king of comedy-anyone else think it is an underrated film

I really like "King of Comedy".
It satires that very American institution-the late night talk-show.
Its sort of an earlier "Larry Sanders".

Midnight Run is a TOP film too.
I can't think of anyone else who can almost outshine Deniro on screen, except for erm, Charles Grodin of all people.

maybe I'll get some do-nuts?:D
 
Yes. Brilliant movie.

I think people were somewhat confused by it when it was first released - problem with a film called King of Comedy is that it will be marketed as a laugh-a-minute romp...which it clearly is not.

When Scorcese and De Niro's works are discussed, this film is usually largely forgotten...but then it's typical that these days films are only remembered depending on how much money they took at the box office.

It really is a study of the nature of celebrity obsession, about some of the reall oddballs and obsessives who follow celebrities around.

De Niro is superb as Rupert Pupkin, his determination and stubborness is often uncomfortable to watch, especially in the scenes where he goes to Jerry LangforRAB office to see him...and refuses to leave, or when he invites himself over to his house for the weekend.

And Jerry Lewis is the complete opposite of his usual wacky persona, a real dour, intense and serious chat show host.

In fact, I always thought the two main parts were a kind of role reversal - you would have expected Lewis to be cast in the Pupkin role, and vice versa. Maybe that was the original intention...

Midnight Run - yes, another classic. De Niro showed a great capacity for understated, subtle humour and Grodin, usually associated with dumb comedy movies, was more than capable of holding his own.

My favorite scene is where they go into the bar and Grodin pretenRAB to be an FBI agent...

'What's your name'

'Red'

'...do you dye your hair?'

'No Sir;

'Then why do they call you Red?'

'It's short for Redwood'

'...mmmmmhhh.'

And all this is backed up by a great supporting case - Dennis Farina's foul-mouthed and perpetually frustrated mob boss, thwarted at every turn by the incompetence of his own men...Joe Pantoliano's scheming bail bonRABman... John Ashton's no-nonsense bounty hunter Marvin, and Yaphet Kotto's FBI agent, outsmarted at every turn by De Niro.
 
I only watched "King of Comedy" for the first time a few months ago and really enjoyed it.
Sandra Bernhardt is surprisingly good in it too.

"Midnight Run" is amazing, one of my all time favourite De Niro films - as is "We're No Angels" with Sean Penn where they are priests.
 
I think the King of Comedy is a vastly overrated film.
I had read and heard so much about how this was an overlooked Scorsese classic, but having seen it twice I was very disappointed and found it rather tedious and uninvolving.
 
The trouble with King of Comedy is it's not a likeable film. The characters are all unpleasant and there's an element of hypocrisy in the premise that talent is less important than celebrity, given that it's a showcase for de Niro's talent. It's a good film but not a great one.

As far as underrated Scorsese films go I prefer After Hours, his next film after King of Comedy, a less is-more-film where he tells a little story very well rather than telling a big story not-so-well.
 
I think this is the point of the film isn't it? It's not a showcase for deNiro! Scorcese and deNiro obviously felt he was right for the part.



After Hours is an often over looked masterpiece, but less is more doesn't apply here at all, it may be a story that starts small, then blows out of all logic as the story dictates.
 
I haven't seen it for a number of years, but even as a less-discerning teenager I recognised it to be a clever, mature, and psychologically uncomfortable film, and one which was far more subtle than Scorcese's usual, more lauded efforts.
 
It's been a while since I watched The King of Comedy, but, despite Robert De Niro being one of my favourite actors, it's not a film that I remember liking that much. Hard to put my finger on the reason why, it just didn't seem to work for me. Maybe I need to give it another chance?

I love Midnight Run, though. In fact, this thread has put me in the mood to watch it again. :)
 
I like After Hours very much as well have most of Scorcese's films as well apart from his most recent stuff and boxcar bertha and who's that knocking at my door
 
The thing about Scorcese (And maybe Tarantino) is they write a classic film that captures the spirit of a generation, but then they keep writing, thinking that what they are writing is equally on par with their previous work.
I'm not saying that they should stop writing and making movies, but thats the reason King Of Comedy is self indulgent and tedious.
 
Scorcese didn't write TKoC, that credit goes to Paul Zimmerman. Nor did he write Taxi Driver, that was Paul Schrader (and is a fascinating story of it's own), Raging Bull was written by a few people, none of which were Scorcese, and After Hours was penned by Joseph Minion.....He co-wrote a few of his screenplays, and that's about it I think! And Scorcese is in a very different class than Tarantino IMHO.
 
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