This was a different type of film for Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro. This is a dark comedy about a man who will do anything for his 15 seconds of fame.
Robert De Niro is excellent as Rupert Pupkin. He is an extraordinary character who is just shy of becoming a dangerous psychopath. He doesn't believe anything is wrong with him though. He is just a guy who believes himself to be a stand up comedian and he will do anything to be on the Jerry Langford show. Jerry Langford is played excellently by Jerry Lewis, by the way.
"The King of Comedy" does a great job going inside the mind of the most annoying person in the world. We get a peek of how Pupkin believes events are unfolding, but when in reality, things are not going his way. He thinks he is great friends with Jerry Langford and that he is the best thing that would ever come to television. In reality, Pupkin is getting the brush off and his career is going nowhere. When he finally gets a clue, Pupkin takes matters into his own hands...
There are some really funny scenes in "The King of Comedy", the best being when Pupkin is in his basement making audio recordings of his comedy. While he is trying to do so, his mother is upstairs yelling at him to be quiet. It was hilarious!
Sandra Bernhard is very good in this film too. She plays a friend of Rupert Pupkin's who is also obsessed with Jerry Langford. Bernhard and De Niro really play these roles excellently. Their performances are what I imagine real celebrity stalkers would act like.
Throughout the movie, it is difficult to understand why anyone would like Rupert Pupkin. He is annoying and a little insane. He even has cardboard cut outs of Jerry Langford that he has conversations with. It was scary. So I can see how the viewer can be put off by this character. That is until the end. In his final routine, you really get to know what was behind the thinking of this character. It was an excellent way to end a terrific film. "The King of Comedy".
B+ I recommend it.
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