The King of Comedy1982

The Scorses-a-thon “…But, look, I figure it this way. Better to be king for a night than schmuck for a lifetime.” A film that has only become more and more relatable as time goes on. We have here a commentary on celebrity, fandom, obsession, class, media, consumerism, and on and on. Essentially, an analysis of living in the modern world. Now we have a million Rupert Pupkins all vying for the attention of all the other Rupert Pupkins and each one trying to be more famous than the last. Someone once said, “In the future, everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes.” Well, now it’s more like fifteen seconds, if that.  I can relate very much to Rupert’s craving to live the life of his dreams. To feel like he’s destined for more than what’s been handed to him. I always wanted to make music, but it was barely ever more than a dream. Maybe I just needed to kidnap somebody.  Rupert is just an incredible character, and you watch him, and he’s so deluded and awkward, and he thinks that if he plays into the fantasy, it will turn out to be real. And he is so separated from reality that he actually kidnaps his idol because he thinks that will finally give him his chance. And he gets on the show, and then… The shoe drops.  Though the whole movie, they keep us from seeing his stand-up routine. But the way he acts in real life and the way his fantasies play out, we can only assume that he sucks. Because if he was so talented, why would he need to do all this? And then we see it.  And he’s good. He’s actually funny. And this is the whole movie. We are Rupert Pupkin. Not the millions screaming their heads off on TikTok, Instagram, and what have you, but the quietly talented people who for one reason or another will never be seen or noticed. The only reason anyone listened to Rupert was because he did something extreme to break out. Because to be successful, you truly have to be privileged. Rupert was privileged enough to live in NYC, have met Jerry Langford, and had the opportunity to kidnap him. What if he lived in Wisconsin? Or Kansas? He would have only ever had his fantasy.  But then again, maybe the whole thing is fantasy. Because surely he would have gotten notoriety from the kidnapping, but could he make a career after it? Well, stranger things have happened.  An incredibly funny movie either through its genuine humor or ridiculous and awkward situations. Incredibly shot, edited, and performed the whole shbang. A true favorite.