I was initially intrigued by the idea of seeing and hopefully enjoying THE COMEDIAN, the latest Robert De Niro film, in which he plays an aging, foul-mouthed insult comic. Other bonuses surely would be its attractive supporting cast, from Danny De Vito to Cloris Leachman, Charles Grodin to Edie Falco to Patti LuPone. Not to mention Harvey Keitel, who appeared with De Niro an eternity ago in MEAN STREETS and TAXI DRIVER. And then there are the famous faces and names-- the most prominent is Billy Crystal-- who show up as themselves.
Yet despite some fine acting turns, THE COMEDIAN is nothing special. It is crammed with one-too-many reaction shots of audience members laughing hysterically at the antics of De Niro and his fellow stand-ups, as if to convince us that we somehow are being entertained. But the fact is that we are not... and I should have figured that THE COMEDIAN would disappoint because the film was released theatrically in February: a time of the year when Hollywood’s post-holiday product usually comes to movie theaters before quietly fading away. Quality-wise, they are the dregs of the industry, and their home entertainment releases are announced within nanoseconds after their theatrical play.
However, THE COMEDIAN is not the first film in which Robert De Niro has been cast as a funnyman-- or at least a wannabe funnyman. A far-more-interesting and successful De Niro title is THE KING OF COMEDY, directed by Martin Scorsese, which dates from 1982 and is well-worth revisiting.
When I think of THE KING OF COMEDY, some questions comes to mind. And they are: How many of us would like to be famous? How many of us have ever thought about what it might be like to be a celebrity? Well, this precisely is the goal of the main character in THE KING OF COMEDY. He is a budding comedian and television star named Rupert Pupkin, and he is played by De Niro.
On many levels, THE KING OF COMEDY, like THE COMEDIAN, is set in the world of show business, with Rupert an outsider who desperately wishes to be an insider in this world. So he hatches a hair-brained scheme in which he kidnaps and holds hostage a Johnny Carson-type late-night-TV host. In a clever bit of casting, this character is played by the one-and-only Jerry Lewis.
At its core, THE KING OF COMEDY offers an astute portrayal of how individuals may be disenfranchised from the mainstream. It also is very much of a psychological portrait of its main character, and I must say that Robert De Niro really inhabits this role. He seems to really understand Rupert Pupkin, and he makes this character come vividly alive.
Ultimately, THE KING OF COMEDY offers an incisive portrait of individuals who are on the fringes of our celebrity culture and, not surprisingly, there is a sense of not-so-quiet desperation in this film. Now I have not seen THE KING OF COMEDY in quite a while, but many of its scenes remain etched in my mind. There is no way that I ever will be able to say the same about THE COMEDIAN...
Rob Edelman has authored or edited several dozen books on film, television, and baseball. He has taught film history courses at several universities and his writing has appeared in many newspapers, magazines, and journals. His frequent collaborator is his wife, fellow WAMC film commentator Audrey Kupferberg.
The views expressed by commentators are solely those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views of this station or its management.