Episode 94: THE KING OF COMEDY

[PatrickGaertner 17]

Easy yes for me.

 

This is probably my personal favorite Scorsese film of all time, and I completely agree with everything Devin and Amy said at the end. It's a great film, and I loved revisiting it.

[JeffreyMcDonald 65]

For me this one is not about impact, historical significance, or anything like that. This film is simply an incredible piece of art, and the acting, directing, etc, are all astounding. Surprisingly the thing I keep going back to after this viewing is not DeNiro or Lewis; but rather the performances of the three main women. Diahnne Abbott, Shelley Hack, and the utterly intense Sandra Bernhard all were so incredible. I kind of want to watch it again (but this isn't my only movie podcast, damn you How Did This Get Made and Greg Proops Film Club. Speaking of, A&D should try to have Proops on some time. All those LA podcasties run in the same circles...).

"Yes" for me.

[Kreiter 15]

FYI the guy sitting behind Rupert and mocking him during his date is Morrie from Goodfellas.

[Llewellyn_Wells 47]

Thank you two for doing this. I always thought it was minor Scorsese, so it would've taken me a long time to watch this. Up'd it to the top of my Netflix queue...this may be one of my favorites. This is why I love this podcast.

[JohnPaulMaler 1]

Long time listener, first time caller...

Definite yes on this one! While I personally love After Hours more (can't wait for that episode please make it happen), I never miss an opportunity to recommend this film to anyone who is unfamiliar with it!

Much like Network this is a very prescient, funny and frightening view of the culture to come.

The only downside, I feel, is that both films' satiric edge may be dulled by today's standards.

[gene_shallot 79]

Good movie. A really good movie. But is it Canon-worthy? That's what I like about this pick - does an extremely solid film rate in your personal Canon? I'm more waffle-y on this than expected. I kinda wish it leaned more into either being very funny, or very dark (or even both). Instead, it's kinda funny - but not hilarious - and kinda dark but not, say, Ellen Burstyn's character arc in Requiem For A Dream-level (which really has shades of Pupkin, in retrospect). Loved the performances.

 

To me the best argument for its inclusion is its commentary on the nature of celebrity, but I'm not sure if that's enough for me to vote 'yay'. Is this underlooked & underappreciated? Definitely. I'm going the softest of "no's", but any given day even a hard glance from Sandra Bernhard could tilt me the other way.

[shyguie 12]

My favourite Scorsese film and the only one I actually own.

 

Such a cringey first-time watch.

[NRoberson86 78]

I didn't know how to vote until I realized I've brought this film up with everyone I've interacted with since watching it. It's a yes.

[FictionIsntReal 79]

Also, Schrader has confirmed the end of Taxi Driver as a dream. Maybe it isn't to Scorsese--though, I'm pretty sure he has said it is as well. But I think that makes sense as a dream.

I'm going to quote from wikipedia here on the ending:

On the Laserdisc audio commentary, Scorsese acknowledged several critics' interpretation of the film's ending as being Bickle's dying dream. He admits that the last scene of Bickle glancing at an unseen object implies that Bickle might fall into rage and recklessness in the future, and he is like "a ticking time bomb". Writer Paul Schrader confirms this in his commentary on the 30th-anniversary DVD, stating that Travis "is not cured by the movie's end", and that "he's not going to be a hero next time." When asked on the website Reddit about the film's ending, Schrader said that it was not to be taken as a dream sequence, but that he envisioned it as returning to the beginning of the film—as if the last frame "could be spliced to the first frame, and the movie started all over again."

[HoldenMartinson 221]

I'm going to quote from wikipedia here on the ending:

Ahhhh... My mistake. Thanks for the clarification.

[Shrek & Donkey Kong 4336]

Yeah I wouldn't take as far as Devin on the episode saying that Taxi Driver's ending being a dream would RUIN it, but it definitely takes a lot of the bite out of it. The first time I watched it, my initial reaction to the news clippings after the climax was "that can't be real", so I guess it actually being fake would make the story's turn a lot less effective.

[DannyHutch 0]

I voted no. It sounds like the main reason for nominating this film is that it is underrated and you wanted to get people to watch it. That's lovely, but it doesn't make the film canon-worthy. Amy said 9 Lives was underrated. 9 Lives does not belong in the canon.

 

But I'm glad you recommended it, and that I watched it.

[masterofsparks 9]

Easy "Yes" vote for me. I think Rupert Pupkin is Robert DeNiro's greatest performance.

[pomattovich 75]

I voted late since I wanted to watch the film again this week before weighing in. I've always loved this film, and I ultimately believe it should be accepted into The Canon, if for no other reason to highlight this unique period of Scorsese's career when he was experimenting with dark comedy. I much prefer this to After Hours, so I'd give this inclusion before that. It's also one of Deniro's best comedic performances, though I do hope that Midnight Run gets consideration someday.

[RossHolzschuh 6]

First time I'd ever seen this film. Oddly, this movie reminded me a lot of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. The character seems to get away mostly unscathed at the end, it uses a small cast, it was originally going to be low budget, humor in situations that seem unfitting, and it uses a lot of similar camera work. Obviously the biggest similarity is the films' efforts to understand the insanity of their respective protagonists. There is also an absolutely gigantic list of differences, but this was just something that oddly popped into my head while watching. I love both films. I think the fact that a lot of people my age who have seen the movie don't find it to be startling is evidence that the movie made some shockingly accurate predictions of what was to come. I also would say that this is in the top 3 DeNiro performances with Godfather 2 and Deer Hunter. Definite yes.

[kubrickshines 15]

Influential? Not too sure on that one.

 

I think it's pretty influential. 'TKoC' might be the first widely distributed example of "anti-comedy" or "cringe comedy" in cinema, and would go on to influence David Letterman's and Larry Sanders' meta-critiques of show business.

 

At the very least, it had a lasting impact on Tim and Eric - http://www.avclub.com/article/24-hours-of-discomfort-comedy-and-discomfort-comed-88516

 

And this flavorwire article offers some more food for thought, as well as Scorsese's thoughts on the film:

“I cannot give myself to it. It has no emotional point of entry. All of the characters are closed doors.”

(http://flavorwire.com/581553/how-scorseses-king-of-comedy-influenced-a-generation-of-film-television-and-stand-up)

 

One last note- This (unfortunately) wasn't mentioned on the podcast, but De Niro had originally brought the script to Scorsese all the way back in 1974, almost a decade before it was released. Just imagine that alternate timeline