My Breakfast with Blassie (1983)

3 Stars (out of 4)

Eggs on Faces

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Andy Kaufman stars with wrestler Fred Blassie in this hour-long takeoff on Louis Malle's My Dinner with Andre (1981), set at a Sambo's Restaurant. As with anything Kaufman, it's hard to tell what's real and what's really a put-on. It appears to be a fully improvised conversation over breakfast, in which Blassie and Kaufman discuss hygiene, food and wrestling, with a few interruptions from annoying fans. One fan, who pulls a booger out of his nose and places it on Andy's plate, is actually Andy's pal Bob Zmuda. And co-director Johnny Legend has revealed that the shoot actually took closer to four hours. Regardless, it's very funny -- and sometimes surprisingly warm -- and essential for Kaufman's fans. VCS has released a new 2009 DVD, though the picture and sound are fairly middling; it looks like an old VHS tape, complete with jumps and dropout and muddy audio. Extras include nearly a full hour of outtakes from the shoot, including more Kaufman antics, interviews with co-directors Legend and Linda Lautrec, and lots of vintage footage on Blassie.