Product Details

• Actors: Taxi-Best of Andy Kaufman Coll, Andy Kaufman
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, EP, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Paramount
• VHS Release Date: June 6, 2000
• Run Time: 49 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00004SPYA
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #35,765 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Though Andy Kaufman wasn't exactly fond of his role as Latka Gravas on the hit TV show Taxi (he thought the show was too mainstream), this is the vehicle through which most of the world got to know the diverse talents of Kaufman. Ironically, some of the show's finest moments are in the episodes that featured Latka, letting Andy Kaufman take center stage for the American TV viewing audience. This second volume of Taxi: The Best of Andy Kaufman includes the episodes "Latka the Playboy" and "Mr. Personalities." Sick of being the cute foreign guy who can't get any American women, Latka decides to buff up his personality. By locking himself in his apartment with nothing to read but stacks of Playboy magazines, Latka transforms himself from the bumbling mechanic to the sly, sweet-talking stud "Vic Ferrari." Trouble ensues when Vic takes over Latka's life and the gang at the garage must step in to bring Latka back. The second episode continues to explore Latka's split personalities. However, he has now stepped beyond Vic, housing a series of new personas, including his friend Alex Rieger (Judd Hirsch). Things start to get a little out of hand when Alex's friends begin to prefer the Latka "Alex" to the real Alex, and eventually even Alex starts turning to the Latka Alex for advice. --Rob Bracco

From the back cover

Volume 2

"Latka the Playboy"
"Mr. Personalities"

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars sitcom's best, May 23, 2000

By	smoothsoul (New Zealand) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

Never written an online review before but when I saw the two best sitcom episodes ever were being released on one tape... It's funny that Andy Kaufman was so dismissive of sitcoms, and along he comes and makes two episodes which turn the conventions on their heads, and have more depth than any I've seen (this of course was as much the writers - but they had such a whizz to write for). Latka the Playboy is as much a shock as it is funny - after several years of cute Latka, suddenly he turns into smooth Vic. He sounds so different, it's almost psychotic an actor could change so at the drop of a hat. Mr. Personalities may be the most brilliantly conceived sitcom episode ever - Latka is now splitting all over the place (I love Jeffrey, the Englishman who prods Louie), and now he becomes Alex. How's that for a sitcom? One character becomes another. And the depth is that through this bizarre event, Alex realises he is unfulfilled in life and gets depressed. The ending is as tragic as it is funny. It's rare, but tv can be art.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sitcom heaven, December 12, 2000

By	Vincent R. Corvaia "yourpalvince" (Maine, United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The first show on this tape is still to me one of the funniest sitcom episodes ever, ranking right up there with anything on "The Honeymooners" or "Fawlty Towers." Latka/Vic is so hilarious and so uncanny that I never tire of seeing it. ("Come on, walk with me, talk with me.") And the script for the Latka/Alex episode is one of the funniest and most original as well. This is one video I keep handy for repeat viewings, even more than many classic movies I love. I mean, I can only watch "Citizen Kane" so many times, but I can listen to Kaufman say, "Hard to get happy after that one" every day.