Scott LeBrun
"The King of Comedy" is a knockout dark comedy that remains quite relevant in our current celebrity-worshipping North American pop culture. It shows what happens as Rupert Pupkin (Robert De Niro), a 34 year old hopeless nerd, is desperate for fame and fortune. A struggling stand-up comic, he tries and tries to endear himself to the nations' # 1 comedian / talk show host, Jerry Langford (a well cast, and excellent, Jerry Lewis). When the celebrity ultimately gives him the big brush-off, Rupert and his unhinged friend Masha (Sandra Bernhard, in an impressive breakthrough performance) abduct Langford.Working from an engaging script by Paul D. Zimmerman, master filmmaker Martin Scorsese is able to say a lot about the nature of celebrity. Even today, we do have a climate where people can be famous for no really good reason, yet still milk the situation for everything that it's worth. It also makes you think about peoples' priorities, and misplaced confidence in whatever "talent" they possess. As we can see from Ruperts' big moment in the spotlight, his material just isn't that great. (Although I personally got a chuckle out of the line, "her alcohol contained 2% blood".)It's all enacted with a fair amount of realism, a healthy amount of attention paid to the real-life machinations of the talk show world (both Johnny Carson's and Merv Griffin's series were used as influences), and some absolutely great performances by De Niro and Lewis. The supporting cast has no slackers, either: Bernhard is clearly relishing her role, De Niro's lovely then-wife Diahnne Abbott is appealing as a bartender whom he tries to romance, real life 'Tonight Show' producer Frederick De Cordova is solid as the producer of Langfords' fictional show, and various real life stars have funny cameos as themselves. Members of The Clash have bits as "street scum"; Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (in her film debut) is an extra in the opening crowd scene.Darkly humorous without ever being too, too outrageous, "The King of Comedy" is one of those films that's continued to look good and resonate, almost 40 years later.Eight out of 10.
ufuuy_mans
It is always difficult to find such quality works in comedy style. Robert De Niro has done a really good job. The character that he revived had almost lived and lived. It is a construct that leaves a pleasant smile, a curious person, a pleasant smile on the inside. It's a legendary movie with fiction and acting.
edwagreen
An absolute ridiculous farce. It's a good thing that Robert De Niro stuck to dramatic acting for most of his career.Of course, it was unusual to see Jerry Lewis in a rather serious part and he came through nicely as the kidnapped victim.The picture tried to bring out what the American people will accept as success, no matter how preposterous and asinine.De Niro comes across as a real nuisance as he sets out to literally hound the Lewis character to recognize him. Ignored at every turn, he resorts to the ultimate kidnapping and is able to go on television with his ridiculous monologue.Inane, that's really foolish.
alfCycle
This movie made me feel uncomfortable for most of its duration... and that's a compliment! The main character's cringe inducing self humiliation makes you want to look away, but at the same time you hope maybe he might catch a break. This movie comments on the issues of celebrity worship and fame seeking, which I think is probably even more prevalent in today's society than in 1982. With the advent of the internet, social media, youtube... almost anyone can get their 15 minutes of fame, and they don't even have to kidnap a talk show host! They just need to flip a bottle or stand very still for an extended period of time.... Anyway, I very much enjoyed this movie. It has its funny moments, but with a sense of unease and tension running through them.8/10...but that's just like, my opinion, man# Of Times Watched: Once
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