Groucho Marx’s third wife once stated, “If he’d only said ‘I
love you’ once, I would have stayed.” No
doubt, it must be difficult living with someone who makes their living cracking
wise, especially those whose humor has a mean-spirited edge to it. Certainly, the boundaries between the
performer’s personal and professional life must blur at times and quips are
made, feelings are hurt, assurances are given that it was only a joke, but the
offended party knows all too well that there’s a grain of truth in every jab.
Taylor Hackford’s The Comedian focuses on a comic of this
sort, an aging funny man who’s managed to alienate not only those foolish
enough to want to get close to him but much of his audience as well. A passion
project of Robert De Niro’s, who spent over a decade pushing to get this film
made while taking on the title role, this character study attempts to get to
the bottom of what makes comics tick, where their inspiration comes from and
what happens away from the spotlight. The movie is, for the most part,
successful in delving into these areas as well as looking at what any
entertainer must deal with once their audience disappears.
Jackie Burke (De Niro) hasn’t hit rock bottom yet, but the
sort of stand-up gigs he’s getting is far away from the days when he was the
star of a wildly successful sit-com, something that was a blessing but now is a
bit of a curse for him. While it gave
him fame and temporary fortune, the character he played and his signature catch
phrase that swept the nation weighs him down like a millstone. Burke’s resentment over not being allowed to
move past this project bubbles over one night during a set, when he winds up
decking a heckler. Unable to turn off
his mouth during the ensuing court hearing, he winds up in jail for 30 days and
having to do community service at a soup kitchen where he meets Harmony (an
excellent Leslie Mann).
The love story that develops between Jackie and Harmony
seems unlikely at first but it becomes more plausible as De Niro and Mann flesh
these characters out. Not intimidated by
his fame or reputation, Harmony gives as good as she gets where Jackie is
concerned, her strength tempered by her own history of bad breaks. Many of the movie’s best moments take place
between these two veterans as the natural approach they both take humanizes
their characters, helping us understand their seemingly nonsensical actions and
sympathize with them even when they’re at their most unsympathetic.
Hackford takes a step back where his directing here is
concerned. He knows he’s cast his film
well and stays out of his cast’s way. In
addition to the two leads, Danny DeVito and Patti Lupone are on hand as Burke’s
brother and sister-in-law, respectively.
There’s a sense of awkwardness in the scenes they share with De Niro as
it’s obvious past sins between the three have not been totally put to rest
though the siblings desperately want to make things right with one another. DeVito
is particularly strong here reminding us what a good actor he is when he isn’t
required to simply go for laughs.
Harvey Kietel appears as Harmony’s father who gets off on
the wrong foot with her new beau, Eddie Falco shows up as Jackie’s overworked
and long-suffering agent and Cloris Leachman briefly appears as a legendary
comic whose celebrity roast goes horribly wrong. Throw in De Niro’s Midnight Run co-star
Charles Grodin as a bitter rival as well as Billy Crystal, Brett Butler and
Jimmy Walker playing themselves, the film succeeds in having an air of prestige
about it, as well as a sense of authenticity.
There’s a degree of poignancy at play here, which Hackford
and the cast wisely employ with a deft touch. Living in a politically correct
age has made Burke a bit of a dinosaur; times have changed, he hasn’t and he’s
paying the price. However, there’s a
sense of honor where he’s concerned as the comic sticks to his guns, knowing that
to change his approach simply wouldn’t ring true. This applies to his personal life as well,
which takes an unexpected but plausible turn that forces Burke to reevaluate
his approach to the future.
The Comedian doesn’t attempt to plumb the depth of its
protagonist’s psyche like De Niro’s classic King of Comedy does. It’s content with traveling a more pleasant
road in examining a similarly self-destructive character that stubbornly sticks
to his guns where life, love and work are concerned. Those Burke encounters
will likely be alienated by his behavior and he will never achieve the
professional success he once had. Still,
the comic knows that staying true to yourself has its own rewards.
This article appears in Feb 2-8, 2017.
