The King of Comedy (1982)

Director: Martin Scorsese
Stars: Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis, Diahnne Abbott
Runtime: 109 minutes

Performances: 9/10
Screenplay: 8/10
Special Effects: N.A.
Costumes/Makeup: 7/10
Editing: 6/10
Cinematography: 8/10
Score/Soundtrack: 5/10

Verdict: Martin Scorsese may be my favorite director of all time. It was movies like “Goodfellas”, “Raging Bull”, or “Taxi Driver” that made me fall in love with the art form and want to delve into it more deeply. “The King of Comedy”, which follows comedian Rupert Pupkin’s quite literally insane journey to stardom had been on my watchlist for years, and boy am I glad I finally got to watch it. The film stars Robert De Niro in the lead, and he delivers what I think may well be one of the finest performances of his (very) rich career. He’s absolutely perfect as Pupkin, making the character both disturbing and fascinating. Jerry Lewis, Diahnne Abbott, and Sandra Bernhard are all also excellent in their roles. However, what truly made the film memorable was Paul D. Zimmerman’s beautifully layered and admirably narrated script, as well as Scorsese’s direction. By then, he had done many projects with De Niro and truly knew how to showcase the actor’s entire range of skills using mostly witty dialogue. Even though Scorsese many times declared that he regretted making “The King of Comedy”, as he found the experience unsettling and may have caused him to stop working with De Niro for 7 years, I’m sure glad he did, and I can’t wait to watch it again.

Final Grade: 8/10