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.
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.