The King of Comedy (1982)

It's an unsung masterpiece, with powerful complex performances from De Niro and Lewis, blending farce and tragedy in a strange Scorsese-De Niro collaboration.

The critic finds it the creepiest and one of the best movies of the year, praising its unsettling excesses and De Niro's performance as a delusional fantasist, while noting it's hilariously not a comedy.

The re-release review calls the film a hilarious and smart riff on American celebrity culture as a form of salvation, praising De Niro's loopy, committed turn as the obsessive Pupkin and Lewis's liberated, creepy caricature of a self-protective star. It highlights the wild escalation of Pupkin's fantasies and schemes as the core appeal.

The film marks an unconventional departure for Scorsese and De Niro, with De Niro delivering an obnoxious, pathetic performance as the needy Rupert Pupkin and Scorsese using a flat, locked-down style mimicking TV programming. It offers a bold, prescient look at how the desire for fame and adulation can warp people, ending with a coda that now seems entirely credible.

The critic views the film as a dry, painful comedy about ambition and celebrity obsession, with Robert De Niro's scheming mediocrity as the central focus. It singles out the film's deadpan style and prescient take on fame for praise.

Canby calls the film very funny and satisfying in its surprise ending, with an original screenplay that is witty even in its fantasy sequences. He highlights De Niro's complex, flamboyant performance as the standout element.

The critic describes the film as an interesting misfire that sits awkwardly between black comedy and thriller, neither funny nor scary enough to fully succeed in either mode. They praise Scorsese's scene-making skills and single out Jerry Lewis's intense, dead-eyed performance as the standout element that nearly eclipses De Niro.

Ebert finds the film an arid, painful portrait of lonely, angry people that frustratingly withholds emotional release or payoff. He praises the committed performances, especially by De Niro and Lewis, and sees it as a bold departure for Scorsese.

The critic finds the film deliberately quiet, empty, and enervating, presenting its central characters as soulless and repellent without generating empathy or emotional charge. It singles out Jerry Lewis's authentic, economical performance as the one element with weight and believability amid the overall visual chill and punishing scorn.

The review deems the film a royal disappointment despite De Niro's virtuoso performance, criticizing the unlikable characters who stand for nothing. It notes Bernhard as slightly more pathetic but faults the overall lack of substance.

The critic examines the film as an underrated Scorsese-De Niro classic whose themes of delusion, fame-seeking and blurred reality feel especially prescient today. He praises Scorsese's impressionistic direction and the way the film renders modern celebrity culture through its central performances.

The piece calls the film a pitch-black comedy ahead of its time whose deadpan tone and humiliations create discomfort, with De Niro delivering a banal yet terrifying performance as the entitled Pupkin. It notes the film's final moments now read as documentary rather than delusion.