The American dream has always been that anyone can achieve success if they are willing to put in some hard work and build themselves up from the bottom. Martin Scorsese’s The King of Comedy takes a look at a man who bypasses the middle ground and expects to shoot straight to the top. It takes an equally harsh look at the dark side of comedy, society’s value of success driving people to desperate acts, and the press’ bloodthirsty desire to sensationalize even the most horrific of events.
Rupert Pupkin (Robert De Niro) wants nothing more than a guest appearance on Jerry Langford’s late night comedy show. The only problem is that Pupkin isn’t even a comedian. He is a pathetic dreamer who lives at home with his mother and spends most of his time pretending to be his own idol. Much like the Travis Bickle character in Taxi Driver, Pupkin is an outcast from society who sees himself quite differently from the way others see him. He has the twisted idea that he somehow deserves to go straight to the top without working his way up. After forcing his way into Langford’s limousine, he asks the television star for advice. When Langford tells him that he must work his way up from the bottom, the celebrity gets rid of Pupkin by telling him to call Langford’s office and talk to his secretary. This starts a bizarre, hilarious, and disturbing series of misunderstandings that take Pupkin to a new level of insanity.
In Pupkin’s mind, he believes he is ready and has always been ready to go head to head with the great comedian. Even after Langford’s assistants tell him he isn’t ready, Pupkin thinks that if he can just meet with Jerry, everything will work out. His desire to be a big shot leads him to team up with a psychotic female fan who helps him kidnap Langford to force his way onto the show. Throughout the film, Scorsese shows us that Pupkin’s symptom is not simply a sickness within him, but within our society as well. The value we put on celebrity and success rather than the hard work it takes to get there is what causes people like him to exist. His isolation is what makes Pupkin demand the love of others, but it is the media’s perception of celebrity that drives him to such lengths to get on television for a measly ten minutes.
When the film was released in 1983, it was a box office bomb, at least by Scorsese standards, which is surprising since twenty years later it is more relevant than ever. Every television channel has some sort of “reality” show where desperate people will do anything for their 15 minutes of fame. As with Pupkin, this is the final goal for most of these people. In the end, you have to wonder exactly what it is that these Rupert Pupkin’s want. The King of Comedy may not answer that question, but it definitely poses some interesting questions while taking a no-holds-barred look at the effect of celebrity on our culture.
Takes an equally harsh look at the dark side of comedy, society’s value of success driving people to desperate acts, and the press’ bloodthirsty desire to sensationalize.- Derek Smith
