CLEVELAND, Ohio — On paper, “The Comedian” seems to have everything going for it. The premise — an aging insult comic, down on his luck, looks against all odds to jump-start his career — is appealing.
The cast is crazy good, from Robert De Niro, Danny DeVito and Patti LuPone to Cloris Leachman, Harvey Keitel, Charles Grodin and Edie Falco. Not to mention cameos from Billy Crystal, Hannibal Buress, Gilbert Gottfried and others.
The director is Taylor (“An Officer and a Gentleman”) Hackford. The script was written by four veteran screenwriters, including the award-winning Richard LaGravenese, who wrote “The Fisher King.” The trailer screams winner. I looked forward to seeing it with eager delight.
But there was one problem nobody counted on: An actor can’t “act” being funny. De Niro can play boxer Jake La Motta, because the boxing can be fixed with movie-magic editing. Kirk Douglas can play Vincent van Gogh, because he doesn’t have to actually paint a masterpiece on-camera.
Being a world-class stand-up comedian is a rare and ephemeral art. If it were easy, everyone would do it. The best have a certain something that’s hard to parse out. They possess a crazy combination of confidence, likability and a gift for brash and bawdy truth-telling.
There’s no way De Niro (or anyone else) can “act” being a truly funny stand-up. This is not a knock on his acting ability. Dustin Hoffman couldn’t capture the crazy magic of Lenny Bruce in the overlong and tedious Bob Fosse-directed “Lenny” either.
That is exactly what kills “The Comedian.” The first half-hour has promise. But then the movie just slowly deflates like a shiny Humvee with four leaking tires.
De Niro plays Jackie Burke, a comedian whose peak of fame came a decade earlier with a television sitcom called “Eddie’s Home.” Requests for his catchphrase from the series, “Arleeeene!,” haunt him daily as he walks the streets of New York City and everywhere else.
After Jackie punches out an obnoxious heckler at a comedy club, he is arrested, sent to jail and subject to 100 hours of community service.
Working at a New York soup kitchen, he meets the much younger Harmony (Leslie Mann), there doing community service as well. In her case, it’s for domestic violence against an unfaithful boyfriend.
The two develop a short-lived May-December romance.
There are bits and pieces that work and entertain throughout the film. But ultimately, De Niro fails to sell his Jackie Burke, the central character and core of the movie.
Cinema super fans might just enjoy seeing De Niro reunited with so many of his former co-stars. There he is with Harvey Keitel from “Mean Streets” from when they both were kids. There he is with Charles Grodin, with whom he did the brilliant buddy film “Midnight Run.” And the cameo with Billy Crystal recalls “Analyze This.”
Unfortunately, “The Comedian” bombs more than it kills. And that’s too bad for all involved. Especially the audience. Drop mic.
That’s my time.
REVIEW
The Comedian
Who: With Robert De Niro, Leslie Mann, Patti LuPone, Danny DeVito, Harvey Keitel, Charles Grodin, Gilbert Gottfried, Hannibal Buress and Cloris Leachman. Directed by Taylor Hackford.
Rated: R.
Running time: 119 minutes.
When: Opens Friday.
Where: Area theaters.
Grade: C-
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
