Martin Scorsese&s THE KING OF COMEDY is a brutally funny depiction of the dangers of celebrity fandom Robert De Niro plays the ridiculously inept Rupert Pupkin an aspiring comic who idolises talk-show host Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis) Still living at home with his mother Rupert spends his days trying to arrange a meeting with his hero When he isn&t doing that he&s at home talking to cardboard cutouts in his makeshift television studio After Rupert convinces Rita (Diahnne Abbot) a pretty bartender that Langford has invited them to his house outside the city the reality of the situation makes itself painfully apparent upon arriving at the star&s front door Trouble is Rupert&s too delusional to take the hint He eventually hatches a plan with an equally obsessed fan Masha (a scene-stealing Sandra Bernhard) to kidnap Langford in exchange for a chance to let him deliver his routine on the air De Niro & Lewis deliver scorching performances that are at once tragic & hysterical making for an unsettling yet highly stimulating viewing experience Paul D Zimmerman&s script takes the time to truly crawl inside the mind of a lunatic exposing celebrity worship as the ludicrous problem that it is THE KING OF COMEDY stands firmly as one of Scorsese&s most terrifying films