Sunday, October 30, 2022

The King of Comedy (Martin Scorsese, 1982)


A friend and I went to this in 1982. There were only a few people in the theater. As we were leaving, a local TV weatherman was coming in with his popcorn and drink and asked how it was. We indicated that we didn't really like it but didn't explain. I don't know if we poisoned his mind against it or if we lowered his expectations thus enhancing his enjoyment of the film. 

Now that I think about it, that guy was going to the movie alone. He was a local celebrity, but his life might not have been as glamorous as I would have imagined. It's entirely possible he had some obsessed fans himself. I knew a guy around that time who had his house burned down by a crazy woman because she thought a local newscaster lived there.

The movie is still a little hard to watch. 

Robert De Niro and Sandra Bernhard as delusional fans of Johnny Carson-like talk show host Jerry Langsford (Jerry Lewis). De Niro wants to start career in stand-up, but he's already 34. He doesn't have time to climb the ladder of success and decides to start at the top. He can't keep his fantasy relationship with Jerry separate from reality.

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