Movie Review: The King of Comedy

Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro have made some classic movies together, including Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, Cape Fear and Goodfellas. But don't overlook The King of Comedy, their astonishing 1982 film that's a classic, as well. The King of Comedy is a disturbing film because it doesn't play as a straight comedy. Instead, we get another obsessive/psychotic De Niro character who plays it straight. The premise is amusing, but a comedy? No. De Niro plays Rupert Pupkin, a no-talent aspiring stand up comedian hell bent to land a spot on an evening talk show hosted by Jerry Langford. But it's not to be. After getting consistently turned down, Pupkin and another celebrity groupie, Masha (an amazing performance by Sandra Bernhard) hatch a plot to kidnap Langford and hold him hostage to force his way on to the show. Langord is played by Jerry Lewis in a career topping turn. De Niro has never played a more smarmy character than Pupkin (a grown man who still lives with his mother, after all) but we somehow sympathize with him. But it's Bernhard who steals the show in a magnetic performance. You'll cringe when she comes on to Langord/Lewis. "I'm gonna work 50 times harder, and I'm gonna be 50 times more famous than you."