Rupert Pupkin (Robert De Niro) is an aspiring comedian who wants to be the next king of late night TV—a title that currently belongs to Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis). One night Rupert waits outside the Jerry Langford Show studio with the crazy fans, and manages to make his way into Langford’s car by forcibly removing obsessed stalker Masha (Sandra Bernhard) who had been waiting inside the vehicle for Jerry to arrive. Jerry reluctantly agrees to give Pupkin a ride, which Rupert uses as an opportunity to pitch himself as a guest for the talk show. Jerry tells Pupkin that they would definitely be interested, but he needs to set up a time for his office to see him perform in a club first. Rupert doesn’t realize this is a brush-off and now thinks he and Jerry are best friends. He starts to show up at Jerry’s office daily, demanding to see his friend Jerry. Once he finally realizes that Jerry’s office is giving him the runaround, Rupert escalates matters in order to have his voice heard.

The King of Comedy is a lesser-known 1982 release by acclaimed director Martin Scorsese. I have seen articles referring to the film as a dark comedy, but I really didn’t see where the humor was—except in the clips of the late night show monologues. I believe the film was meant more as a parody of celebrity-obsessed culture, and the extremes it could go to. However, I think in the past 30 years we have seen actual examples of these kind of things really happening, and to an even worse degree.

As I was watching this, I was reminded of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, which I recently reviewed. In this film Rupert is constantly having daydreams/delusions of himself hosting a talk show or of conversations he is having with his best friend Jerry. However, in Walter Mitty the daydreams were light and fun, whereas here they are dark and the sign of a deeply disturbed and delusional man. It’s not just that Rupert dreams of a different life, in his head, he believes it is actually happening.

Overall, I found the film a bit too long and drawn out, and initially I was confused by the daydream sequences. It was a little unclear as to what was really happening and what was just in Rupert’s head. That said, Robert De Niro gives a great, believable performance as Pupkin. I found myself convinced this man was crazy, and was wondering just how far he was going to let his delusions carry him. The same went for Sandra Bernhard—whose craziness was so overboard that it did add a slight element of humor to the film. Oddly, it is comedian Jerry Lewis who gives a completely serious performance in the film.

The Blu-ray picture looks quite good for a film that’s over 30 years old, but the clips of the Jerry Langford Show are not up to the same quality. I’m sure these scenes were originally designed to look like an over-the-air broadcast, but on the Blu-ray they look even worse. The mono audio track was sufficient—no complaints, but nothing remarkable either. The Blu-ray contains about 90 minutes of bonus features, including a lot of deleted and extended scenes, and two interesting documentaries/interviews with the cast/creator.

What’s Included:

Film: (109 min)

Blu-ray:
• 1080p / Widescreen 1.85:1
• Audio: English DTS-HD MA 1.0, Spanish Dolby Digital 1.0, French Dolby Digital 1.0, Italian DTS-HD MA 1.0
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, Italian

Extras:

• Deleted And Extended Scenes (37:59)
  Play All or select from “Jerry Langford’s Monologue”, Rupert Visits Rita At Work (Extended)”, Rupert and Rita’s First Date (Extended)”, “Rupert’s Dream Spot on Jerry’s Show”, “Marsha’s Letter To Jerry”, “An Engagement Ring”, “Jerry’s House”, and “Ten Dollars”.
• Tribeca Film Festival: A Conversation with Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, and Jerry Lewis (29:50)
  Ted Griffin, the president of Show Business, moderates this recent panel from the Tribeca Film Festival. Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro discuss doing a comedy, the evolution of the film and the process of making it. Halfway they are joined by Jerry Lewis who starts off with a joke, and the trio share anecdotes from working on the picture. There is also a video message from Sandra Bernhard.
• A Shot at the Top: The Making of The King of Comedy (18:57)
  In this 2002 documentary, director Martin Scorsese and actress Sandra Bernhard (“Masha”) talk about how the film came about, the casting, the characters and the film’s central theme of celebrity.
• Theatrical Trailer (1:29)

Final Thoughts:

The King of Comedy is a lesser-known film from 1982 that once again teamed director Martin Scorsese with star Robert De Niro. While the idea for the film was interesting and the performances were well done, I found the film a bit too long and drawn out and confusing at times. Fans of the film should enjoy the 90 minutes of bonus material included on the disc, but those who are just curious may want to rent the film first.