Thank You Very Much Blu Ray Review (Drafthouse Films / MVD Marquee Collection)

Thank You Very Much is a 2023 documentary film produced and directed by Alex Braverman (Making Marines, The Shift, Weed Wars, What’s Next: The Future with Bill Gates, Shadowland, and The Mind of a Chef). It was executive produced by Rick Rubin (Beastie Boys, Linkin Park, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Slayer, and Slipknot), Benny Safdie (The Smashing Machine, Pee-wee as Himself, The Curse, and Funny Pages), and Josh Safdie (Good Time, Uncut Gems, and Marty Supreme). It grossed $14,439 during it’s limited theatrical run. Andy Kaufman’s (Saturday Night Live, Taxi, My Breakfast with Blassie, and Heartbeeps) provocative humor often outraged audiences and it challenges them to confront their own presumptions. Through never-before-seen footage and intimate recollections from Danny Devito (Batman Returns, Taxi, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Man on the Moon, Twins, and Get Shorty), Steve Martin (Planes, Trains and Automobiles, The Jerk, Little Shop of Horrors, Parenthood, Father of the Bride franchise, and Roxanne), Marilu Henner (Taxi, L.A. Story, Johnny Dangerously, Man on the Moon, and Cannonball Run II), James L. Brooks (The Simpsons, The Tracey Ullman Show, Taxi, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Broadcast News, and As Good as It Gets), James Burrows (Two and a Half Men, Taxi, The Bob Newhart Show, Frasier, Friends, and Cheers), Melanie Chartoff (Fridays, Super Friends, Parker Lewis Can’t Lose, and Rugrats), Bob Zmuda (Man on the Moon, Batman Forever, D.C. Cab, and Stormy Justice), and many others. Filmmaker Alex Braverman explores Kaufman’s brief but impactful life and career in comedy. As the lines between performance and reality blur in our present age, Kaufman’s genius resonates more than ever!!!! Thank You Very Much follows a variety of detailed documentaries about Kaufman which includes Jim and Andy: The Great Beyond, The Real Andy Kaufman, The Death of Andy Kaufman, I’m from Hollywood, E! True Hollywood Story, Biography, Kaufmania!, and Andy Kaufman Is Me. At this point, the unique and original comedian has been covered in every possible way but Thank You Very Much manages to find even more about the mysterious Kaufman. It goes from his start in the business and his origins in life before he got noticed. College roommate Bijan Kimiachi tells how Andy got his foreign character during his act. It was based on Bijan and their interactions when in school. The talent of Andy Kaufman spoke for itself, he was featured in the first episode for Saturday Night Live and that alone is a major accomplishment. It has all kinds of rare and unreleased archive footage from various performances over the years. It shows his awkward beginnings and how It worked with the crowd. He wasn’t like anyone so it really made him stand out. He was always looking for the next thing. He got his big break on the late 70’s sitcom Taxi as the loveable foreign mechanic Latka Gravas. He enjoyed doing it at first but he didn’t really like being tied down to the mainstream and he did whatever he was told to keep those ratings high. Besides some of the more known names that knew Kaufman that I listed above. It has interviews with Lynne Margulies (The Aftermath), William Knoedelseder (I’m Dying Up Here), Bob Pagani (The Lost Journals of Huey Williams), Pamela Paradowski (E! True Hollywood Story), Dennis Raimondi, Laurie Simmons, Buzz Allen, Bob Roth (David Lynch’s Festival of Disruption), Bijan Kimiachi, Miss Ruby Tuesday (Morgenmagazin), and Laurie Anderson (Closed Circuit). Thank You Very Much also have archive footage from Jerry Lawler (WWE, USWA, CWA, and Man on the Moon), Robin Williams (Good Morning Vietnam, Dead Poets Society, Popeye, Good Will Hunting, Hook, and Jumanji), Dick Van Dyke (Mary Poppins, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and Dick Tracy), Garry Shandling (MCU, The Larry Sanders Show, Mixed Nuts, and It’s Garry Shandling’s Show), Michael Richards (Seinfeld, Problem Child, UHF, Airheads, and Curb Your Enthusiasm), David Letterman, Johnny Carson, Lorne Michaels (Saturday Night Live, 30 Rock, A Night at the Roxbury, Wayne’s World franchise, and Tommy Boy), Dick Ebersol (Saturday Night Live, NBC Sunday Night Football, Major League Baseball on NBC, and WWF Saturday Night’s Main Event), and Freddie Blassie (WWE, Body Slam, My Breakfast with Blassie, and All Japan Pro Wrestling). Andy Kaufman needed something else after Taxi was done. He started wrestling and beating women in the ring. He angered the audience with his behavior. He got the attention of professional wrestling legend Jerry “The King”, he invited Kaufman to take on a real opponent in CWA. Andy showed up and started a nasty feud with the Memphis icon. He was set on Kayfabe so much that he paid for an ambulance out of his own pockets to fake an injury which stirred up more controversy. They took their problems on the David Letterman late night show and it promoted everything to another level. Andy Kaufman never had much luck when it came his own movies. He worked on Heartbeeps, In God We Trust (or Gimme That Prime Time Religion), Stick Around, and My Breakfast with Blassie. Andy Kaufman showed so many different sides of himself during his career. You never knew which was the real version of him. He was gone way too soon and his genius was mainly appreciated after he was no longer here. He was a natural joker and very unpredictable. When he died from cancer, long time collaborator and actress Carol Kane actually poked him in his casket because she thought that the funeral was a prank and setup somehow. One of the main things that makes Thank You Very Much stand out from all of the other documentaries is that it’s a little more personal than the others. Yes, it still has some major names featured but there’s more family and personal friends involved with this one. It’s a touching, humorous, and entertaining look into a creative mind. It just makes you respect and enjoy his legacy even more, STRONGLY RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Drafthouse Films in association with the MVD Marquee Collection! This 1080p (1.85:1) unrated transfer looks great for it’s home video debut. Several different sources are used for interviews and archive footage but it’s all blended well here. It has an English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track on the disc. All of the laughs, conversations, and drama sounds way better than expected in this. All of the dialogue is crisp, the chaos is elevated, and the music has a killer boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. It has the little over 20 minute “Andy Kaufman Home Video” directed by Richard Beymer (West Side Story, Insight, It’s a Beautiful World, The Longest Day, Twin Peaks, and Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out!) and “Rare Performance Footage from The Hollywood Improv”. It features some unreleased and rare moments from the comedian. This is a nice addition to this documentary. It has a little over 2 minutes of “Stills Gallery”. It has the “Original Trailer” for Thank You Very Much. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!