King of Comedy 01/07/2012
Director: Martin Scorsese
Writer: Paul D. Zimmerman
1983
Like many reading this I have watched all the major Scorsese films – Mean Streets (1973), Taxi Driver (1976) Goodfellas (1990), you get the picture. However there are some that are just less talked about, less revered. How can it be that a Scorsese-De Niro collaboration isn’t always mentioned among the greats? I had no clue whether to expect a bad film or not, but I thought it was about time I watched King of Comedy (1983).
We see De Niro among a bustling crowd of autograph seekers outside a Jerry Lewis live TV show. Jerry Lewis for those who don’t know is the ‘Lewis’ in Martin and Lewis, a mammoth American comedy partnership, who had his own successful career as did Dean Martin. As the crowd wrestles itself to get access to Jerry we hear De Niro (with moustache, greased hair and loud sports jacket) telling other autograph hunters that he is different, that “it’s not my whole life”. We get a glimpse of a dark side of fan obsession as Masha (Sandra Bernhard) squeezes through Jerry Lewis’s limousine window, declaring her love. Here Scorses freezes the frame and juxtaposes with smooth jazz as he rolls the credits. Then BLAM we are back in to real time and the noise of the frantic crowd. De Niro saves Lewis from Masha’s affection and so gets a chance to speak with him in the limousine.
He wants to speak to Lewis about a chance to appear on the show. He admires Lewis’s style and comedic delivery. Of course Lewis has had this happen and quite politely and kindly refers Pupkin (De Nero) to his office. Pupkin is rather persistent and we suspect that he lied when he said that this wasn’t his whole life, he quite possibly admires Lewis a little too much. It is here that Scorsese seemed to insert a seamless anachronistic cut to a time where Pupkin has found success and is in fact more successful than Lewis. He is now the one signing autographs and providing help to Lewis. However this is not the case, as Scorsese also cross cuts to Pupkin carrying out his side of the conversation in a basement, interrupted by his mother’s shouting. It was a fantasy then.
We see Pupkin trying to use his (real) conversation as leverage for a date with the cheerleader from high school who now works in a bar. On the date he alienates her with self aggrandisement and over prepared jokes. He brags but she sees through most of it, however Pupkin is happy to outright lie and claim to be visiting Lewis at his country home, Rita (Diahnne Abbot) should come along. The audiences wonders if Pupkin even realises this is a lie, as he certainly follows through with it, expecting a warm reception from somebody he has had one conversation with who did not invite him.
Alongside this is Pupkin genuinely trying to get on the show, repeatedly turning up to Lewis’s offices (after falling asleep in a Times Square phone booth awaiting his call) and submitting a tape, being pushy while also compliant and friendly. De Nero exudes fakeness and has a veneer of professionalism that summed up the worst things about business, both show and otherwise. He is urged on by Masha, and when they don’t get anywhere they turn on each other in the street, a great scene, both in its writing and delivery, as they argue vehemently and pay no mind of the New York City street around them. Eventually they hatch a kidnapping plan to get what they both want.
The character of Rupert Pupkin (people often mispronounce it) reminded me a little of Travis Bickle, in that he wants something and doesn’t fully understand why he can’t have it. This drives him to delusions and to criminal acts, often to impress a woman he is also obsessed with. These characters misinterpret the world while having pretentions of being an important part of it. This makes them tragic as long as there is a balance in the writing and we can understand their perspective, and all Rupert want is one shot at TV fame. That is understandable. However even though Pupkin does some very illegal and questionable things to get what he desires he is never as dark as Bickle, never really violent and always has his end goal in mind. This combined with his tragic basement home populated by cardboard cut out celebrities rather than real friends gives us quite a bit of sympathy. Perhaps him walking the line a little more would have added an extra spark to the film.
So why is this film less raved about than many of its ilk? Well it is just less...substantial. Nothing is particularly wrong with it, but not much stands out. The performances are great (De Niro often shows his funny side in this such as mishandling cue cards while kidnapping Lewis) and I was surprised that Sandra Bernhard hasn’t had a more high profile career, and also that Lewis was such an engaging actor even when playing himself. The script isn’t too shabby either, and Scorsese got the right kind of tone and look for such a film, with De Nero’s wardrobe and look standing out amongst his mobster performances. However the smooth jazz soundtrack neither adds to nor takes away from the film, and the same can be said about the cinematography, which is dull compared to films like Raging Bull (1980), clever and decisive editing doesn’t make up for that. All in all this is worth watching, and is a good film, but get through the other Scorsese films I mentioned first.
