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Dreams of stardom become a star's nightmare in The King of Comedy, a sharp, surgically precise satire from director Martin Scorsese. Robert DeNiro plays Rupert Pupkin, an aspiring stand-up comedian who kidnaps his idol, a famous TV talk-show host (Jerry Lewis), in a desperate attempt to get his big break. While this implausible plot might suggest farce, Scorsese opts instead for a darker tone: Lewis's Tonight-styled talk show is barely shown, and Pupkin's stand-up material isn't even heard until the end of the film. Indeed, neither comedy nor real-world celebrity is really of interest here; what matters are Pupkin's delusions of grandeur, and the film slips neatly into fantasy to get inside Pupkin's head, while honing an ominous edge reminiscent of Taxi Driver. DeNiro, who was the star of that film as well, is perfectly suited to the part of a not-so-average Joe whose obsessive compulsions are infused with an inscrutable air of menace. Meanwhile, show-biz legend Lewis is perfectly cast as the beleaguered victim of fan adulation, barely cracking a smile in a low-key performance that somehow anchors the film. By the end, although King of Comedy's portrayal of mass-media culture invites comparisons to a film like Network, it lacks that film's grand satirical scope. Instead, it triumphs as an intensely focused exploration of the perils of celebrity worship. Gregory Baird

All Movie Guide

Martin Scorsese's satirical comedy/drama caustically explores the lengths to which a nobody will go to be as famous as his idol. Practicing his patter in his basement with cardboard cut-outs of his favorite celebrities, mediocre aspiring comedian Rupert Pupkin (Robert De Niro) believes that one appearance on the evening talk show of the Johnny Carson-esque Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis) will be his ticket to stardom. After he helps Jerry escape the advances of amorous fan Masha (Sandra Bernhard), Rupert takes Jerry's patronizing brush-off as a true promise for an audition and begins haunting Jerry's office. Provoked by Masha's needling and a rejection from Jerry's smooth production exec Cathy Long (Shelley Hack), Rupert makes a disastrous trip to Jerry's country house with embarrassed date Rita (Diahnne Abbott), then hatches an even more outlandish scheme to get ahead. With Masha's help, Rupert kidnaps Jerry and demands as ransom the TV appearance that he believes will turn his fantasy into reality. Lucia Bozzola

Product Details

• UPC: 024543038948
• Source: 20TH CENTURY FOX
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Theatre Wide-Screen (1.85.1)
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: stereo, monaural
• Language: English, Français, Español
• Subtitles: English, Español
• Time: 1:49:00
• Sales Rank: 13,998

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