when it seemed that Kaufman might go too far. This incident began an obsessive, yearlong vendetta against the mighty Lawler, leaving Kaufman's friends to wonder, "Has Andy truly lost his mind?"

Amazon.com

Show biz wasn't enough. Andy Kaufman's true dream was to be a wrestler: a star, a pro wrestler. However, he had his obstacles. He was too small, too weak, and had no talent at the sport. To make up for these inadequacies Kaufman decided the only way he could be a champion in the ring was to start wrestling women. One night, in the midst of a heated battle, the great champion Jerry "The King" Lawler stepped into the ring to defend a woman's honor when it seemed that Kaufman might go too far. This incident began an obsessive, yearlong vendetta against the mighty Lawler, leaving Kaufman's friends to wonder, "Has Andy truly lost his mind?"

Andy Kaufman: I'm from Hollywood documents Kaufman's entire, but short, pro-wrestling career. Interlaced with live wrestling footage are interview snippets from Robin Williams, Marilu Henner, Tony Danza, and Bob Zmuda analyzing his actions and questioning his sanity. A huge perk of the video are the crowd shots in Memphis during this yearlong rivalry. In this giant comedic act, Kaufman willingly manages to stir up crowds of tens of thousands to a frenzied anger of hatred and bloodlust, all directed at him. But on whom is the joke? The sport of wrestling? The crowd? American sports entertainment as a whole? The home viewers? Sometimes it is hard to tell. One thing's for certain: in today's world of wrestling no one could pull off what Kaufman did in his day. It is truly amazing. --Rob Bracco

Customer Reviews:

The Best Wrestler Ever? The end of an era..........2007-02-04

As another reviewer points out, I never buy DVD's unless they're a keeper. This one is. Andy Kaufman participated in arguably the best show business hoax/performance art piece of all time. All hype? Yes sir. Stupid? No way. Looking back, Andy was the last guy that could get away with this stuff in the ring. Now it is show business. BACK THEN, THESE PEOPLE AT THE MID-SOUTH COLISEUM THOUGHT KAUFMAN AND WRESTLING WERE REAL. The end of an era indeed. The only bummer is that the whole Kaufman story couldn't be put out in it's entirerty for people crazy as me to buy it. "Breakfast with Blassie" is also amazing, in that Kaufman gets Classy into his world without the self proclaimed "king of men" knowing what's up. Another gem from the best comedic mind around, living, passed-on or not. Pure genious and hilarious. If you like your comedy spoon-fed, don't bother...

AAA+++ - THE "PROOF" IS THAT THERE HASN'T BEEN ANOTHER - SINCE OR BEFORE ANDY!!! - HIGLY RECOMMEND!!!.......2006-09-19

If you are a fan of Andy Kaufman, the TV Show "Taxi", today's Wrestling Shows, the movie "Man on the Moon", or even Live Television "Spoofs", there is no ABSOLUTELY NO DOUBT that you will fully and completely enjoy, and be entertainained by this DVD. I have to say that, I fully believe that Wrestling WOULD NOT EXIST on Television today (even cable), had it not been for Andy Kaufman and Jerry Lawler working together - and the beauty of all of it, is that in typical Andy Kaufman fashion, it all seemed so real and believable, at the time, that NOBODY knew the difference!!
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS!! - And just an FYI, I have a personal rule, that I DO NOT buy DVD's unless they are REALLY, REALLY GOOD, that buying them is justified - and this one DEFINITELY IS!! R.I.P. Andy - We really miss you!

Okay, but not comedy as you know it.......2005-06-28

Interesting, but more as a portrait of a performance artist than a comedy. Best for the kaufman completists.

hilarious.......2005-05-25

this is a hilarious dvd, the movies are a hoot...you have to enjoy the Taxi days of Andy Kaufmans humor and the rest of his dilusional behavior to understand his great command of comedy, this is a great addition to my movie collection.

These Two Films are a Blast!.......2005-03-26

Although "I'm from Hollywood" gets top billing, this DVD is actually made up of two movies: "I'm from Hollywood," which chronicles Kaufman's pro-wrestling career (a career which saw him defeat numerous women and ended when, for the for the first time, he fought someone of his own gender); and "My Breakfast with Blassie," a hilarious spoof of the movie "My Dinner with Andre."

"I'm from Hollywood" is a collage of scenes of Andy Kaufman's involvement in pro-wrestling, taken from television. Kaufman plays a "bad guy" wrestler who taunts the viewing audience about how he is a famous Hollywood star who can beat up any woman who dares challenge him in the ring. He goes to redneck country and insults the viewers, telling them that he is going to teach them about new things, like soap. After he finally meets a male (Jerry Lawlor) in the ring, he ends up in traction.

"My Breakfast with Blassie" is a parody of "My Dinner with Andre," a film that consisted almost entirely of two people having an intellectually stimulating conversation during dinner at an upscale restaurant on Manhattan's Upper West Side. So here, Kaufman made a film about former wrestler/wrestling manager Freddie Blassie and himself having an anti-intellectual conversation during breakfast at a downscale Los Angeles pancake house. We see Kaufman and Blassie conversing about how they don't like shaking peoples' hands because "you never know where their hands could've been - They could have just wiped themselves and their finger could have gone through the toilet paper." In another scene, Blassie rubs the pregnant Thai waitress' belly for good luck, and then, after she walks away, comments, "That's another one we'll be feeding on welfare."

These two films are highly recommended. They're a real gas!

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