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The King of Comedy

The King of Comedy

List Price: $14.98
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Listen to me . . .Listen TO me . .
Review: Martin Scorsese's King of Comedy is a loving celebration of Jerry, Johnny and that gone-forever, pre-cable era when the whole nation gathered nightly round its TV sets to watch the same show. And it is a disturbing and intense study of our obsession with celebrity and the lengths we will go to in order to achieve it or just be near it.

The film draws little difference between the full-blown insanity of the stalker, Rupert Pupkin (de Niro), and the everyday celebrity worship of the rest of us. One of the great scenes is where an old woman begs talk show host Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis) for an autograph telling him how she has followed his whole career; then when he does not have time to talk to her nephew on the telephone she yells "I hope you get cancer!"

De Niro's portrayal of Pupkin is absolutely the best thing he has done, because the character is so removed from his own now-familiar screen persona. Rupert begins as ridiculous, becomes deeply disturbing, and ends up incredibly sympathetic (by the end of the movie, we are as desperate for Rupert to get on the Langford show as he is). The movie brings out the latent celebrity-stalker in all of us. It indicts the hollowness of celebrity and lovingly celebrates its glamour. It satirises the pathology of our pursuit of fame and proudly shares that same pathology.

Jerry Lewis puts in an amazing performance as the bitter,suspicious and lonely star, Jerry Langford. The suspicion that this is an accurate self-portrayal of the real Lewis makes the performance uncomfortable viewing but also vaguely thrilling. There is a superb scene where he walks along the streets of New York, arms flapping comically, hailed by taxi drivers, old women and construction workers. His paunchy, middle-aged body sits weirdly on skinny legs in drainpipe pants that still seem to belong to the young Jerry of the 1950s.

Plus a great cameo by the great, great Tony Randall (surely the Edward Everett Horton of the late twentieth century). And a wonderful scene portraying the vacuous egos of TV producers, agents, and lawyers, as they shout over, past and through each other in their attempt to be bigger, louder and more important than each other. You know that they would be behaving the same whether dealing with Jerry's kidnapping or a problem with a guest booking.

And the fact that Rupert Pupkin's stand-up routine is ultimately quite funny is one of the best and most unexpected punchlines in the whole movie.

Like the excellent Election, King of Comedy has a bitter honesty that comes along so rarely in films. AND it single-handedly turned me into a Jerry Lewis fan!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Robert DeNiro has never been seen like this before
Review: Robert DeNiro is usually a mean, foul mouthed mobster. But in this movie he stars as a more Woody Allen type, it really shows DeNiro's acting skill, which we usually overlook because he usually plays a mobster in every movie. Anyway, Robert DeNiro stars as a man who is obsessed with late night TV host, played by Jerry Lewis. DeNiro, by chance, gets to have a little chit chat. Lewis, just wanting him to get away, promises him a spot on his show and blah, blah, blah. DeNiro, ecstatic with joy, thinks he's for real. When DeNiro finds out he wasn't for real, he takes action...and...it's...slightly humorous. Funny at some points, but all in all a nice flick. Directed by Martin Scorcese, and Sandra Bernhard also stars in the film, very annoyingly though.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of Scorsese's best films.........
Review: While remaining one of Scorsese's least appreciated films, it is nevertheless one of his best, full of brilliant insight and dark humor. Robert DeNiro (in a fascinating, chilling performance) portrays Rupert Pupkin, a deluded loser who dreams of being a stand-up comic. In order to realize his dream, Pupkin solicits the aid of his wacked-out friend (played by Sandra Bernhard) in a scheme to kidnap the host of a popular talk-show (played by the smarmy Jerry Lewis). The film works so well because Pupkin is clearly untalented (bordering on the offensive in how unfunny he really is) and there is no possible way to identify or sympathize with his plight. He is obnoxious, myopic, and quite possibly insane, yet Scorsese forces us to acknowledge how common his "sort" is in our fame-obsessed culture. Every scene hits the right note; every performance is dead-on; and each development plausible despite the absurd premise. Still, the stroke of genius remains the final sequence; sufficiently ambiguous to allow for two vastly different, yet equally powerful, endings. Depending on which one we choose, it is either an indictment of our culture or a further exploration of Pupkin's madness. Both work and Scorsese trusts the audience enough to come to its own conclusion. Overall, a great film that remains unjustifiably ignored.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Sandra Bernhard is the Queen of Comedy!
Review: This is a great, overlooked Scorcese film, and not his usual fare. Rather unusal casting of DeNiro as an eccentric loser, but he makes it work. Jerry Lewis is perfectly uptight and unlikable as the comedy king. But it is Sandra Bernhard who really steals the show from both of them! Whether she's shouting her outrage and disgust at Rupert ("You're a constant embarrassment to me!") or performing a striptease down to her underwear before a bound and gagged Lewis, she is way over-the top! The whole film has a wicked black humor that really bites!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Killer Movie
Review: Do you want to be unnerved? How are with Black Comedy? Do you often use the word "unrelenting" in your every day use of English.

This is it. The Big score and one of Scorsese,s best films. This will film drive you crazy..it might repel you but it is terrific. Rupert Pupkin played by DeNiro will not give up ever in trying to crack big time comedy.

Everyone around him is put off just a bit by his actions save for Sandra Bernhardt. Ms. Bernhardt delivers the goods in a freaked out performance.

Jerry Lewis plays it all straight and he is scary indeed. We all know that great comics can do great straight roles if written correctly. Lewis is a standout..The nuances in the film just cant be explained , therefore, for cutting edge black comedy ..this is it." You wanna se my pride and joy"!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: One of the best of Scorcese/DeNiro collaborations
Review: DeNiro is Rupert Pupkin, a showbiz obsessed loser comedian who wants to hit the big time. He stalks his favorite game show host Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis) for a shot to appear on the show. He ends up resorting to dangerous stunts including kidnapping Jerry with the help of an obsessed fan (Sandra Bernhard). The performances are top notch and the direction is well done. One of Scorcese and DeNiro's best. The film gives you a real understanding of the dangers of celebrity and fame and how much it can affect your personal life. Sandra Bernhard is excellent as the obsessed fan intent on making love to a tied up Jerry.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of Scorsese's best
Review: This is one of the most underrated films of the 80s and easily one of the best, also. In a decade in which Scorsese made more ostentatious films (Raging Bull and The Last Temptation of Christ), as well as more commercially viable projects (The Color of Money), it is easy to see how his most low-key and perhaps most challenging picture went ignored upon release. It's now finally getting its due. I know many people who prefer The King of Comedy to Taxi Driver, and while I don't think it's quite that brilliant, it is a perfect compliment to that masterpiece. Worth seeing solely for the performances of DeNiro (who deserved another Oscar for his work here as Rupert Pupkin), Lewis, and Bernhard. Highly recommended.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Van Morrison with the song Wonderful Remark
Review: I love that.I like from the soundtrack King of Comedy not from the albuim Philosphers Stone.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A grotesquely funny yet sublimely terrifying flick...
Review: An excellent movie... highly recommended to any De Niro or Scorsese fan... a dark comedy with a terrrifying dose of reality

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: SCORCESE'S LITTLE KNOWN GEM
Review: After following on from 'Raging Bull' three years earlier 'The King of Comedy' was deemed a failure. Low to non-existent box office takings, a mumbling public and all too quickly forgotten. How wrong we all were. This intriguing and surreal tale of middle aged Richard Pupkin and his desperate need to appear alongside long time hero Jerry Lewis is a marvellous spectacle, all the more so for its dangerous permitations. Pupkin (De Niro) is a nice enough fellow constantly harbouring that unstable streak from public view. The fact is that this 'King' has no real interest in making it big time - unless it includes close connections with Mr Lewis. As Pupkin begins to realise he is being given the cold shoulder, and his alternating dreams are in fact only dreams, he decides to take matters further. Scorsese's achievement is in recognising the talent of his cast and letting them dictate. The camera is the servant as De Niro blossoms as the eccentric Pupkin alongside excellent performances from Sandra Bernhard and Lewis. The eventual morals of commercialism, fanatasism and the evils of fame are all displayed as you would expect. However, the persistance of the individual and warmth for blind ambition are also carried across as the audience grow to actually want Pupkin to succeed. Pupkin's desperation in forcing a bungled kidnapping and eventually his comic portfolio being aired are memorable scenes in a film that leaves you with a variety of emotions. In the end, you don't particularly care whether Pupkin's stand up is any good as long as he gets the chance he is so eagerly anticipating in his visions. 'The King of Comedy', despite lacking the viscious edge of a 'Goodfellas' or 'Raging Bull' is a variation from the Scorsese mould and a brave and successful illustration of showbusiness. The director himself cites this as De Niro's finest performance under him, and he may well be spot on.


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