Daydreaming is quite a regular feature of our life. Some of us do it almost every now and then, each day of our waking life.
Yet, I havenβt seen a single film capturing this all-pervasive fact of the human condition. Martin Scorsese (and others) did it though, and quite astutely in his film The King of Comedy. In the video above, I talk about how that film made me aware of the harshness of daydreaming that has afflicted me all my life.
Let me know what you guys think about it.
Move over Joker, it's time for the original mentally ill stand up comic movie!
Thank you, thank you. I thought I'd open it up with a joke of sorts this time, given our subject matter. Today our meeting is on the often overlooked Scorsese film, The King of Comedy. I don't use this phrase often, but in my opinion this is one of the most timeless movies ever. It's a story about unrequited love, mental illness, life as a celebrity, and obsession. This would be one controversial movie if released today, to say the least.
The King of Comedy stars babyface Robert De Niro and Jerry Lewis as comic Rupert Pupkin, and talk show host Jerry Langford respectively. I only list these two because at the end of the day, they're the only ones that matter. You could certainly argue Masha and Rita fit here, but for me personally they're just pawns in Rupert's life. This story is Rupert and Jerry's.
I just watched the King last night for the first time in almost a decade, and boy is it different to watch when you aren't a teen. I'm not sure I'd say I sympathized with Rupert when I was younger, but I very much didn't have the level of disdain I felt last night. He is a disgusting, slimy, rat of a man whose selfish nature is only topped by his obsession with one Jerry Langford. However, this doesn't make Jerry a total saint. When I was younger I had a strong disliking for Jerry. I thought he was rude, harsh, and, though the word would have eluded me at the time, had a certain implied meanness about him. This time, surprisingly, I still felt that way toward him, although I much more strongly understood his overall situation. It's definitely more overtly shown that he is a decent man than not, but I couldn't shake this feeling, while watching, that there was a side to him we hadn't yet seen under the surface.
The opening of the film is absolutely brilliant. Truly outstanding stuff. It establishes characters, motivation, and gives you a taste of what's in store all in one fell swoop. You feel a sudden tension start to rise as Rupert enters the car with Jerry, and you realize his intentions aren't as true of heart as he claims. A great opening scene to a great movie, I just had to bring it up and talk about it.
Rupert's delusions are possibly my favorite parts of the movie. Talking to his cardboard cutouts, imagining himself an entire wedding, which we'll talk more about in a bit, and even forgetting what's real and what isn't. All feel so ahead of their time in this 60s ride. R
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Last night I watched Scorsese's 1983 film The King of Comedy w/ Robert DeNiro and Jerry Lewis. I appreciated the outstanding performances and distinctive tone of the film but also Scorsese's message concerning the nature of fame, which in my estimation is embodied by the central character, Rupert Pupkin.
Through the actions of this character, Scorsese seemingly suggests that anyone can achieve fame, not through hard work and talent, but simply through exposure: 'famous for famous sake' if you will. This message is parallel to many so called 'celebrities' in the 21st century (see: Kardashians, cast of TOWIE etc.)
Regardless of my admiration for the film many have argued that the conclusion of the film is unrealistic and is a complete juxtaposition from all that came before in the film. These arguments generally discuss how Pupkin was extraordinarily unfunny throughout the majority of the film, yet in the final sequence he manages to gather raucous laughter from the live studio audience. Some have proposed that this ending sequence may be another 'flight of fantasy', which is not unusual in this film and in other Scorsese films (the ending of Taxi Driver for instance), but some others have suggested that the ending is merely a cop-out from Scorsese.
Personally I think the ending is judged perfectly. Whilst Pupkin's performance is hardly magnificent but there are a few relatively funny gags and on the whole his performance is rather bland and underwhelming for 'The King of Comedy'. As such, I feel this is to further emphasize Scorsese's message of exposure is more significant to success than extraordinary talent is. Mediocrity is more than enough. I also feel Scorsese is trying to say something about society that this man manages to become so successful after his controversial time in prison.
Would love to hear your thoughts on the film's ending and ambiguous film endings in general.
So as the title says in the Wayan Brothers 1996 comedy "Don't Be a Menace to South Central" which satirises various hood films has a scene where people are playing a video game where the aim is to beat up Rodney King. To me this doesn't to fit in a comedy film even if it was tongue and cheek.
How did people react to this? Do we know how Rodney King himself reacted?
I honestly don't care if they deviate far from the source material, I would actually prefer them to do that and just make it a stand-alone film that becomes it's own thing. If it was directed by someone like Edgar Wright, I think the comedy would be on point and it would just help introduce people to the amazing work of Murata and the animated show, just how he did for Scott Pilgrim vs the world.
I know people are always offended at the thought of anyone making a live film adaptation, I understand; I have my own list of shitty movies that I didn't like that are based on Anime or manga. (Dragon Ball, Ghost in the Shell and the Death Note are three that come to mind), but some people act like those movies ruin franchises and they really don't. Dragon Ball is going stronger than ever, GITS has a new CGI animation that's out now on netflix and Death Note ended, but it got a ton of live adaptations, they all sucked horribly bad but it's not like it erased the manga or anime, they still exist - and it's still a good story.
Point is - we're ultimately not going to like it, because no matter how good of a job they do, it's not going to be the Saitama we're used to, it's not going to have the amazing action that has been illustrated by Murata or choreographed by the mad house artists, and it's not going to have the interesting story that One wrote, but at the very least it could be a funny entertaining film that serves to introduce new people to the show.
Also, at least pretend to be happy for One, can you imagine how excited he must be over the news of his creation getting a hollywood adaptation? at least give him a clap or two, bro deserves it.
I just watched The King of Comedy out of curiosity because of it's connection to the new Joker film, and I'd love something in a similar vein. I highly recommend this movie btw. I was sceptical at first. It seemed very slow and uninteresting to start, even the opening titles is just a still image, but then it becomes clear this is intentional to give the viewer some time to digest the nuance between mental illness and humor. What some have described as cringy or forced laugher while watching The King of Comedy, I believe are not watching pupkin as a comedic character. Jerry Lewis had to have consulted on the film. I could write a paper on this shit.
As the film's summary says, it is about a filming crew making a zombie movie, but are attacked by real zombies. I was so confused, yet intrigued, watching how the first half of the movie transitions into the second half. The idea behind the movie is ingenious imo. The acting is really good and the amount of subtitles aren't overwhelming since there is a lot of action. As usual, the Japanese have a way of being overly dramatic, and it makes me laugh so much that I love it. It's worth a watch if you are in the mood for something different.
I grew up in the 80's. Despite there being some amazing horror classics like Halloween, Day of the Dead and Poltergeist I always gravitated towards films that had as much humor in them as horror. Where writers & directors weren't afraid of being a little (or a lot cheesy) and where they weren't afraid of poking fun of the conventions of the genre.
Sadly it seems like there aren't many films of that kind made anymore. Do any exist? Aside from Zombieland and Cabin in the Woods (and the awesome Ash Vs the Evil Dead series) I can't remember seeing any advertised.
Dazed and Confused
Stoned Age
And Detroit Rock City are all films I enjoyed in this vein.
Something with weed references and lots of rock and roll, trying to score women, etc.
Edit: Thank you guys so much for all the incredible recommendations! Never expected this thread to take off like it has!
With Joker coming out in a couple weeks, I revisited one of my favorite Martin Scorsese movies... and wow. This movie is still uncomfortable to watch.
Rupert Pupkin is just a fucked up character. Not in a Joker kind of way, or anything like that. But this is someone you genuinely do NOT want to be. The amount of rejection in this movie is terrifying and IIRC Scorsese himself said that as well.
I always thought it was interesting that his stand up routine is basically his sad life story... but people seem to find it hilarious. They find it so funny that they don't even believe him when he says that he kidnapped the host of the show.
As a whole, I recommend watching it if you haven't and you wanna cringe a lot.
What do you think of this film?
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