The King of Comedy (1982)

The King of Comedy (1982)

1982 PG 109 Minutes

Comedy | Drama

The King of Comedy is a bitterly evil satire of show business. Rupert Pupkins is obsessed with becoming famous so he aims at kidnapping one of the best in the business, Jerry Langford.

Overall Rating

9 / 10
Verdict: Great

User Review

  • WHAT I LIKED: Martin Scorsese's 'The King of Comedy' is a thoroughly amusing and intelligent satire about the idolisation of celebrities and how that gives people unrealistic expectations of their own lives and dreams. Paul Zimmerman's script follows Rupert Pupkin, a talentless comedian with an obsession for TV host Jerry Langford, and as he repeatedly pursues a spot on the show, his own sense of self-entitlement and lack of ability to deal with rejection leads him to one pretty ridiculous act. It's a great satirical story because we all know people like Pupkin who idolise fame and mass approval - and we perhaps even see parts of ourselves in him as he plays out his dreams to himself - so it really does get us to think about an aspect of our culture and our own humanity like any great satire does, and the way it all concludes makes a very smart point about the cheapness of celebrity status in modern society too. The film equally gets us to laugh at that stuff as well, as on the one hand the situations Zimmerman crafts are as amusing as his overall narrative, and on the other hand Robert DeNiro does a great job of playing Pupkin straight in a way that's both comedic, and somewhat endearing - further unlocking that thematic examination of his mindset. When you couple all of that with the fact that Scorsese is behind the camera lending a gritty edge to the New York environment around Pupkin to broadcast his reality against the glossiness of his shallow, plastic dream, you've got yourself a very successful satire indeed that will both make you smile, and make you think. Ultimately, it's an overlooked one this, and it still sits right up there with Scorsese's best in my eyes.

    WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: The film never attempts to delve into the emotional depths of its central character, but it is equally important to note that to do so may have damaged the whole point about the cheapness of Pupkin's celebrity dream.

    VERDICT: A satire about the cheapness of celebrity culture and those who strive to be a part of it, 'The King of Comedy' will make you smile and make you think, and if that's the film's job (which it surely is), you can't really fault it at all.