Review of The King of Comedy (1982) by Kenneth L — 04 Jun 2009

Minor Scorsese, but certainly worthwhile. Robert De Niro's performance is remarkable, especially given how far this pathetic little character is from De Niro's usual range of tough guys and tougher guys.

Jerry Lewis also departs his usual manic comic persona for a believable portrayal of a weary, cynical talk show host who is bored with his life and annoyed by his fans. A young Sandra Bernhard also gives a strong performance as a crazed fan.

The story really should be depressing - it is about sad, lonely people forced by the emptiness of their lives into crazy obsessions - but the absurdity of the whole situation kept it darkly funny, for me anyway.

Scorsese's usual energetic moving camera is pretty much absent, with the camera mostly behaving the way it would with any conventional, competent director. In a way, it is a much lighter reworking of Taxi Driver, complete with the possibly fantasized ending.

Not Scorsese's best picture by a long shot, but still pretty good.