Critic Reviews

King of Comedy, The (1983) Rank 5 Reviews

Expert Review Summary

Movie critics combined give King of Comedy, The (1983) a score of 3.2807 out of 4

based on (30) reviews

Click on the numbers to the right of the graph to see reviews of that rating

Excellent

(10)

Very Good

(20)

Good

(0)

Fair

(0)

Poor

(0)

Reviews by Score:

DVD Confidential

When released back in 1983, The King Of Comedy received rather negative critical response, in fact People Magazine named it their Flop Of The Year. But time has served this dark comedy well ...read the complete King of Comedy movie review at DVD Confidential

Film as Art

Martin Scorsese excels at making two kinds of films, and he does each with such ferocious originality and skillful technique that I am convinced that he is the greatest living director, from the United States or anywhere. The first type is the ...read the complete King of Comedy movie review at Film as Art

TV Guide Entertainment Network, Movie Guide

Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro must be the most celebrated director/star collaborators in recent American film history. Together they have produced some of the most powerful films of the last several decades--MEAN STREETS, TAXI DRIVER, RAGING BULL, ...read the complete King of Comedy movie review at TV Guide Entertainment Network, Movie Guide

DVD Talk (Gil Jawetz)

Martin Scorsese has made a lot of great films and has populated them with a lot of memorable characters, many with dark and confused minds. Rupert Pupkin is key to Scorsese's path as an artist. It's a crossroad between his outsider's point-of-view and ...read the complete King of Comedy movie review at DVD Talk (Gil Jawetz)

FilmHead.com - Video Pick

I find the temptation to go after similar titles too great this week, and my Scorsese kick made it almost mandatory to make The King of Comedy my second pick. In the film, Robert De Niro plays Rupert Pupkin, a wannabe comedian that has an unhealthy ...read the complete King of Comedy movie review at FilmHead.com - Video Pick

DVDActive (Peter Hudson)

The King of Comedy is definitely not for everyone. People expecting a hilarious De Niro comedy a la Analyze This will be put off by the film’s serious undertones, and anyone expecting a dark glimpse into the mind of obsession probably won’t ...read the complete King of Comedy movie review at DVDActive (Peter Hudson)

filmcritic.com (Eric Vanstrom)

The King of Comedy is a wholly original and entirely offbeat, dark comedy about fame, obsessive fandom, and the medium from which they both feed: television. The film careens from witty satire to difficult melodrama to downright silly and back again. ...read the complete King of Comedy movie review at filmcritic.com (Eric Vanstrom)

ToxicUniverse.com (Brandon Curtis)

I don't think anybody will ever be able to understand the mind of a man like Stephen Chow, but when he's firing on all cylinders I'm all smiles and most movies just don't do that much for me anymore. ...read the complete King of Comedy movie review at ToxicUniverse.com (Brandon Curtis)

Goatdog's Movies (Michael W. Phillips, Jr.)

De Niro's performance was truly creepy. He delivered his lines and held himself like he was always on stage, exaggerating his laughs and using unnatural changes in pitch to keep us on edge. In a way, it was more edgy than his Travis Bickle from ...read the complete King of Comedy movie review at Goatdog's Movies (Michael W. Phillips, Jr.)

Qwipster's Movie Reviews (Vince Leo)

The King of Comedy isn't so much a comedy in the traditional sense, although it might be classified as a twisted, and quite tragic, comedy of errors. It is also scathing satire on the rising popularity of people who will do anything to get a piece of ...read the complete King of Comedy movie review at Qwipster's Movie Reviews (Vince Leo)

Appreciating Great Trash

Martin Scorsese's The King of Comedy was a complete box-office failure, and it's not hard to see why: snippets of the movie are funny, while others are rather disturbing, and yet others are simply very sad, but the film's cumulative tone is decidedly ...read the complete King of Comedy movie review at Appreciating Great Trash

filmcritic.com

The King of Comedy is a wholly original and entirely offbeat, dark comedy about fame, obsessive fandom, and the medium from which they both feed: television. The film careens from witty satire to difficult melodrama to downright silly and back again. And ...read the complete King of Comedy movie review at filmcritic.com

UpcomingDiscs.com (David Annandale)

The menu is pretty deluxe, with both animation and sound, and fits right in with the fantasy world Pupkin inhabits. The extras are a retrospective featurette in the company of Scorsese and Bernhard, the theatrical trailer, the Canadian TV spot, a still ...read the complete King of Comedy movie review at UpcomingDiscs.com (David Annandale)

King of Comedy, The (1983) scores a combined 3.25 out of 4 stars for DVD Clinic (

DVD Clinic ("The Shootin Surgeon")

Rupert Pupkin (De Niro) is a dejected stand-up comedian with a psychotic edge who begs his talk-show host idol Jerry Langford (Lewis) to let him perform on his late night show. When Langford gives him the brush-off, Pupkin takes matters into his own ...read the complete King of Comedy movie review at DVD Clinic ("The Shootin Surgeon")

crocoPuffs

This film seems to get categorized as a comedy, or dark comedy. In my book, it's not. It's an urban drama with comedic elements, definitely not a comedy. I guess some folks find kidnappings, illegal entry, and delusional behavior funny. De Niro's ...read the complete King of Comedy movie review at crocoPuffs

Apollo Movie Guide (Derek Smith)

A nebbish of a would-be stand-up comic (Robert De Niro) enacts a crafty plan to make it in the big-time. He kidnaps a talk show host (Jerry Lewis) in order to get a network comedy spot. ...read the complete King of Comedy movie review at Apollo Movie Guide (Derek Smith)

DVD Verdict

If you saw The King of Comedy back in the '80s and didn't laugh, give it a second chance on DVD. A lot of pop cultural water has gone under the bridge in the past twenty years. You may find the film's humor strangely obvious today considering how obscure ...read the complete King of Comedy movie review at DVD Verdict

DVD Authority

At the beginning of the eighties, Martin Scorsese was riding high after his critical and commercial success with Raging Bull. Three years later, at the insistance of his occasional co-star Robert DeNiro, Scorsese would return behind the camera to tell a ...read the complete King of Comedy movie review at DVD Authority

eFilmCritic

Roger Ebert once said that this was the most painful movie he'd ever seen. I agree. Rupert Pupkin is one of the most horrid characters ever seen on film. Rupert Pupkin (Robert De Niro) is one of those folks that if you see in the street, you run ...read the complete King of Comedy movie review at eFilmCritic

Talking Pictures (Howard Schumann)

Rupert Pupkin is a comedian looking for a break. Unlike thousands of other aspiring funnymen, however, Rupert is obsessed with the idea of appearing on Jerry Langford's Tonight Show and will stop at nothing until he achieves his goal. Robert de Niro ...read the complete King of Comedy movie review at Talking Pictures (Howard Schumann)

DVD Times

The King of Comedy was made at a traumatic time in the film-making life of Martin Scorsese. ...read the complete King of Comedy movie review at DVD Times

Crazy for Cinema

THE KING OF COMEDY was Scorsese and De Niro's fourth film together and their first and only comic collaboration, which is a real shame considering De Niro has recently been showing a real talent for comedy. This film is, of course, given who's behind the ...read the complete King of Comedy movie review at Crazy for Cinema

Brilliant Observations on 1173 Films (Clayton Trapp)

Finishes with a few flourishes after dragging hopelessly for the first 75 minutes. You expect more qualitative incoherence from Martin Scorsese, Jerry Lewis and Robert De Niro. De Niro goes into kidnapper mode and abducts the Johnny Carson-like Lewis, ...read the complete King of Comedy movie review at Brilliant Observations on 1173 Films (Clayton Trapp)

IMDB.com

"The King of Comedy" deals with a kind of incarnation of Travis Bickle: Rupert Pumpkin (Robert DeNiro), a flamboyantly confident wacko who feels he has a natural knack for comedy, although you wouldn't know it when you met him. Instead of coming off as ...read the complete King of Comedy movie review at IMDB.com

DVDTown (John J. Puccio)

You don't usually think of Martin Scorsese and comedy films in the same sentence. But, of course, "The King of Comedy" is not a traditional comedy. You do, however, think of Jerry Lewis and comedy. But, of course, Jerry Lewis does not play the comedy ...read the complete King of Comedy movie review at DVDTown (John J. Puccio)

JackassCritics.com (Grim Ringler)

Leave it to Martin Scorsese to make even what should be the tamest of farces into a long look into obsession and fame. And yet still make it funny as hell. ...read the complete King of Comedy movie review at JackassCritics.com (Grim Ringler)

Qwipster's Movie Reviews (Vince Leo)

Movie Vault (Matthew Coats)

This is really an unforgetable movie full of wry dark comedy. A lot of people hate Jerry Lewis, but I love the guy. He's a comedic genius, and a great humanitarian... not just any actor wins a nobel peace prize you know! The cast in this movie is ...read the complete King of Comedy movie review at Movie Vault (Matthew Coats)

DVD Movie Guide

In the early Eighties, the dangers that come with celebrity seemed more prominent than ever. In short order, lunatics killed John Lennon and also attempted to slay Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II. ...read the complete King of Comedy movie review at DVD Movie Guide

Spirituality & Practice (Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat)

Robert Pupkin is a 34-year-old who lives at home with his mother in Queens and works during the days as a messenger boy. Yet in his mind, he is "the King of Comedy." For years, Rupert has idolized Jerry Langford, the host of television's top-rated ...read the complete King of Comedy movie review at Spirituality & Practice (Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat)