The King of Comedy

Directed by Martin Scorsese. With Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis, Diahnne Abbott, Sandra Bernhard. Rupert Pupkin is a passionate yet unsuccessful comic who craves nothing more than to be in the spotlight and to achieve this, he stalks and kidnaps his idol to take the spotlight for himself.

The King of Comedy (1982) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more.

Martin Scorsese's "The King of Comedy" is one of the most arid, painful, wounded movies I've ever seen. It's hard to believe Scorsese made it; instead of the big-city life, the violence and sexuality of his movies like "Taxi Driver" and "Mean Streets," what we have here is an agonizing portrait of lonely, angry people with their emotions all tightly bottled up. This is a movie that seems ready to explode -- but somehow it never does.

Rupert Pupkin (Robert De Niro) can’t get started. He’s a thirty-four-year-old who dreams of a standup slot on the late-night talk show hosted by Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis). Living and practicing in the basement of his mother’s New Jersey house, Rupert works as a messenger and b

Aspiring comic Rupert Pupkin attempts to achieve success in show business by stalking his idol, a late night talk-show host who craves his own privacy.

Martin Scorsese's satirical comedy/drama caustically explores the lengths to which a nobody will go to be as famous as his idol. Practicing his patter in his basement with cardboard cut-outs of his favorite celebrities, mediocre aspiring comedian Rupert Pupkin (Robert De Niro) believes that one appearance on the evening talk show of the Johnny Carson-esque Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis) will be his ticket to stardom. After he helps Jerry escape the advances of amorous fan Masha (Sandra Bernhard), Rupert takes Jerry's patronizing brush-off as a true promise for an audition and begins haunting Jerry's office. Provoked by Masha's needling and a rejection from Jerry's smooth production exec Cathy Long (Shelley Hack), Rupert makes a disastrous trip to Jerry's country house with embarrassed date Rita (Diahnne Abbott), then hatches an even more outlandish scheme to get ahead. With Masha's help, Rupert kidnaps Jerry and demands as ransom the TV appearance that he believes will turn his fantasy into reality.

The King of Comedy movie reviews & Metacritic score: Aspiring comic Rupert Pupkin attempts to achieve success in show business by stalking his idol, a late n...

The King of Comedy is a 1982 American satirical black comedy film directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis, and Sandra Bernhard.[3] Written by Paul D. Zimmerman, the film focuses on themes including celebrity worship and American media culture. 20th Ce