06/24/06 The King Of Comedy

The King Of Comedy (1983), directed by Martin Scorsese

watched solo; DVD (personal copy) @ home

Scorsese is the man. De Niro is the man. Believe it or not, Jerry Lewis actually does better when he's not being a complete goofball and is more bitter & strange (like here and in another great film "Arizona Dream"). This is a film of Scorsese's that has slipped through the cracks on my movie-watching list for years, and is seemingly a departure from most of his overtly violent & foul-mouthed classics. However his direction, along with great acting from De Niro and Lewis, remains dark and filled with personal demons. De Niro plays an awkward-in-his-own-skin nerd Rupert Pupkin, who aspires greatly to become a stand-up comedian and is obsessed with his idol Lewis (here Jerry Langford) and getting a chance to be on his primetime TV show. With the unhelpful advice from his equally abnormal friend Masha (Sandra Bernhard...isn't she naturally abnormal?), he devises unsuccessful plans to go to the TV show's offices and make his case to be on the show. Not taking a hint very easily, and becoming exceedingly persistent at annoying all who work at the offices, Pupkin is banished from setting foot on the premises ever again. Not allowing that to stop his desperate attempts, he and Masha kidnap Langford, force him to listen to his own stand-up routines, hold him for ransom, and insist that the network suits allow him to appear on the national TV program to be noticed. The plot gets twisted and tangled in many different unconventional ways, all the while Pupkin playing his game with an air of innocence and deviousness combined. I think De Niro's quirky persona he captures in the film is at first not impressive, but it subtly creeps on you to keep you guessing. Lewis plays a good straight-man to his insane funny-man, and even hits a level of gruff hostility. Like I said, it's a departure for all three men (Scorsese, De Niro, and Lewis), but it works. It works slowly at first, but gets better as it goes on. It's an interestingly dark take on how crazy fame can make people who thirst for it, and to what lengths some are willing to go for it. So now, if only I could somehow capture Roger Ebert, pick his brain that is a filmmaking encyclopedia, and exploit his insight for my own doings to become the greatest movie-reviewer of all time! (Insert evil genius cackle here).

4 out of 5 stars