King of Comedy or Drugstore Cowboy: Which do I watch?

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

Tomorrow night, on British terrestrial tv, Scorsese's The King of Comedy and Gus Van Sant's Drugstore Cowboy are on AT THE SAME TIME. I have seen neither, but have wanted to for a while. Which do I pick? (My flat is a world without Tivo.) Convince me.

― gooblar (gooblar), Sunday, 12 March 2006 16:52 (twenty years ago)

king of comedy

― RJG (RJG), Sunday, 12 March 2006 16:55 (twenty years ago)

What RJG said.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 12 March 2006 16:58 (twenty years ago)

What Ned said.

― Masked Gazza, Sunday, 12 March 2006 16:59 (twenty years ago)

"Drugstore" is a good movie, but kinda premature for Van sant - he did much better than that afterwards.
"King of comedy" is also not Scorsese best, but it is a complex,original,and very well-played movie, much more than the Van sant's one, which don't add much to the cinema perspective of drug-abuse.

― sam the man, Sunday, 12 March 2006 17:06 (twenty years ago)

Also I think King of Comedy has one of the best endings of a film ever -- I hesitate to call it 'satisfying,' but maybe that applies, weirdly enough.

I'll always remember the film as well for this not-especially-funny but what the hey reason -- the only time in my life I regularly watched Saturday Night Live was around 1982-1985 or so, the Eddie Murphy/Joe Piscopo-era dare I say. Jerry Lewis hosted one episode around the time King of Comedy came out and there was a skit where he played himself, supposedly visiting the dubbing studio where his lines for said film were going to be overdubbed for his adoring French audience. Tim Kasurinsky then of course proceeds to do said dubbing in a 50s Martin/Lewis comedy "LE WHINE! LE WHINE!" style. Not as effective as Shatner telling his minions to get a life, admittedly.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 12 March 2006 17:12 (twenty years ago)

gus van sant is a druggie homoerotic remake of hank v, by shakespere. it has the only keanu performance i truley love (and one of three i think hes good in)

king of comedy features the most self aware performance by lewis. lewis is not the most self aware performer, and has an ego, he fails here, and not v. well (though it has sandra bernhardt performance, before she became all earth mother kaballah)

― anthony easton (anthony), Sunday, 12 March 2006 17:18 (twenty years ago)

"gus van sant is a druggie homoerotic remake of hank v, by shakespere. it has the only keanu performance i truley love (and one of three i think hes good in)"

Youre talking about "My own private idaho" my freind.

― sam the man, Sunday, 12 March 2006 17:20 (twenty years ago)

I am no help at all:

I actually thought Drugsore Cowboy was a good film, whereas King of Comedy seemed to me more like an interesting hit-and-miss watch - an interesting idea that didn't always come off. Conversely, though, I would be more willing to pay the $3 to rent King of Comedy than I would Drugstore.

I guess it depends whether you want maximum immediate gratification or whether you want to see both movies.

― Mitya (mitya), Sunday, 12 March 2006 17:33 (twenty years ago)

I've tried very hard to like King of Comedy.

Drugstore Cowboy, on the other hand, I like more and more. I think it's Van Sant's movie, and probably Matt Dillon's (even better than The Flamingo Kid).

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Sunday, 12 March 2006 17:34 (twenty years ago)

Even though I've seen Kink of Comedy twice before and have never seen Drugstore Cowboy, I'll be watching the Scorsezzee. Though I can't rule out flipping. I might go flipping between them every now and then.

― David Orton (scarlet), Sunday, 12 March 2006 18:56 (twenty years ago)

both are great. watch one and rent the other.

― älänbänänä (alanbanana), Sunday, 12 March 2006 19:01 (twenty years ago)

drugstore cowboy has william s burroughs as a priest!!

― ,,,,,,,,,,,, Sunday, 12 March 2006 19:06 (twenty years ago)

i am, that was embarassing

― anthony easton (anthony), Sunday, 12 March 2006 19:34 (twenty years ago)

Ned, the thing that was funny about the French dubbing skit was the fact that the guy doing the dubbing on the fly didn't know a word of English.

― Just sayin, Monday, 13 March 2006 01:13 (twenty years ago)

Hate to agree with RJG, but I vote for KoC.

― The Day The World Turned Dayglo Redd (Ken L), Monday, 13 March 2006 01:18 (twenty years ago)

I don't know anything abt you

― RJG (RJG), Monday, 13 March 2006 01:29 (twenty years ago)

JERRY FUCKING LEWIS

― I'm thinking six, six, six (noodle vague), Monday, 13 March 2006 01:33 (twenty years ago)

The King of Comedy is, with the possible exception of Goodfellas, Scorsese's best film. It also anticipated the cultural celebration of talentlessness and pathology by a decade or two.

DC and Idaho are GVS's two best, easily.

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Monday, 13 March 2006 14:18 (twenty years ago)

king of comedy is def in top 3 or 4 scorsese films! it is great!!

i should probably see idaho, but gvs has been making awful awful movies for so long that i haven't made a beeline to that one.

― amateurist0, Monday, 13 March 2006 14:19 (twenty years ago)

King of Comedy - one of the best films of the last 30 years

― Rotatey Diskers With Dadaismus (Dada), Monday, 13 March 2006 14:27 (twenty years ago)

You can see a sign of awfulness-to-come in Idaho, but the performances and camerawork are first-rate.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Monday, 13 March 2006 14:28 (twenty years ago)

Scorsese should have been making a Clash movie when he made King of Comedy. I love the cast, but I've managed to watch it three times looking for a movie in there somewhere, and there really isn't one. Not even an idea for a movie. A delusional, talentless schmuck demands his fame? Infringes on the privacy of a celebrity? Wow, how mindblowingly prophetic. How insightful. How anti-social and pat. You can, however, see the Clash in freeze frame.

Drugstore Cowbody is pure joy from start to finish, so no contest.

― Pete Scholtes (Pete Scholtes), Monday, 13 March 2006 16:37 (twenty years ago)

Not even an idea for a movie. A delusional, talentless schmuck demands his fame? Infringes on the privacy of a celebrity? Wow, how mindblowingly prophetic

OTM.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Monday, 13 March 2006 16:39 (twenty years ago)

But it's the story of my life!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 13 March 2006 16:40 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, it does sound bad on paper.

― The Day The World Turned Dayglo Redd (Ken L), Monday, 13 March 2006 16:40 (twenty years ago)

(xpost)

― The Day The World Turned Dayglo Redd (Ken L), Monday, 13 March 2006 16:40 (twenty years ago)

"Citizen Kane? What the fuck was that? Rich bloke dies."

― I'm thinking six, six, six (noodle vague), Monday, 13 March 2006 16:44 (twenty years ago)

Date expired. He allready watched one of those movies.
Please stop here.

― watch capote, Monday, 13 March 2006 16:46 (twenty years ago)

A delusional, talentless schmuck demands his fame? Infringes on the privacy of a celebrity? Wow, how mindblowingly prophetic

No, GETS his fame is the prophetic part. It also works as a superior remake of Taxi Driver. (And it doesn't offer up a technically brilliant plea for the redemption of an asshole, ie Raging Bull.)

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Monday, 13 March 2006 16:46 (twenty years ago)

I remember not liking KoC when it first came out, finding it weird and off-putting, an overelaboration of an obvious idea, but in retrospect it seems that it was dark and cynical in an unsettling way that you don't see too much these days. Maybe any days.

― The Day The World Turned Dayglo Redd (Ken L), Monday, 13 March 2006 16:48 (twenty years ago)

You wouldn't call La Motta an asshole to his face, Doc.

― I'm thinking six, six, six (noodle vague), Monday, 13 March 2006 16:49 (twenty years ago)

And seriously I think that's reductive and unkind.

― I'm thinking six, six, six (noodle vague), Monday, 13 March 2006 16:49 (twenty years ago)

watch capote, they are on tonight

― RJG (RJG), Monday, 13 March 2006 16:50 (twenty years ago)

ok, so watch "king of comedy" if you want to endeavour and think (it's worth the effort!)
and watch DC if you just want the thrills (in small doses)

― watch capote, Monday, 13 March 2006 16:54 (twenty years ago)

And seriously I think that's reductive and unkind.

Only if he's not an asshole.

Sandra Bernhard's monologue to silent, bound Jerry Lewis = stone brilliant

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Monday, 13 March 2006 16:59 (twenty years ago)

I'm thinking it's gonna be King of Comedy at this point. At the very least it seems like it'll be more memorable (for good or for bad). And I just saw Mean Streets for the first time, and loved it.

― gooblar (gooblar), Monday, 13 March 2006 17:43 (twenty years ago)

King of Comedy is a far superior movie.

― Allyzay Rofflesberger (allyzay), Monday, 13 March 2006 17:45 (twenty years ago)

Not even an idea for a movie. A delusional, talentless schmuck demands his fame? Infringes on the privacy of a celebrity? Wow, how mindblowingly prophetic
OTM.

-- Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (sotoal...) (webmail), March 13th, 2006 11:39 AM. (Alfred Soto) (later) (link)

I don't know who's the bigger douche, the clueless cinephile here or the person thinking "OTM" still adds anything to a discussion.

Drugstore Cowboy is a fine film, but King of Comedy is easily one of Scorsese's best works. Of course, he doesn't think so, as he was going through a bad period in his life when he made it. If you think of his films as operatic and enjoy his visual flair, you will not find it in King of Comedy. Everything is restrained, it's almost as if he's making a TV movie. But so many great moments, Pupkin recording his show in his basement, only to start screaming at his mother, at lunch with the diner in the background aping all the hand gestures happening in the foreground.. certainly a prescient film, and one that doesn't fit well into his filmography.

― gritty sanskrit (sanskrit), Monday, 13 March 2006 17:49 (twenty years ago)

agree with Morbs here - KoC is great, DeNiro and Bernhardt both get totally fantastic monologues off, Lewis is well cast, etc. Also DC and MOPI are absolutely Van Sant's best work - he went pretty far downhill afterwards. And I'm a sucker for any movie with WS Burroughs as a Priest!!! Come on, stroke of genius there.

― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 13 March 2006 17:56 (twenty years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.