Review of The Comedian

The Comedian (III) (2016)
7/10
Has its Moments
23 June 2017
Jackie Burke (Robert DeNiro) a former TV star tries his hand at Stand-up Comedy and fails for the most part as the audience wants to remember him as that former TV star, but he prevails when some videos go viral and he becomes a shock jock comedian.

I looked at this as a slice of life for someone who was once famous for a TV show and then honestly tries his hand at Stand-up. Yes, there is a lot of language in here and sometimes I felt he would embarrass himself, but somehow he gets away with it; and yes, there are some raunchy utterances too. Those videos that go viral get him the attention and jobs he needs to succeed.

It all starts when Jackie punches an audience member who was taping and criticizing his act and that scene went viral. See? Since he won't apologize to that member, as part of his sentence for being in contempt of court, he goes to jail for 30 days and later meets love interest Harmony Schiltz (Leslie Mann) at the homeless soup kitchen where he must complete community service.

All in all there are plenty of chuckles as well as all the language and raunchy stuff. Many dialogues are honest and often funny without intending to be.

Notables: Danny DeVito as Jackie's brother James; Pattie LuPone as Flo married to James; Edie Falco as Miller, Jackie's agent; Harvey Keitel as Mac Schiltz, Harmony's father; Charles Grodin as Dick D'Angelo the Abbot at the Friar's club; Cloris Leachman as May Connor a 95-yrs old movie star who is honored at the Friar's club roast; and Billy Crystal as himself when he meets Jackie in an elevator.

One thing about Jackie's Stand-up. He never had any prepared material. It was always off the cuff. So much had happened in his life (those videos) it was only natural he talked about some of those things on stage and it worked.

I honestly didn't think DeNiro could pull this off as I thought he bombed in previous comedies I am sorry to say I watched and I was pleasantly surprised in here. But think of it this way: He honestly didn't try to be funny. That was the key to this success. He is acting in a drama and trying to get his character's life back after success in a popular TV show and doing Stand-up is hard, but he knows there is an audience for raunchy humor and he goes for it. And while doing all of this he is given good funny lines at times. (And raunchy lines too) All in all DeNiro does a credible job. (7/10)

Violence: Yes. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Language: Yes.
6 out of 10 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed