"Its better to be king for a night, than a schmuck for a lifetime."
With the crazed fan’s outstretched hands maniacally planted against the limousine window, the freeze frame behind The King of Comedy’s opening credits establishes a distinct visual; the desperate cling to our idols. Martin Scorsese followed up his Oscar-winning pugilist tragedy Raging Bull in 1982 by partnering again with his closest pizon, Robert De Niro. Screenwriter Paul D. Zimmerman originally penned the story after being fascinated by tales of obsessed fans during his time as a journalist for Newsweek.
“I started to think about connections between autograph hunters and assassins. Both stalked the famous – one with a pen and one with a gun.” - Zimmerman, Far Out Magazine
As the shrewd and endlessly persistent stand up comic Rupert Pupkin, De Niro masterfully balances his overconfidence with awkward vulnerability. In his shameless pursuit to land his set on a talk show, he ferociously hounds host Jerry Langford, which sees Jerry Lewis portraying a fictionalized version of himself. The energy between these two, both in reality and Rupert Pupkin’s delusional daydreams, is incredibly dynamic. From their chummy back and forths that he fantasizes about, to the torturous levels of cringe and unease that his social miscues bring. It leads the mind to Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver, the classic long shot of De Niro fumbling his way through another failed date over the payphone. The camera slowly tracks away from him into the hall, as if to provide relief to the searing embarrassment.
Martin Scorsese employs some great mock-television footage that faithfully captures the essence of an early 80s news broadcast and a late night talk show. This is decades before Late Night with the Devil others used the same creative choice.
The King of Comedy is a deeply cynical film with an undercurrent of darkness throughout, where levity in my experience was provided by genuine bouts of uncomfortable laughter. Once you are finally treated to his act, you can then truly begin to piece together the tragedy of Rupert Pupkin’s life.
“I think it's that I look at my whole life... and I see the awful things in my life... and turn it into something funny. It just happens…”
תגובות