King of Comedy is a brilliant satire about American culture, imbued with media, in which, to the mind of Scorsese, head cases can become famous and the famous can be turned into head cases. Rupert Pupkin (Robert de Niro), an erratic amateur stand-up comedian who has so far only displayed his talent in front of the mirror, does everything he can to get on the talkshow of Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis). He sees his chance when he saves the talkshow host from a fanatical fan, but still doesn’t get anywhere. Together with that fan (Sandra Bernhard), he decides to kidnap Lewis and take his place on stage. Pupkin is not just crazy but also crooked, however he becomes the people’s hero who causes a sensation with his stunt. The brilliant thing about the film is that Pupkin may be a sad and crazy idiot, but he does give a good show and is really funny.
Film details
- Country of production
- USA
- Year
- 1983
- Festival edition
- IFFR 2001
- Length
- 101"
- Medium/Format
- 35mm
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