Yes it is funny. Yes the humor is often crude. That's comedy!! The well rounded cast, great storylines, and true to real life conflicts made it interesting and satisfying to watch.
82 Reviews
Funny
speedcanary2 January 2018
The Comedian: Above par for what it is, below par for DeNiro
Platypuschow29 April 2018
The Comedian has a damn impressive cast, De Niro, Keitel and Mann. Immediatly I had high hopes, alas they weren't met but the film isn't a complete bust.
It tells the story of an ageing comedian on the road to comeback. His foul mouth and controversial style doesn't appeal to everyone and to make matters worse his considerably younger on/off girlfriend is harbouring a secret that will change everything.
Everyone is on form and there are laughs to be had but much of the film feels like a structureless art piece and simply doesn't flow.
One thing I truly liked was how much I empathised with DeNiro, how much I found myself relating to him and yet hoping that isn't what I have to look forward to in my old age.
The Comedian is more a drama with some comedic moments than a comedy, but considering its subject matter it's still head and shoulders over the likes of Funny People (2009).
The Good:
Cast are great
The more I see Leslie Mann the more I like her
Some funny moments
The Bad:
Weirdly paced
Things I Learnt From This Movie:
DeNiro has reinvented himself like no actor before him
I hope I never hit an time where I need to go for a number 3
It tells the story of an ageing comedian on the road to comeback. His foul mouth and controversial style doesn't appeal to everyone and to make matters worse his considerably younger on/off girlfriend is harbouring a secret that will change everything.
Everyone is on form and there are laughs to be had but much of the film feels like a structureless art piece and simply doesn't flow.
One thing I truly liked was how much I empathised with DeNiro, how much I found myself relating to him and yet hoping that isn't what I have to look forward to in my old age.
The Comedian is more a drama with some comedic moments than a comedy, but considering its subject matter it's still head and shoulders over the likes of Funny People (2009).
The Good:
Cast are great
The more I see Leslie Mann the more I like her
Some funny moments
The Bad:
Weirdly paced
Things I Learnt From This Movie:
DeNiro has reinvented himself like no actor before him
I hope I never hit an time where I need to go for a number 3
"The Comedian" is sometimes funny and often uncomfortable to watch, but it's an interesting character study.
dave-mcclain6 February 2017
If you think about it, Robert De Niro is a very funny guy! Starting right before the turn of the century, he started playing off of the perception that he's super intense by doing almost as many comedies as dramas – movies like "Dirty Grandpa", "The Family", "The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle" and, of course, the "Analyze This" and "Meet the Parents" films. Still, funny isn't the first adjective that comes to mind when most Movie Fans hear the legendary actor's name. And that's understandable. The most lauded period in his career was in the 1970s, when he was filming dramas like "Mean Streets", "The Godfather: Part II", "Taxi Driver", "The Deer Hunter" and "Raging Bull", but De Niro himself feels that he has a sense of humor that has helped him in his work. As he has said, "I've always done comedies. There were comic elements in 'Mean Streets' and even 'Taxi Driver'. And I did 'The King of Comedy'. I've always had what I consider to be a good sense of humor." That last film, which was released in 1982, is partly a dark comedy, but even more of a drama (and presages De Niro's 1990s stalker roles in "Cape Fear" and "The Fan") but he IS a comedian in "The King of Comedy". In 2016's "The Comedian" (R, 1:59), De Niro plays a different kind of comic. The latter film has less emphasis on the dark and more on the comedy. As in "The King of Comedy" De Niro's titular comedian has serious personal issues, but this role is less like that delusional character and more like early 2016's hilariously inappropriate "Dirty Grandpa".
De Niro's 2016 cinematic comedian is a senior citizen with a serious attitude problem – and a seriously funny schtick – both in terms of his jokes and his outrageous antics. De Niro plays Jackie Burke, a sitcom star from the 1980s who is still struggling to break free from "Eddie", his show's police officer family man character – and his popular catchphrase ("Hey, Arleeeeen"). A woman called Miller (Edie Falco), Jackie's long-suffering agent (and daughter of the agent he had early in his career), gets him a stand-up gig as part of a nostalgia show featuring comics who had previously starred in sitcoms (including Jimmie Walker and Brett Butler, as themselves). Jackie's self-loathing boils over when he realizes that an audience member (Happy Anderson) is heckling so it can be taped and posted as a webisode. Jackie comes down into the audience, gets into an altercation with the heckler and punches him with the mic, bloodying the heckler's face. During the resulting court appearance, Jackie refuses to properly apologize for the incident and comically insults the man instead, earning 30 days in jail for contempt of court.
When Jackie is back out on the streets of New York, his life is even more of a mess than before his comedy club incident. Miller has a hard time booking much of anything for her acerbic client and Jackie visits his younger brother, Jimmy (Danny DeVito), and Jimmy's disapproving wife, Florence (Patti LuPone), to give him a loan until he can get something going. Jackie also still has to perform the 100 hours of community service that was part of his original plea deal. He pays this part of his debt to society at a soup kitchen where he serves the homeless and keeps them entertained with an impromptu stream of ribald humor. This is also where he meets Harmony Schiltz (Leslie Mann), who is working off an assault charge of her own, while being harassed by her rich father (Harvey Keitel) who insists that she come back to Florida with him. While Harmony and Jackie strike up an unlikely friendship, he finds himself getting back on track after some videos of various unplanned public antics start to go viral.
"The Comedian" is sometimes funny and often uncomfortable to watch, but it's an interesting character study. Jackie isn't easy to like – for the other characters in his life, for the members of his various audiences or for the real-life Movie Fans watching this film but his struggles for respect and relevance, for career success on his own terms and for maybe even a little bit of love, are challenges to which we can all relate. The stand-up routines, which alternate between planned and impromptu, are often humorous, sometimes off-putting and always raw and politically incorrect. The real-life comics (including Billy Crystal, Cloris Leachman and Charles Grodin), some playing themselves and some playing colleagues of the title character, add realism and a few laughs to the story, but Taylor Hackford's direction feels uneven. De Niro's performance is typically outstanding and, as he has been so many times before, is pretty funny – even in the midst of his character's personal and professional suffering. Unfortunately, there's a bit of suffering for us Movie Fans too as we struggle do decide how we feel about the main character, endure a few too many awkward moments and find ourselves wondering (much like many of Jackie's audience members in the film) how funny he actually is – and if it's okay to laugh at his boundary-pushing jokes and actions. "The Comedian" makes us laugh and suggests that we think, but requires that we put a little too much effort into deciding how we feel about the darkly comedic script and its often disagreeable characters. "B-"
De Niro's 2016 cinematic comedian is a senior citizen with a serious attitude problem – and a seriously funny schtick – both in terms of his jokes and his outrageous antics. De Niro plays Jackie Burke, a sitcom star from the 1980s who is still struggling to break free from "Eddie", his show's police officer family man character – and his popular catchphrase ("Hey, Arleeeeen"). A woman called Miller (Edie Falco), Jackie's long-suffering agent (and daughter of the agent he had early in his career), gets him a stand-up gig as part of a nostalgia show featuring comics who had previously starred in sitcoms (including Jimmie Walker and Brett Butler, as themselves). Jackie's self-loathing boils over when he realizes that an audience member (Happy Anderson) is heckling so it can be taped and posted as a webisode. Jackie comes down into the audience, gets into an altercation with the heckler and punches him with the mic, bloodying the heckler's face. During the resulting court appearance, Jackie refuses to properly apologize for the incident and comically insults the man instead, earning 30 days in jail for contempt of court.
When Jackie is back out on the streets of New York, his life is even more of a mess than before his comedy club incident. Miller has a hard time booking much of anything for her acerbic client and Jackie visits his younger brother, Jimmy (Danny DeVito), and Jimmy's disapproving wife, Florence (Patti LuPone), to give him a loan until he can get something going. Jackie also still has to perform the 100 hours of community service that was part of his original plea deal. He pays this part of his debt to society at a soup kitchen where he serves the homeless and keeps them entertained with an impromptu stream of ribald humor. This is also where he meets Harmony Schiltz (Leslie Mann), who is working off an assault charge of her own, while being harassed by her rich father (Harvey Keitel) who insists that she come back to Florida with him. While Harmony and Jackie strike up an unlikely friendship, he finds himself getting back on track after some videos of various unplanned public antics start to go viral.
"The Comedian" is sometimes funny and often uncomfortable to watch, but it's an interesting character study. Jackie isn't easy to like – for the other characters in his life, for the members of his various audiences or for the real-life Movie Fans watching this film but his struggles for respect and relevance, for career success on his own terms and for maybe even a little bit of love, are challenges to which we can all relate. The stand-up routines, which alternate between planned and impromptu, are often humorous, sometimes off-putting and always raw and politically incorrect. The real-life comics (including Billy Crystal, Cloris Leachman and Charles Grodin), some playing themselves and some playing colleagues of the title character, add realism and a few laughs to the story, but Taylor Hackford's direction feels uneven. De Niro's performance is typically outstanding and, as he has been so many times before, is pretty funny – even in the midst of his character's personal and professional suffering. Unfortunately, there's a bit of suffering for us Movie Fans too as we struggle do decide how we feel about the main character, endure a few too many awkward moments and find ourselves wondering (much like many of Jackie's audience members in the film) how funny he actually is – and if it's okay to laugh at his boundary-pushing jokes and actions. "The Comedian" makes us laugh and suggests that we think, but requires that we put a little too much effort into deciding how we feel about the darkly comedic script and its often disagreeable characters. "B-"
It's Not Awful but It Is a Complete Misfire
Michael_Elliott6 February 2017
The Comedian (2016)
** (out of 4)
Former TV star Jackie Burke (Robert DeNiro) is now performing in small and useless clubs where his profane and offensive act really isn't going over any more. After an altercation with a heckler, Jackie finds himself doing community service where he meets a young woman (Leslie Mann) and soon them two kick it off as the comedian finds more and more going wrong in his life.
Can someone explain how a movie director by Taylor Hackford with a cast that includes DeNiro, Mann, Harvey Keitel, Danny DeVito, Charles Grodin, Cloris Leachman and Billy Crystal could turn out so lifeless? I mean, how on Earth can you get such talent in one movie and the end result be so bad? I've heard that the film was booed and had several walk-outs during its premiere in Toronto. I'm not sure how try that is but if so that's a bit harsh because the movie isn't that bad but at the same time it is incredibly disappointing and rather pointless.
This was apparently a dream project for DeNiro who spent several years trying to get it off the ground. People have given the actor a lot of crap over the past decade or so for his willingness to do any film for a check. I will never put someone down for wanting to make money and the actor has appeared in some lousy movies and some others that he was just lending his name to for a check but he always delivered a performance and made those films better. For the first time in his career I think he's the reason a movie is bad.
Sadly, DeNiro just isn't very good here and there's no question that he just wasn't right for the role. I'm really not sure what the screenplay was trying to do or say but it just doesn't work and the entire film just seems rather pointless. DeNiro is certainly giving it an A+ effort but there's just no soul or anything to the character. DeNiro is actually pretty boring in the part and he just wasn't believable as this washed up comic. This here shocked me because I think the actor can do comedy and he's played a comedian before in the masterpiece THE KING OF COMEDY. It just doesn't work here and it's really too bad.
The only time his performance really sparks is a sequence where he and Keitel go after one another. If you're a fan of the early films they did together then you'll get a kick out of seeing them battle again. Mann was good in her supporting role as was Grodin, Leachman and Crystal in their bit parts. DeVito gets a couple funny moments as well but there's no question that they can't save the film. Yes, even DeNiro has a couple funny bits but there's just no denying that overall the film is a major misfire.
I'm really not sure what the point of THE COMEDIAN was as the screenplay is all over the place. Is it meant to show us the bottom side of the comedy game? Watch THE WRESTLER, which did a much better job at showing the low points of a profession. Was the romance with Mann supposed to mean something? If so, what when you've got DeNiro and her father (Keitel) fighting like a romantic comedy? There's a dramatic twist in the story at the end. What was the point? What was the point of the DeNiro character being so unlikable? THE COMEDIAN isn't an awful film. It's slightly entertaining and the cast will at least keep you glued to what's going on but there's no doubt that the film is just a major bust.
** (out of 4)
Former TV star Jackie Burke (Robert DeNiro) is now performing in small and useless clubs where his profane and offensive act really isn't going over any more. After an altercation with a heckler, Jackie finds himself doing community service where he meets a young woman (Leslie Mann) and soon them two kick it off as the comedian finds more and more going wrong in his life.
Can someone explain how a movie director by Taylor Hackford with a cast that includes DeNiro, Mann, Harvey Keitel, Danny DeVito, Charles Grodin, Cloris Leachman and Billy Crystal could turn out so lifeless? I mean, how on Earth can you get such talent in one movie and the end result be so bad? I've heard that the film was booed and had several walk-outs during its premiere in Toronto. I'm not sure how try that is but if so that's a bit harsh because the movie isn't that bad but at the same time it is incredibly disappointing and rather pointless.
This was apparently a dream project for DeNiro who spent several years trying to get it off the ground. People have given the actor a lot of crap over the past decade or so for his willingness to do any film for a check. I will never put someone down for wanting to make money and the actor has appeared in some lousy movies and some others that he was just lending his name to for a check but he always delivered a performance and made those films better. For the first time in his career I think he's the reason a movie is bad.
Sadly, DeNiro just isn't very good here and there's no question that he just wasn't right for the role. I'm really not sure what the screenplay was trying to do or say but it just doesn't work and the entire film just seems rather pointless. DeNiro is certainly giving it an A+ effort but there's just no soul or anything to the character. DeNiro is actually pretty boring in the part and he just wasn't believable as this washed up comic. This here shocked me because I think the actor can do comedy and he's played a comedian before in the masterpiece THE KING OF COMEDY. It just doesn't work here and it's really too bad.
The only time his performance really sparks is a sequence where he and Keitel go after one another. If you're a fan of the early films they did together then you'll get a kick out of seeing them battle again. Mann was good in her supporting role as was Grodin, Leachman and Crystal in their bit parts. DeVito gets a couple funny moments as well but there's no question that they can't save the film. Yes, even DeNiro has a couple funny bits but there's just no denying that overall the film is a major misfire.
I'm really not sure what the point of THE COMEDIAN was as the screenplay is all over the place. Is it meant to show us the bottom side of the comedy game? Watch THE WRESTLER, which did a much better job at showing the low points of a profession. Was the romance with Mann supposed to mean something? If so, what when you've got DeNiro and her father (Keitel) fighting like a romantic comedy? There's a dramatic twist in the story at the end. What was the point? What was the point of the DeNiro character being so unlikable? THE COMEDIAN isn't an awful film. It's slightly entertaining and the cast will at least keep you glued to what's going on but there's no doubt that the film is just a major bust.
Admiration for the performer hidden in a sweet romcom
dugongsZ29 April 2017
This is a nice romcom which contains some crude humour but its not really about the comedy content. All the poor reviews are missing the admiration the movie tries to show for those few individuals that can hold an audience and make them laugh.
Its hard enough public speaking but to then capture an audience and hold them in your hand hanging on your every word making them laugh is what this movie is trying to show. I think Robert De Niro is a great comedy actor but from his interviews probably an introvert personality so no doubt admires the skill of people like Billy Crystal, who has a small cameo, greatly and the reason he did this movie.
Harvey Keitel's face after the final performance in the retirement home summed up the movie. Grudging admiration for the skill of live comedy.
Its hard enough public speaking but to then capture an audience and hold them in your hand hanging on your every word making them laugh is what this movie is trying to show. I think Robert De Niro is a great comedy actor but from his interviews probably an introvert personality so no doubt admires the skill of people like Billy Crystal, who has a small cameo, greatly and the reason he did this movie.
Harvey Keitel's face after the final performance in the retirement home summed up the movie. Grudging admiration for the skill of live comedy.
"In 20 years, we're all gonna be dead so...let's celebrate while we can."
moonspinner554 October 2017
Former TV sitcom star-turned-insult comic in New York City is left without booking prospects after he assaults a heckler at an out-of-town club; he spends 30 days in jail (for contempt of court) and must perform 100 hours of community service at a soup kitchen, where he meets an attractive but stressed-out lady with similar anger management issues. Impeccably cast character-comedy featuring a terrific ensemble supporting star Robert De Niro (doing savvy, acerbic work). Edie Falco is De Niro's humorless manager, Danny DeVito is a welcome sight playing De Niro's brother, Patti LuPone is a hoot as Danny's disgusted wife, Leslie Mann is an appealing love-interest (with a hard shell) and Harvey Keitel as Mann's steely-eyed father has an edgy, amazing scene with De Niro in his restaurant. This world of aging comics, living on their faded glories, is sharply-captured, with all the requisite humiliations intact. The film is a dirty-fingered valentine to show biz, an accurately sour love note to the 'profession' of being a once-was. It isn't pretty...but then, comedy isn't pretty. **1/2 from ****
Movie about unfunny comedian
peterwcohen-300-94720011 January 2017
As good an actor as De Niro is, he is no stand-up comic. He can't even fake it.
But the blame doesn't go mainly to casting. The story and script is a torture to endure. This movie is so packed with clichés, I was calling out events and lines just before they happened. There is no denying that a great cast was assembled, so the painful performances from Harvey Keitel, Danny DeVito, Patty Lupone, Charles Grodin and Cloris Leachman can only be credited to godawful material and flat directing. The editing was painful too, with every single scene transition initiated by establishing shots. Tiresome.
The only bright spot is Leslie Mann, whose charisma somehow breaks through the dreck. I would like to see her in more good movies, and I don't mean more Judd Apatow movies.
But the blame doesn't go mainly to casting. The story and script is a torture to endure. This movie is so packed with clichés, I was calling out events and lines just before they happened. There is no denying that a great cast was assembled, so the painful performances from Harvey Keitel, Danny DeVito, Patty Lupone, Charles Grodin and Cloris Leachman can only be credited to godawful material and flat directing. The editing was painful too, with every single scene transition initiated by establishing shots. Tiresome.
The only bright spot is Leslie Mann, whose charisma somehow breaks through the dreck. I would like to see her in more good movies, and I don't mean more Judd Apatow movies.
Vulgar comedian learns anger management
maurice_yacowar16 February 2017
Warning: Spoilers
The philosophic heart of The Comedian may well be the scene in which the aging comedian sweeps the old folks home off into an exhilarating version of the classical ballad, "Making Poopee."
The inflection changes a decorous celebration into a free-form vulgarity. Like Jackie Burke's filthy wit, the film celebrates the mischievous energy of sexual and scatological incorrectness. It also fits the situation where the very old are regressing into infantilism. Aren't we all.
Jackie was pulled into the performance against his wishes by his girl-friend's antagonistic father, Max, who had hoped thus to humiliate him. He seethes, rankled, when Jackie's act not only wins over the house but becomes an internet sensation.
Jackie's speech at his niece's wedding begins with his famous indecorum, then settles into a sentimentality that befits the celebration. That harmony is broken by his sister-in-law who lets her visceral hatred for her husband's brother turn her into a shrieking harridan. Which, as it happens, Jackie's humorous opening predicted.
That pattern defines the movie. It starts with the socially offensive extreme of insult humour, whether sexual or scatological, but then turns into a comforting return to feelings. The film normalizes the comedy's rebellion against convention but returns to value community and sentiments.
Fortunately Jackie doesn't end up with the lovely Harmony. He's too raucous and uncompromising to live in or with any harmony. He wouldn't fit into her world, though her handsome classy hubby at their kid's recital is laughing at their daughter's inheritance of Jackie's profane wit. Besides, Jackie is too like Harmony's father — a point confirmed by the casting of those two familiar sidekicks, DeNiro and Keitel as the two studs jousting over the one woman. Harmony manages her "father issue" by a more appropriate marriage.
For the comedians here nothing can shake them out of their routine, their acerbic reflexes. When a 90-year-old Friars honouree dies at the head table the MC tells Jackie "You killed." Jackie's immediate grief: "I didn't get to my best material."
The film reflects upon contemporary American culture in two ways. First, its humour is almost exclusively angry and profane. It reflects a society which has abandoned any sense of decorum, manners, restraints. And yet the comedians' success is based on our memory of those restraints, their continuing hold, and the pleasure the comedy gives us in releasing us from them.
Well-known Italians DeNiro and DeVito play Jewish brothers in classically Jewish professions: stand-up comedy and the deli. American comedy was characterized and propelled by the Jewish sense of an outsider viewing the orderly world that excluded him and bringing a sharp, deflating perspective to it. Billy Crystal's cameo, in which he sends Jackie off with "Schmuck," effectively gives the cross-cultural casting his blessing. By casting Italians as Jewish comics director Taylor Hackford defines the comedy and its metaphoric resonance as American not just Jewish.
Second, the film's legitimizing of indecorous profanity and rage goes beyond the business of comedy to reflect upon contemporary America in general. The comedians' tone and content express a society that is seething in anger, frustration, helplessness. The election passed this mood from Trump's supporters to his opponents. But it still operates, full blast. Jackie's venture into the RAW-TV network evokes the sadistic sensationalism of the "reality" TV shows that spawned the present so-called president.
The inflection changes a decorous celebration into a free-form vulgarity. Like Jackie Burke's filthy wit, the film celebrates the mischievous energy of sexual and scatological incorrectness. It also fits the situation where the very old are regressing into infantilism. Aren't we all.
Jackie was pulled into the performance against his wishes by his girl-friend's antagonistic father, Max, who had hoped thus to humiliate him. He seethes, rankled, when Jackie's act not only wins over the house but becomes an internet sensation.
Jackie's speech at his niece's wedding begins with his famous indecorum, then settles into a sentimentality that befits the celebration. That harmony is broken by his sister-in-law who lets her visceral hatred for her husband's brother turn her into a shrieking harridan. Which, as it happens, Jackie's humorous opening predicted.
That pattern defines the movie. It starts with the socially offensive extreme of insult humour, whether sexual or scatological, but then turns into a comforting return to feelings. The film normalizes the comedy's rebellion against convention but returns to value community and sentiments.
Fortunately Jackie doesn't end up with the lovely Harmony. He's too raucous and uncompromising to live in or with any harmony. He wouldn't fit into her world, though her handsome classy hubby at their kid's recital is laughing at their daughter's inheritance of Jackie's profane wit. Besides, Jackie is too like Harmony's father — a point confirmed by the casting of those two familiar sidekicks, DeNiro and Keitel as the two studs jousting over the one woman. Harmony manages her "father issue" by a more appropriate marriage.
For the comedians here nothing can shake them out of their routine, their acerbic reflexes. When a 90-year-old Friars honouree dies at the head table the MC tells Jackie "You killed." Jackie's immediate grief: "I didn't get to my best material."
The film reflects upon contemporary American culture in two ways. First, its humour is almost exclusively angry and profane. It reflects a society which has abandoned any sense of decorum, manners, restraints. And yet the comedians' success is based on our memory of those restraints, their continuing hold, and the pleasure the comedy gives us in releasing us from them.
Well-known Italians DeNiro and DeVito play Jewish brothers in classically Jewish professions: stand-up comedy and the deli. American comedy was characterized and propelled by the Jewish sense of an outsider viewing the orderly world that excluded him and bringing a sharp, deflating perspective to it. Billy Crystal's cameo, in which he sends Jackie off with "Schmuck," effectively gives the cross-cultural casting his blessing. By casting Italians as Jewish comics director Taylor Hackford defines the comedy and its metaphoric resonance as American not just Jewish.
Second, the film's legitimizing of indecorous profanity and rage goes beyond the business of comedy to reflect upon contemporary America in general. The comedians' tone and content express a society that is seething in anger, frustration, helplessness. The election passed this mood from Trump's supporters to his opponents. But it still operates, full blast. Jackie's venture into the RAW-TV network evokes the sadistic sensationalism of the "reality" TV shows that spawned the present so-called president.
Huge miss...
Johnny-11330 September 2018
This film's audience should have been an older crowd, but Hackford felt he had to try to be edgy and current by making Deniro's character a shocking and filthy comedian. Unfortunately, aside from the filthy comedy, the rest of the film felt like it was directed by an out of touch yuppie director, so it felt disconnected. Even Hackford's recreation of video gone viral felt inauthentic and created by someone's grandfather. Hackford is so out of touch, it's embarrassing.
Deniro was great except for the time he was performing comedy in the film. Even the well written jokes failed when delivered by him because he is not funny. I didn't buy him as a comedian at all. It looked like he was reading his jokes from cue cards.
This film was uncomfortable to watch because it was so bad.
Deniro was great except for the time he was performing comedy in the film. Even the well written jokes failed when delivered by him because he is not funny. I didn't buy him as a comedian at all. It looked like he was reading his jokes from cue cards.
This film was uncomfortable to watch because it was so bad.
Proves that dying is easy and comedy is hard.
george.schmidt17 February 2017
Warning: Spoilers
THE COMEDIAN (2016) ** Robert De Niro, Leslie Mann, Harvey Keitel, Edie Falco, Danny De Vito, Patti LuPone, Charles Grodin, Cloris Leachman, Lois Smith. (Cameos as themselves: Billy Crystal, Jessica Kirson, Jim Norton, Jimmie Walker, Brett Butler, Hannibal Buress, Aida Rodriguez, Nick Di Paolo) Flat-footed comedy about a has-been stand-up comedian (De Niro light years away from Rupert Pupkin by the by) whose confrontation with a heckler results in community service to serve and meets unlikely love interest Mann in the interim. While De Niro does his best and barely acquits himself the pedestrian direction By Taylor Hackford and hack screenplay by Art Linson, Richard LaGravense and Lewis Friedman (!) and peppered with miss-than-hit jokes by comic Jeff Ross proves that dying is easy and comedy is hard.
Your time would be better spent doing sock inventory
sharonellies25 September 2017
I like De Niro and DeVito. I was so disappointed! Argh! Not one laugh and it was painful to watch!!! A well placed F bomb is cool but when comedy consists of more bombs in a sentence than regular words it comes across like it was written by an uneducated buffoon. Yep...It was! Honestly, did De Niro really have to jump at a D grade script? The big funnies are toilet words. Really!!! Ummmmm....Toilet words are funny to 8 or 9 year old kiddies. If adults find this hilarious I am truly disappointed in humanity. No laughs here. On a final note I was shocked hearing a mere child deliver a stand-up comedy routine complete with F bombs worse than I would expect out of the mouth of a 60 year old trucker. This movie was F bomb bad!!!
Why the hate? This was funny, and it had heart.
johnnybiscotti26 April 2017
What's the matta wit you? I am puzzled by all the negative reviews. Yes, it's not The King of Comedy, or Goodfellas. But this movie was funny. De Niro's character Jackie was a 3-dimensional and human portrayal, and doesn't deserve to be dismissed as "another De Niro phoning it in" performance. The scenes where he performs stand-up comedy were genuinely funny. The relationship he has with his brother (Danny DeVito) were warm and convincing.
It may not be a timeless masterpiece, but if you're at the Red Box or looking for your next movie night rental from the couch it is worth seeing.
For what it's worth, I think Dirty Grandpa was raunchy and hilarious, and Grudge Match was also funny and had heart - with touching performances by both De Niro and Stallone.
It may not be a timeless masterpiece, but if you're at the Red Box or looking for your next movie night rental from the couch it is worth seeing.
For what it's worth, I think Dirty Grandpa was raunchy and hilarious, and Grudge Match was also funny and had heart - with touching performances by both De Niro and Stallone.
Has its Moments
rutzelb23 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.
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.
Awful awful movie
inframan3 December 2017
It's hard to fathom how &/or why so many otherwise savvy film folks got involved with this dumb vulgar travesty. The quick & easy answer is probably most (e.g. Billy Crystal & Cloris Leachman) only had brief cameos & never saw the entire script.
The trivia notes to the movie state that one team wrote the plot & another the jokes. I don't know who did a worse job. Plotwise, among other things it was never made clear why the Harmony character was doing community service nor why (or even if) she "fell" for the Jackie character. Hard to believe in any case.
Although he was funny the Scorsese's King of Comedy & even, arguably, in Taxi Driver, Robert Deniro is not a natural comedian. His humor seems gratuitously cruel & cynical here, especially at the wedding & the retirement home, partly due to the gross teenage humor level of the material but also in large part to Deniro's wholly unsympathetic performance. It would have worked had the film's creators been able to resurrect Rodney Dangerfield for the role. In fact the whole movie seemed to be based on Dangerfield's career, although he was never as cruel nor as much of a loser as Jackie.
Also in the trivia notes it says that Deniro tried to get this film made for 8 years. One wonders if the final result is what he foresaw.
The trivia notes to the movie state that one team wrote the plot & another the jokes. I don't know who did a worse job. Plotwise, among other things it was never made clear why the Harmony character was doing community service nor why (or even if) she "fell" for the Jackie character. Hard to believe in any case.
Although he was funny the Scorsese's King of Comedy & even, arguably, in Taxi Driver, Robert Deniro is not a natural comedian. His humor seems gratuitously cruel & cynical here, especially at the wedding & the retirement home, partly due to the gross teenage humor level of the material but also in large part to Deniro's wholly unsympathetic performance. It would have worked had the film's creators been able to resurrect Rodney Dangerfield for the role. In fact the whole movie seemed to be based on Dangerfield's career, although he was never as cruel nor as much of a loser as Jackie.
Also in the trivia notes it says that Deniro tried to get this film made for 8 years. One wonders if the final result is what he foresaw.
It won't win any awards or become a De Niro classic but this is one I could watch a few times and not be bored
cosmo_tiger1 May 2017
"My dad used to love your TV show. We've watched every episode." Jackie Burke (De Niro) is an aging stand-up comic who is trying to regain his glory days. When he gets into a fight with an audience member he is sentenced to jail and community service. While doing his work he meets Harmony (Mann). The two begin a relationship that has surprising results for everyone. This is a movie that I wanted to see mainly for the cast, and was not disappointed. The movie itself is very good but not amazing, but the acting in it is just great. Seeing De Niro and Keitel together again is great and Devito and De Niro have great chemistry together. This is a movie that is just plain fun to watch. It won't win any awards or become a De Niro classic but this is one I could watch a few times and not be bored. Overall, one of De Niro's best movies in a while and one that I do recommend. I give this a high B.
The Comedian is a satire
annuskavdpol14 February 2017
Warning: Spoilers
The Comedian, 2016 with Robert De Niro is a movie about a struggling comedian who is 67 years old. He has a female manager, who has played a role in the television series, the Sopranos. Robert De Niro is type cast. His appearance and his acting style is very noticeable. I have noticed this is other actors, like Brad Pitt, Denzel Washington and Tom Hanks. Basically his own aura masters the cinematic experience, whereas the movie - plot and climax really take a back-seat to his role. This movie is like a B-movie to me. It is on the verge of being a creative movie. It was mentioned by the Odeon Theater to be classified as a Horror. In a remote way - I can understand the logic. Robert De Niro swears, uses profanity and is very disrespectful to his audiences. He is a very bitter man and his bitterness does come across in his comedy roles. Perhaps in a way, The Comedian is an honest man who is hurt. And he uses his art of expression to let out his repression. Perhaps this is not a bad thing. As it is in the right setting, and in most case (except for the one altercation) the other comedians respond well to this level of aggressive communication turned into a farce and hence evolving into the topic of comedy. Maybe Robert De Niro's character is a sympathetic character after all. At the end of the movie, Robert De Niro's character does find hope and in a sense he finds success and re-instilled happiness. So maybe, in a round-about way this is a feel good Hollywood movie. I just think one would need to have a strong ego to listen to the, at times, offensive dialogue, in order to uncover it's universal message of finding peace in life.
Deniro Sucks!
ahoricesesdyk3 May 2017
How can such a great actor become such a joke? Nick Cage didn't even fall this far. The director of this film ought to be hung by his testicles. He can't even form a single interesting scene. he must be the most boring person in the world, and his movie puts his personality on display. This was total garbage, about as bad as a Deniro movie can be.
Not the best DeNiro movie
deloudelouvain30 May 2017
There is not much to say about The Comedian. It's an average movie, okay to watch once but that's about it. It's certainly not the best movie with Robert DeNiro. They should have made it a bit shorter because after a while you get a bit bored. For a comedy the jokes are not the greatest either. There are a couple of funny moments but not enough for such a long movie. The story is very simple, you won't get confused or anything. It's just about an aging comedian that is a bit rude with his jokes and therefor he gets in a bit of trouble. Add on that a little romance with a younger girl and that's about it. It's easy to watch though but to me it's just not funny nor good enough to be remembered.
Is this supposed to be funny?
mitchco1011 June 2017
The film "The Comedian" is not really funny , kind of annoying and nasty. Is Robert De Niros character , Jackie Burke , supposed to be Rupert Pupkin after thirty years in the business , all bitter , nasty and burned out? Of course , "King of Comedy" was a much better and entertaining movie had more interesting characters and focus , and Scorsese is a better director than Taylor Hackford. I don't understand why ANYONE would find Jackie Burke funny , charming or anything. It wanted to be a nice character study between Deniro and Leslie Mann , which sort of works , but then you have the relationship between Jackie Burke and his brother , played by Danny DeVito, which was just annoying. Italians playing Jews is an interesting dynamic , and , as I like to say , Jews and Italians are very similar in character , especially in New York. It could have been a lot better , but it is what it is, which is not a very good film.
"What'd you do, get the celebrity discount?"
classicsoncall19 June 2019
Warning: Spoilers
It's probably fair to say that if Robert De Niro was a stand up comic, he's be just as acerbic and insulting as Jackie Burke. His most recent outbursts in the media pretty much capture the same character as he portrays here, foul mouth and all. Maybe it's a case of life imitating art, but I don't think so. De Niro even gets in a crack about Donald Trump when he insults the couple in that comedy club scene. This came out in 2016, so he must have hated Trump even before he became President.
I'd be hard pressed to call this a comedy. Some of the situations warrant it but the dialog often goes way beyond the pale. The one thing that I thought was consistently good throughout was anytime Jackie and Harmony Schiltz (Leslie Mann) were on screen together. Their conversation sounded completely natural and unpretentious. I also like the way the picture was peppered with real comedians under their own names, folks like Jimmie Walker, Richard Belzer, Brett Butler and Jim Norton to name a few. It all added to the credibility of a story about a former TV sit-com star trying to break out of that persona to establish his real alter-ego.
Overall though, it's a bit heavy handed, with Jackie's unfiltered quips and observations offending audiences and irritating the people closest to him. Which made me wonder if Billy Crystal might have really meant it coming off the elevator when he remarked - "What a schmuck."
I'd be hard pressed to call this a comedy. Some of the situations warrant it but the dialog often goes way beyond the pale. The one thing that I thought was consistently good throughout was anytime Jackie and Harmony Schiltz (Leslie Mann) were on screen together. Their conversation sounded completely natural and unpretentious. I also like the way the picture was peppered with real comedians under their own names, folks like Jimmie Walker, Richard Belzer, Brett Butler and Jim Norton to name a few. It all added to the credibility of a story about a former TV sit-com star trying to break out of that persona to establish his real alter-ego.
Overall though, it's a bit heavy handed, with Jackie's unfiltered quips and observations offending audiences and irritating the people closest to him. Which made me wonder if Billy Crystal might have really meant it coming off the elevator when he remarked - "What a schmuck."
too long & not funny at all.
fluffset11 June 2017
I love Grandpa DeNiro, he is one of the great actor ever alongside Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel. But my expectation is too high from this movie, I thought it will be funny, my bad for not checking out the rating first because I don't like to do that for not spoil the mood. But yeah, Grandpa DeNiro did not fit with the role as a crude comedian. At first, I think every joke don't fit with non-American people, I'm from Asia by the way but I guess all the laugh we heard is the believable fake laugh by the hardworking extras who they paid to laugh. I agreed with other reviewer that said that this movie is lifeless, it have no soul. Its just like some dry salted fish, I never laugh at all even tho I laugh so hard with other American comedy before. Its too long & unfunny. 3* for hardworking DeNiro, Mann-Apatow & all the extras. I just don't get it. Sorry.
My favorite film of late.
mleatherwood125 August 2017
My first review ever, and it's free form. I can't say enough good things about this movie. It's real, the characters are fleshed out so well, the writing is clever, the acting right on the nose. De Niro is a real "go- getter" as Jackie, potential has been trying to make his way in a changing world. Brutally frank in his humor and unwilling to compromise his take on situations that loom up, it's a fine portrayal and one accompanied by a fine supporting cast. I know he spent years trying to get it made and I hope he doesn't feel disappointed over the box office. It's a real triumph in my eyes, I thoroughly enjoyed it, a film with much substance and humanity. By some of the other reviews I can see not everyone feels the same and it was this that, after all these years of reading reviews on the IMDb finally prompted me to write one of my own. Kudos! I loved it. Thank you for the joy it brought to me.
A Good Date Movie
gtyoshida7 May 2017
There is a lot of sadness in Jackie Burke's (Robert De Niro) life and unfortunately, due to the popularity of his iconic TV character Eddie, a Gleasonesque bus driver, seems destined to remain with him forever. But with the help of his long time, media savvy manager, Miller (Edie Falco) and an attractive fellow community service parolee, Harmony (Leslie Mann), Burke fights through this soul crushing wave of nostalgia and unknowingly lands in front of a younger, online audience who come to appreciate his comedic flair. It would be remiss not to acknowledge that De Niro can tell a joke as well as any comic in the business which in this case includes Billy Crystal (as himself), Brett Butler, Cloris Leachman, and Gilbert Gottfried. Harvey Keitel is excellently cast as Harmony's father, Mac Schiltz, since his own cinematic gangster credits are equal to De Niro's fabled, tough guy persona and the "old man" put downs he draws from Burke are full of venom. The two masks of comedy and tragedy may spoil this movie for popcorn- crunchers but they make it an excellent "date" movie and a joy for De Niro fans who have suffered through a lot of phoned in performances in the past.
Worse than Dirty Grandpa
arfdawg-111 May 2017
The Plot. A look at the life of an aging insult comic named Jack Burke.
You will age 30 years watching this movie. This film is an example of just how low Robert DeNiro has sunk. Does he REALLY need the money that badly?
The film is an abomination.
Poorly written and even more poorly acted and directed. It's truly amateurish. Had DeNiro made this early in his career, we wouldn't have to put up with his ignorant disrespectful Trump rants today because he's never have achieved stardom.
Believe it or not, this film is as bad or worse than Dirty Grandpa which also stars DeNiro.
His legacy is tarnished beyond belief.
You will age 30 years watching this movie. This film is an example of just how low Robert DeNiro has sunk. Does he REALLY need the money that badly?
The film is an abomination.
Poorly written and even more poorly acted and directed. It's truly amateurish. Had DeNiro made this early in his career, we wouldn't have to put up with his ignorant disrespectful Trump rants today because he's never have achieved stardom.
Believe it or not, this film is as bad or worse than Dirty Grandpa which also stars DeNiro.
His legacy is tarnished beyond belief.
De Niro amazes again
bitanjstu9 September 2017
I thought the movie was excellent. It wonderfully captures the day to day life of stand up comedians, their inner circles and the pros and cons of the profession.
De Niro carries the movie on his own and Leslie Mann adds charm to it in her own imitable way.
Some of the lines were funny, but if I was looking for a fun galore, I would be watching Comedy Central.
De Niro carries the movie on his own and Leslie Mann adds charm to it in her own imitable way.
Some of the lines were funny, but if I was looking for a fun galore, I would be watching Comedy Central.
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