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''The King of Comedy'' is a 1982 American black comedy drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis and Sandra Bernhard.〔''The Jerry Lewis Films'' by James L. Neibaur and Ted Okuda. Jefferson, SC: McFarland, 1994, ISBN 0-89950-961-4.〕 Written by Paul D. Zimmerman, the film focuses on themes including celebrity worship and American media culture. 20th Century Fox released The King of Comedy on February 18, 1983 in the United States, though the film was released two months earlier in Iceland.〔http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?pageId=1567189&lang=0〕 The film began shooting in New York on June 1, 1981 to avoid clashing with a forthcoming writers' strike,〔Thompson, David and Christie, Ian. ''Scorsese on Scorsese'', p.87.〕 and opened the Cannes Film Festival in 1983.〔http://www.empireonline.com/features/cannes-great-opening-films/3.asp〕 ==Plot== Rupert Pupkin (De Niro), a stage-door autograph hound, is an aspiring stand-up comedian unsuccessfully trying to launch his career. After meeting Jerry Langford (Lewis), a successful comedian and talk show host, Rupert believes his "big break" has finally come. He attempts to get a place on the show but is continually rebuffed by Langford's staff and, finally, by Langford himself. Along the way, Rupert indulges in elaborate and obsessive fantasies where he and Langford are colleagues and friends. He even takes a date, Rita, to Langford's home, uninvited, trying to impress her. When the straight approach does not work, Rupert hatches a kidnapping plot with the help of Masha (Sandra Bernhard), a stalker who is also obsessed with Langford. As ransom, Rupert demands that he be given the opening spot on that evening's ''Jerry Langford Show'' (guest hosted by Tony Randall), and that the show be broadcast in normal fashion. The network brass, lawyers, and the FBI agree, with the understanding that Langford will be released once the show airs. Between the taping of the show and the broadcast, Masha has her "dream date" with Langford, who is duct-taped to a chair in her parents' Manhattan townhouse. Jerry convinces her to untie him and escapes. Rupert's stand-up routine is well received. In the routine Rupert seems to describe his troubled life (from growing up in a poor neighborhood to getting beat on in his adolescence) while laughing at his circumstances at the same time, and he closes by confessing to the audience that he kidnapped Jerry Langford in order to break into show business. The studio audience laughs, thinking that it is a part of his act. Rupert responds by saying, "Tomorrow you'll know I wasn't kidding and you'll all think I'm crazy. But I figure it this way: better to be king for a night, than schmuck for a lifetime." The movie closes with a news report of Rupert's release from prison, set to a montage of storefronts stocking his "long awaited" autobiography, ''King For a Night''. The report informs that Rupert still considers Jerry Langford his mentor and friend and that he and his agent are currently weighing several "attractive offers". The final scene shows Rupert taking the stage for an apparent TV special with a live audience and an announcer enthusiastically introducing and praising him, leaving the viewer to decide whether if it is reality or Rupert's fantasy. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The King of Comedy (1983 film)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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