The King of Comedy

Released 18th December 1982, The King of Comedy is a film about an obsessive fan who goes further and further to not only meet his ‘idol’ but also to assert his own agenda upon them. The film is essentially a commentary about stalker fans and how society treats them (good and bad). The protagonist of this story is Rupert Pupkin – played by Robert De Niro and he is one of the obsessive fans the narrative focuses on; the other is the simply named Masha played by Sandra Bernhard.

What is interesting about these two characters is that they present two very different archetypes of stalker fans (otherwise known as stans) with Rupert ‘stanning’ over in-film comedian Jerry Langford (played by real-life comedian Jerry Lewis) in order to boost his own attempted career as a comedian whilst Masha ‘stans’ Jerry lustfully. These two portrayals of stalker fans remain poignant to this day in examples we read every so often in the news; we are frequently presented with the ‘fans’ acting uncomfortably chummy with Jerry only to suddenly have an inflection where they shout at him or physically threaten him. The nature of these characters creates many comedic opportunities which feel natural in their timing and occurrence.

The soundtrack is quite forgettable to be frank, although the narrative often opts not to use soundtrack very often and instead relies on somewhat diegetic sound i.e., ‘audience’ cheers. Another interesting part of the film is that it is written as an expressionistic piece where events often take place as imagined by the protagonist Rupert; this makes for interesting occurrences where you will question what is real and what is not. Overall, minus some occasional slow pacing and flat jokes, The King of Comedy stands the test of time as an enduring social message about the actions and dangers of stalker-fans.