#134: The King of Comedy
Part of the Top 150 Films series
Scorsese and Robert De Niro should have done comedy more often. The law of puns means I can’t call either of them the ‘kings’ of the genre, but their funniest collaboration together is definitely one of their best. An acerbic look at celebrity worship and American media culture, The King of Comedy manages to turn everything it touches into pitch-black hilarity. The film walks the fine line between fantastical and terrifyingly realistic in its showcase of the relationship between ‘stars’ and their acolytes. Although its prophetic nature is laudatory in its own right, the film would fall apart under its own pretensions without its sterling cast: De Niro and Sandra Bernhard are forces of nature in parts that could have been played to the hilt or not at all, and Jerry Lewis and Diahnne Abbott are incredibly underrated. Better to be king for a night, than schmuck for a lifetime!
