- Sam Bear examines the classics -

Movie Review: King of Comedy

Stars (Out of 10): 8

Movie Details: Cast: Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis, Sandra Bernhard Director: Martin Scorsese Genre: Comedy, Drama, Satire Run Time: 109 Minutes Release Year: 1983   Relevant Sites: IMDB   Shopping: Shop Amazon for items related to this movie. Shop for movie posters at AllPosters

"The King of Comedy" Review:

Better to be king for a night than a schmuck for a lifetime.

          More than most movies that are at least 20 years old, The King of Comedy is one that hasn't lost anything with age. Robert De Niro stars as Rupert Pupkin (that's P-U-P-K-I-N, often misspelled and mispronounced) an aspiring standup comic who's dream is to be on the Tonight Show-esque Jerry Langford Show. After helping Jerry escape from the grips of an amorous fan, Rupert takes a ride with Jerry to his apartment. There Jerry gives Rupert the 'call my secretary' brush-off, which Rupert mistakes for genuine interest. Pupkin soon begins to lose grip on reality and stalks Jerry – hanging out in his office, showing up at his weekend house, and eventually kidnapping Jerry with fellow stalker Masha.

          The King of Comedy doesn't seem to be as well known as some of Scorsese and De Niro's other collaborations (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, and four others), but it's surely worth seeing nonetheless. It's amazing how well this movie has stood the test of time; except for the `80s fashion and film technology (and some changes in security), this movie literally could have been released this year.

          After Hide and Seek, Meet the Fockers, Shark Tale, and Analyze That, it's nice to see Robert De Niro in a role that's less of a gimmick on his career and more just great acting. This was probably one of De Niro's first comedic films, and he's both humorous and disturbing as the driven and obsessed Rupert Pupkin. Sandra Bernhard as Masha is eye-gougingly annoying… so what better actress to play it! Jerry Lewis' performance as Langford (originally intended for Johnny Carson) is underplayed and reserved, showing the loneliness of celebrity.

          And that's what this movie is really about – the undesirous position of celebrity. Yeah you've got this immensely popular TV show, but you have all these fans that bug you constantly and you can't trust anyone blah blah blah. It's a little funny and ironic for famous people to make a movie for the purpose of assuring non-famous people that they don't want to be famous. And that's what makes it a good satire.

          Martin Scorsese does a superb job directing in a movie that is very different from his usual kind of movie. The scenes with Pumpkin alone in his mothers' basement are masterful with De Niro performing in front of a cardboard cut-out crowd and being interviewed by a cardboard Jerry Langford. It's a film that's both dark and humorous, and asks the best question a film can ask:  Which character (on opposite ends of the spectrum) do you sympathize with? Rupert Pupkin, who's just going after his dream but not in the best of ways, or Jerry Sullivan, a man that has lost his kindness with fame but what is he really supposed to do anyway?

The Bottom Line is that King of Comedy is a movie well deserving of the title 'classic.' De Niro and Scorsese are great in this superb black comedy and satire. It's helped popularize a whole genre (The Fan which also starred Robert De Niro as an obsessed follower, and Nurse Betty just to name a few), but without a doubt it's still the king!