The King of Comedy (1983)

To me, this movie is perfection.

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

After Robert DeNiro had teamed up with Martin Scorsese on films like 'Mean Streets' and 'Taxi Driver' it was hard to see anything the pair of them worked on failing. Then came 'King of Comedy.' I think that it's unfair to call it a 'fail,' but it certainly didn't set the Box Office alight in the same way their previous collaborations did. At least it has slowly picked up more of a cult audience over the years, but, perhaps most pertinently, it seems more 'of its time' today than in the early eighties when it was actually released. This time round DeNiro plays Rupert Pupkin - the deliberately oddly-named man who lives (basically) in his mother's basement, where he rehearses for the day he becomes a rich and famous stand-up comedian. So sure that he'll make it big time that he constantly stalks a genuine celebrity, Jerry Langford (played effortlessly by Jerry Lewis who basically plays himself throughout), acting like the two of them are old friends. Along the way Pupkin is 'aided' by another of Jerry's stalkers, this time a woman (played by Sandra Bernhard). The two of them, despite not getting on as they're both competing for a place in Jerry's life, team up in order to both get what they want out of their 'friend/lover.'Perhaps one reason it didn't resonate with audiences at the time was that, for a film with the word 'comedy' in the title, it's not - technically - that funny. It's not supposed to be a laugh-a-minute chuckle-fest. If it is any sort of comedy then it's definitely 'black comedy.' You'll feel a sense of sadness for our 'hero' as he's more pathetic than heroic. He can't see what we - the audience - can. Today we live in a world where you can become 'famous' from the comforts of your own home (or mother's basement in Pupkin's case) simply by becoming a 'Youtube star.' Back in the early eighties I'm guessing that not everyone wanted to be famous. Okay, so most people have the odd daydream about being a film star/rock star/astronaut/whatever, but it didn't seem to be until the millennium (perhaps when reality TV took off in a big way?) when everyone decided that fame was within their grasp (and without much talent or effort needed to achieve it!).'King of Comedy' shows how just because you WANT to become famous and think that it's your 'right' because of your 'talent,' you actually need a little more than sheet desire and self-belief. Yes, luck will always play a part in anyone's rise to the top, but what we have here is more of a sad tale of a man who's dream outweighs his talent. If you know what you're getting then you'll definitely find an excellent little piece that is more relevant today than it ever was. Robert DeNiro is still regarded as one of the greatest actors of our generation and it's films like this that will always play a big part in his rich history - even if they weren't quite appreciated at the time.

Scorsese took some risks to turn a familiar concept that is actually impossible to work on screen, or at least that what I thought. A lot of familiarity has been revealed at the first half of the third act of the movie along with some clichéd dialogue. Also, the pacing slowed down a bit at the very beginning of the third act. That being said, these flaws didn't bother me so much as the rest of the third act was brilliant!That's by no means what I expected. I thought it's kinda light comedy, but it turned out to be a very subtle dark comedy. Still consider it a more light-hearted version of Taxi Driver! Very under-appreciated, though.(8/10)

Maybe it's the title that throws people off. Or De Nero's inept attempts at stand-up. Or that Scorcese's film provides Jerry Lewis with his best role in decades, maybe ever. Whatever it is that makes people look for something funny in this movie, they're bound to be disappointed. Because this film is a character study of a sociopath and his accomplice, and how the dumbed-down culture whose fringes they inhabit is so devoid of critical thought that they accept De Niro's shtick as laugh-worthy.This is Scorcese's most passionate and searing film, more terrifying than Taxi Driver because of the banality of its protagonist's evil. Rupert Pupkin is every bit as crazy and narcissistic as Travis Bickle. And like Taxi Driver, the commission of a very public act near the end of this film turns outcast into hero. The glorification of Pupkin in this film and Bickle in Taxi Driver reflects the whims of a society that has lost its way, seduced by consumerism and celebrity. And there's nothing funny about that.

The film cleverly shows us societies pathetic obsession with the media and the celebrity and strips it down and condemns it to fallacy. Rupert Pupkin is hilarious at times- as a comedian and in real life- in his appearance, his bumbling harmlessness and not so convincing act as a threatening kidnapper, whilst at other times he seems quite unnerving- his obsessions and his fantasy world we are left to construe are slightly discomforting. Jerry Lewis is dynamite as the old crettenous chat-show host who hates the world around him. One of the best stylistic devices in this film are the trips we take into Rupert's mind: a place where he regularly meets Jerry Langford, gets told how brilliant his material is, and is told to spend the weekend at Langford's country house. It is this huge difference between the fantasy world in Rupert's head and the reality of his life (he's lonely, an egotist, he still lives with his mother, his friends are mainly autograph hunters and to top it off, he's actually not that funny), it is these things that make you realize about half way through the film that the man is insane.This is one of those rare movies which make you laugh as well as make you uncomfortable; in its own way it is probably a more unsettling film than Taxi Driver because you never know how you are meant to react as a viewer; various parts of the film blur the line between reality and fantasy, and the ending is extremely ambiguous.Overall rating: 8 out of 10.