The King of Comedy

I was very much anticipating this film a lot, and, I have to say, it did not disappoint. This is definitely one of Martin Scorsese's underrated classics, and a surprisingly good commentary on celebrity fandom.

The story is about an aspiring comedian named Rupert Pupkin, played by Robert De Niro, who is obsessed with late night talk show host Jerry Langford, played by Jerry Lewis, and wishes to appear on his show. While initially appearing to be your average starstruck fan, as the show goes on, he is shown to be a lot more than just that.

The acting was absolutely amazing, with both De Niro and Lewis turning in great performances. I love the more serious role that Jerry Lewis got to play for the film, as a celebrity who is being overwhelmed by so many crazy fans and just wants to live as close to a normal life as he can. On the flipside, Robert De Niro shows himself to have an absolutely unhealthy obsession with Jerry Lewis' character, to the point where he just gets more and more crazy. I loved how his character was motivated by him being bullied and kind of wanting to rub his eventual fame in the bullies' faces, which showed just how detached from reality he was and you can see that in the fantasies about fame he has in the film.

Overall, this has probably been my favorite Scorsese film so far, and I was blown away. It does have a similar feel to Joker, which, of course, was partially inspired by this film, and that is always a win for me. I loved how this film went about its themes and I think I could continue to heap praises about the way Scorsese told the story.

Next time, we go back to New York in the regency era with Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Winona Ryder in The Age of Innocence.

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