The King Of Comedy [1982]

Autograph hunter and wannabe celebrity Rupert Pupkin (De Niro)idolises the network television chat show host Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis, in fine sober form). When an incident leads to a chance encounter with Langford, Rupert tells him he is an aspiring comedian, as much to get rid of him as anything else, Langford tells him to call his secretary. The reality of the situation is lost on Rupert who sees himself as a close friend of Langford and, when his attempts to get his material onto the Langford show fails, leads him to go to desperate measures.

King of Comedy is a scathing attack on the celebrity system that probably plays better in today's reality show climate than it did 20 years ago; it is one of those very rare movies that deserve the term "visionary".

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.

If you like black comedies, masterful direction, and want to know why De Niro is considered one of the greatest actors then this is definitely a film for you.


the king of black comedy   July 25, 2004
10 out of 10 found this review helpful

This has to be one of the sharpest, darkest and most subtle comedies ever made. It is hilarious, it has brilliant performances all round and has a great satirical statement to make.
Robert De Niro brilliantly portrays the delusional slightly creepy (but curiously loveable) loser Rupert Pupkin with dreams of becoming the 'king of comedy'. He badgers his hero, chatshow host Jerry Langford incessantly after a chance meeting believing that he and the celebrity have a friendship. His delusions are eventually shattered when he realises that Langford isn't the funnyman and the hero he thought he was, but a miserable and aggravated man who hates his fans. What results is a kidnapping where he holds Langford and demands a small slot on langford's chatshow as ransom.
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 appearence, 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 chatshow host who hates the world around him.
Scorsese has created a first rate, highly intelligent comedy which depicts obsession, delusion, and the whole fallacy of the media in a little, unpretentious gem of a movie. It is also a great 'New York' film, some of the shots of the streets of NYC really give the film its gloomy, brooding and serious tone. This is easily one of De Niro's greatest films, it shows he can be very funny and gives him another chance to play the 'antihero' again (like in Taxi Driver). One of my all time favourite films- check out the comedy routine at the end, it's hilarious!


The court jester rules   December 19, 2005
Kurt Messick (London, SW1)
10 out of 13 found this review helpful

Martin Scorsese's 'The King of Comedy' has long been a favourite film of mine. The storyline is nothing grand, and the acting is passing fair, but it is the little psychological pieces that keep poking in that make this movie an interesting one to watch.

This is not a typical Jerry Lewis film by any means. He is not a comedian in this film (of course, I know many who think, 'he's not a comedian in any film'). He plays the straight man, a rather sour and jaded entertainment professional. Robert DeNiro (as Rupert Pupkin) and Sandra Bernhard (as Marsha) play two star-struck fans who have focussed their lives on Jerry Langford (Lewis' character) to the extent that they are imagining weekend outings with him and knitting sweaters for him. The story largely revolves around Rupert's desire to be a comic and appear on Langford's Tonight Show-style talkshow.

In an interesting twist, given the Tonight Show character of the show, the movie features cameos from many old talkshow stand-bys, including Victor Borge, Dr. Joyce Brothers, and Tony Randall.

As Rupert and Marsha compete with each other to outdo the other in establishing a 'relationship' with Langford (everything from owning memorabilia to autographs to event attendance) Rupert's imagination keeps concocting more elaborate relationships, which he finally fails to be able to distinguish from reality. This comes to a confrontation when he travels out to Langford's weekend home (with an unsuspecting woman in tow) and gets ejected from the home by Langford and told, in no uncertain terms, that he is neither known nor wanted.

At this point, being confronted with a painful reality, Rupert decides upon drastic action, and with the assistance of Marsha, kidnaps Langford and holds him for ransom, the ransom being an appearance on the show.

Rupert's fantasies include being married to his high school crush on the show, by his old principal, who apologises for not seeing the worth in Rupert; Langford pleading with a resistant Rupert to guest host the show; essentially, everything in Rupert's life that had gone wrong gets righted.

This is dark humour, to be sure, and the pace can be rather slow. But this movie is largely overlooked, and deserves a bit more attention for the interesting psychological devices in the story.


One of Scorcese's best!   September 23, 2004
Tom the Bomb (Hebburn, Tyne and Wear United Kingdom)
8 out of 9 found this review helpful

Putting it simply, this film is a gem. Deniro is at his disturbing best and Jerry Lewis appears like you've never seen him before. The plot is about fan worship and the lengths some people will go to achieve celebrity and fame, despite their lack of talent. Although the film is very funny - it also has a very dark underlying theme - obsession, stalking and intrusion on other people's lives! In this age of 'Big Brother' and other distateful reality tv shows, King of Comedy seems almost prophetic in its portrayal of celebrity and 'wannabe' life styles. Also, if you blink you'll miss Joe Strummer and the rest of the Clash appearing as 'street scum' haranging Sandra Bernhard on the sidewalk.
Underrated and forgotten - a modern classic before Scorsese lost the plot with Cape Fear and Gangs of New York!


Ahead of it's time   July 5, 2006
jbezzo (Cumbria)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

When the King of Comedy was released in the early 80's reality TV had yet to be concieved. Which is precisely why it bombed at the box office. Only now, in an era when you can't switch channels without seeing another group of talentless, dysfunctional losers selling their dignity in the pursuit of fame, does the character of Rupert Pupkin strike such a resonant chord. DeNiro, plays Pupkin - a delusional wannabe comic who believes that his is a talent that deserves primetime exposure, and to that end kidnaps talkshow host Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis) in order to gain his fifteen minutes of fame. The darkness and subtlety of the movie was lost on audiences at the time - unsure of how to take a film whose title suggests a comedy when in fact it was anything but. As the film closes, Rupert does become famous in the Z list sense of the word, a damning indictment that paved the way for the Big Brother losers who would follow nearly two decades later. A very under-rated film and one which would be critically acclaimed were it released to day.