Review of The King of Comedy (1982) by Nick O — 03 Dec 2013

Though Martin Scorsese took a break between "Taxi Driver" (1976) and "Raging Bull" (1980) to make the jazz-influenced "New York, New York" (1977) and the Band concert documentary "The Last Waltz" (1978), 1982's "The King of Comedy" feels like the perfect bookend to his aforementioned "Taxi"/"Bull" Kazan-esque morality plays. And even, give or take a few pounds, Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis) -- a zealous talk show host in the hangdog vein of a leather-skinned Johnny Carson ripoff -- could pragmatically come off as the very same stand-up lounge lizard for whom we left Jake LaMotta at the end of "Raging Bull".

But Scorsese, now 71 years old in 2013, has fashioned a rich career out of never settling, always trying to one-up himself. "The King of Comedy" is a blistering, fairly depressing look at the near-impossibility of making it in show business, yet the film comes off as effortlessly edgy, hilarious and subtle, when ultimately its message is something bleak and disheartening. "King" is the work of a filmmaker with genuine passion for what he's skewering, and it's one of the greatest Hollywood satires ever made while the story itself is set in NYC. It just goes to show how well Scorsese and the late screenwriter Paul D. Zimmerman understand the worrisome silver lining to America's all-consuming intoxication with celebrity and media culture: better to be king for a night, than a schmuck for a lifetime. (100/100).