The King of Comedy Movie Information

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Movie Information

Overall Rank: 660

Average Rating: 3/4

# of Ratings: 136

Theatrical Release Date: 02/18/1983

Language: English

Genre: Comedy, Drama

MPAA Rating: PG

Director: Martin Scorsese

Actors: Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis, Diahnne Abbott, Sandra Bernhard, Shelley Hack, Ed Herlihy

Plot: A neurotic, imbalanced would-be comic and his equally imbalanced friend go to criminal lengths to gain the attention of the host of a popular late night talk show and his audience in this pitch black comedy.

Logan D. McCoy - wrote on 06/01/2019

With Robert DeNiro's larger than life performance, it's a Martin Scorsese classic not seen for what it was when first put in theaters.

Yojimbo - wrote on 07/13/2012

A blackest of the black comedy and fascinating study of obsession. It takes a while to get going, but De Niro is magnificent as you'd expect and Jerry Lewis is a revelation. A powerful and funny commentary on the power of the media and "cult of personality".

mitchellyoung - wrote on 12/17/2011

Scorsese moves away from the epic plots with this film to present a claustrophobic and neurotic black comedy that features fantastic performances from both De Niro and Jerry Lewis (playing a darker character that he has in the past.) It's a film not only about the nature of fame, but also the nature of comedy.

Daniel Corleone
Movie God

The King of Comedy review

Daniel Corleone - wrote on 08/24/2013

An autograph seeker who dreams of making it big as a stand-up comedian named Rupert Pupkin (De Niro) tries to set an appointment with popular Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis). Rupert asks Masha's (Sandra Bernhard) help in convincing Jerry to notice him. Soundtrack was fair and Bernhard a convincing support. Robert DeNiro plays a creepy character to perfection while Jerry Lewis was surprisingly good and deserved more attention. Screenplay was note worthy with lines: "Any one of these freaks could just walk right up to you and do whatever he wants." "But I figured it this way: better to be king for a night than schmuck for a lifetime!" and "It's hard to lose a friend, even one who has let you down." Direction was superb and had good chracter development. On the downside, jokes during the …

Arbogast1960
Producer

"Look at you here. Who the hell is watching you?"

Arbogast1960 - wrote on 04/04/2008

Probably Scorsese's most wrongfully overlooked effort (especially with all the praise heaped on middling films like The Aviator and Gangs of New York, not to mention the unrivaled overrating of GoodFellas). Essentially a comedic take on Taxi Driver, featuring a lonely neurotic with delusions of grandeur who becomes increasingly unhinged until, through a flagrantly criminal act, he becomes a hero adored by the masses. Or does he only achieve fame in his mind? No matter--as a commentary on our celebrity-obsessed culture, the film (like Taxi Driver and Network) presages such afflictions as the reality TV craze. Whether the anti-hero's success is seen as just another delusion or one last satirical jab, it highlights the cannibalistic nature of mass-produced entertainment, consuming its …