User Reviews

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

As Travis Bickle's universally known line of dialogue from "Taxi Driver" has a deep meaning ("Are you talkin' to me? Well I'm the only one here"), Rupert Pupkin's closing speech of his first-ever standup comedy routine in "The King of Comedy" finalizes the entire meaning of the film, wrapping it up in one short sentence. Is it better to have one great day versus nothing? Do the ends justify the means? Two questions all of us ask ourselves at one point of time in our life.

The comparisons to Travis Bickle seem stronger on paper than they do in the film. The most striking resemblance between the two stories is that both contain the central theme of a man snapping and doing something apparently crazy. Both films star Robert De Niro, and both are directed by Martin Scorsese, which makes for an interesting discussion of relation. Some may even say that it's a sequel in sorts.

Rupert Pupkin (De Niro) is a lonely man whose daily life and routines consist around one man: Jerry Langston, a talk show host and comedian who is followed by a horde of rabid fans, including Masha (Sandra Bernhard), a fan to rival Pupkin, who admits that he has waited nine hours at a time outside Jerry's recording studio to catch a glimpse of him as he is shoved into limos by fancy bodyguards.

Rupert is given a rare opportunity to speak to Jerry one day as he saves him from Masha, who assaulted Jerry with kisses and hugs. It is as they drive away together and Rupert talks to Jerry that he proposes his long-time dream, which is to appear on Jerry's show as an aspiring standup comic. Of course, he's had no experience. But Rupert swears he would be great on stage -- he's studied Jerry for years and knows timing.

Langston gets these psychos all the time, but he doesn't realize just how strong a fan Rupert is until he shows up at his private home with suitcases and a girl claiming to have been invited. "I made a mistake," Rupert says. "So did Hitler," Jerry barks.

Jerry Lewis plays Jerry Langston in a self-referential (and very unflattering) role. It's his finest to date. The guy is a scumbag who barely tolerates fans and is cruel. Lewis has lost his manic, energetic, annoying comedy rituals seen in films such as "The Nutty Professor" and has moved on to real acting that demands true skill. Gone are the squeaky voice and the crossed eyes. Here is perhaps the wretched soul who really exists behind Jerry Lewis, as we know him.

All of us exaggerate, but Rupert does so to an extreme. After being shoved out of Jerry's limo the night of their confrontation with an invitation to call Jerry's secretary to schedule a meeting, Rupert shows up at Jerry's office claiming to have an appointment. "Is Jerry expecting you?" he is asked by a clerk. "Yes, I don't think so," Rupert says.

Jerry and his workers, who deny his taped comedy routine that we never hear until the end, shun Rupert. "Oh, I see, this is what happens to people like you from all of this!" Rupert yells at Jerry. "No," he replies. "I've always been like this."

So Rupert breaks down and kidnaps Jerry with the help of Masha, demanding a spot on his TV show as a ransom payment. He commands that he will be referenced to as "The King of Comedy" (hence the title), and to further demonstrate the innocence of Rupert's character, when he shows up, he fails to see the gravity of the offence he has just committed.

Rupert is twisted, as you may have guessed by now, but not in a Travis Bickle kind of way. He doesn't see the bad in the world -- he's oblivious to it. "You're so naive!" Masha tells him. I wouldn't be surprised if he took it as a compliment.

Rupert lives in complete isolation, kept locked up with his mother and living his life by what he says on TV. His dialogue and mannerisms are all clichéd -- he says the kind of stuff one would expect a poorly written film to feature. When he tries to impress a female bartender, and when he tries to make small talk with Jerry, he frightens both individuals (similar to Travis Bickle frightening Senator Palantine and the Secret Service Agent).

As Rupert takes the stage at the end of the film, his entire dreams have been laid forth in front of him and he takes them by the throat. It is in that truly startling moment we've all been waiting for when we learn that Rupert is not only funny, but pretty darn talented. If the movie had used Rupert's life-long dreams as the butt end of a joke, if he had turned out to be an absolutely horrid comedian (which is what I honestly thought would happen), the film would have little effect. But as a filmgoer and critic, it ranks as one of the most surprising scenes I have ever laid eyes on.

5/5 stars.

• John Ulmer

When critics and film fans alike talk about Martin Scorsese/Robert De Niro collaborations, such classics as 'Raging Bull', 'Mean Streets' and 'Taxi Driver' are more than likely to spring to mind. Their sheer exposure and acknowledgement as some of the best films of all time has led to one of Scorsese/De Niro's works almost going completely under the radar. But make no mistake about it; pound for pound, 'The King of Comedy' is as innovative and ingenious as all three of its predecessors.

Out of the three, the film is probably most similar to 'Taxi Driver'. Another study of lunacy and the nature of sociopathy, De Niro plays aspiring comic Rupert Pupkin, a benevolent Travis Bickle if you will, that is if Bickle had "stayed home watching TV with mom instead of going to 'Nam" as Laura Bushell put it. Mainly misunderstood or ignored by the few who have seen it, its black comedy and cringe-worthy humour creates extremely uneasy viewing, largely due to Paul D. Zimmerman's hilarious and genuinely witty script, and even more so, De Niro's fantastic performance as main protagonist Rupert Pupkin.

As far as believability and authenticity goes, De Niro's performance is as genuine and realistic as his Oscar winning role in 'Raging Bull'. The best indication of this is the scene in which Pupkin stages his own chat show in his basement, along with life-size cut outs of Liza Minnelli and his comic idol Jerry Langford, played by real comedian Jerry Lewis. It is a truly masterful scene, and De Niro truly shows his worth as a comedic actor, holding the screen single-handedly through-out not only this scene, but the entire film, with his great timing and cringe-inducing gags. It is a wonder as to why De Niro's recent ventures into comedy haven't been done with the same commitment and determination that you see when you watch him in this film. Some have contributed this to his current trait of starring in any script that falls on his doormat, in order to fund his self owned Tribeca Studios. Whatever the reason, De Niro hasn't since produced the comedic form that he did in this film in no less than eight tries, and is very unlikely to do so in the future. Albeit De Niro's dominant and thoroughly consistent performance in this film, his support cast certainly doesn't hinder his cause. Jerry Lewis plays a brilliant version of himself in Jerry Langford; a famous comic obsessed by his fame, ignorant to his fans. He and De Niro share great chemistry in their scenes together, most notably when Pupkin turns up at Langford's mansion uninvited and acts as if they were friends. This scene truly is one of the most squeamish and flinch-invoking ever committed to celluloid, without a single drop of blood or word of abusive language used.

Sandra Bernhard also stars, playing Masha; a rival autograph collector of Pupkin, who is also obsessed with Langford. She too shares great chemistry with De Niro, the two of them competing with each other over who knows more about Langford, and who has shared more contact with him. She plays a brilliantly eccentric, almost psychotic stalker, and the scene in which she ties Langford up and forces him to have dinner with her is truly painful to watch. The film is occasionally interrupted by scenes which can be only described as dream sequences spawned from Pupkin's wild imagination. One sees Pupkin signing autographs whilst sitting at dinner with Langford, whilst the another sees him on Langford's chat show as a guest, marrying his school-time girlfriend (played by De Niro's real ex-wife Diahnne Abbott) on air with his ex-head teacher as the vicar. It all sounds very crazy, but such is the working mind of Pupkin. These dream sequences, as well as how his jokes deteriorate during his stand up, give us an idea of an apparent darker side to this film. Pupkin is obviously a disturbed mind, and when his stand-up routines start off as a joke but end with him unconsciously citing personal traumatic experiences, it quickly becomes evident that Pupkin had a troubled childhood. The dream sequences also suggest this, most notably when the ex-head teacher starts ranting about how well Pupkin has done and how he is sorry for any pain that he may have caused him during his school years.

'The King of Comedy' is without doubt Scorsese's most underrated film. The fact that it was the first film to follow arguably their greatest work in 'Raging Bull', the epic biog of boxer Jake La Motta which was applauded for its realism and hard-hitting authenticity, meant that an immediate move into black comedy was always going to come under some scrutiny. Maybe fans and critics thought that following the success of 'Raging Bull', more of the same could be expected. But in truth, by diverting away from such serious, realistic films, and widening his range of genre into comedy, Scorsese really has shown his worth as one of the world's leading directors.

For me the main attraction to this movie was to see if De Niro was ever a good comedy actor, before he got involved with Ben Stiller in those dire focker films. Of course it was another De Niro-Scorsese movie to, which was another strong drawing point.

After watching the movie, I think Robert pulled of another great performance as a wannabe comic/nutter. He can do all the gangster roles he likes, but for me these are the types of movies that show what a great range his acting has. Jerry Lewis was also very good as the celebrity who was sick of all the attention. I must admit Sandra Bernhard was nothing special here though, only really drawing attention away from de niro and lewis who were the main attractions.

For me, the films highlight was when we finally got to see some of Rupert's material at the end of the movie. I also liked how the movie was put together (a bit like taxi driver) where we were left wondering which events actually happened, and what was just in his head.

Don't go into this movie expecting a comedy/de niro-scorsese master piece. But if you would like to see something a bit different from Robert, this is definitely worth a watch.

Robert DeNiro wants to be "The King of Comedy" in this 1982 film directed by Martin Scorcese and also starring Jerry Lewis and Sandra Bernhard.

DeNiro plays Rupert Popkin, an aspiring, delusional comic whose idol is Jerry Langford, a Johnny Carson/Jay Leno comedian and host of a late-night talk show. DeNiro saves Jerry from a stalker, Masha (Bernhard) and gets into the car with him and tries to get on Jerry's talk show. Jerry tells him to call the office, talk to his secretary, and he will hear his material. Of course, a) Rupert doesn't do that - he continually goes to the office and insists on speaking with Jerry; and b) Jerry didn't mean it. Rupert is so delusional that he actually goes to Jerry's weekend home for a house party with no invitation and no house party.

Rupert gets sick of the brush-off from Jerry's assistant (Shelley Hack) and being removed by security, so he and Masha kidnap Jerry and take him to Masha's place. Rupert then holds Jerry hostage until he can do his material before Jerry's audience on national television.

There are many hilarious things about this film, not the least of which is that Rupert practices "The Secret" or the metaphysical "as if" - he has life-size cutouts of Jerry and Liza Minnelli sitting on Jerry's cut out talk show set, with a real chair in the middle where Rupert can sit and chat. He has a cardboard audience that he performs before. And, as one is promised in these metaphysical arts, Rupert's dreams come true.

The other thing I love is how nothing has changed in nearly thirty years - in fact, the celebrity cult has gotten worse. Today Rupert would have a reality show featuring himself, Masha, and his mother, not to mention the product endorsements and a chance to win the disco ball on Dancing with the Stars.

DeNiro is brilliant as Rupert, a loser who still lives with his mother but courts the big time at any cost; Jerry Lewis is sheer perfection as the serious-minded Jerry, a quiet man who likes to play golf and turns on the comedy for the cameras; and Bernhard is hilarious as Jerry's stalker, who, as he's duct-taped to a chair, sits across from him in a slinky gown and rhapsodizes about making love to him.

Having been in show business myself, I know only too well the frustration of getting seen by the right person and circumventing all the people in the front office. "The King of Comedy" speaks to the anger and frustration in everyone -- salesmen, performers, inventors, artists, reporters, anyone who is looking for access to the great and powerful. Rupert took it a little too far. But hey, he did what he had to do.

I've never been a great fan of either Robert De Niro or Martin Scorsese, but it's hard to understand why this film was overlooked on its original release as it is much more interesting than some of their wildly overrated efforts like Raging Bull and Goodfellas. King of Comedy is one of those films that involves you to the extent that you feel embarrassed on behalf of Rupert Pupkin and the people he comes into contact with during his demented pursuit of Jerry Langford. In the latter role, Jerry Lewis, one of my least favourite comedians, is very convincing as the superficially pleasant talk-show host. Despite his weirdness, Pupkin is sympathetic to an extent and there is a nice twist whereby once he finally gets on air he turns out to be a passable comic rather than dying in front of the audience as expected. Twenty years ago the ending could have been read as ambiguous, was it real or just Rupert's fantasy? Now, when just about everyone has their five minutes of fame there is no doubt that someone like Pupkin could become a celebrity.