To me, the two movies, from two different decades, perfectly sum up our lousy with celebrity culture, and the insidious pull that television has over most of us.
I won't go into the plot, it's all over this site. But the performances are stunning, DeNiro is perfect- you never know if he's serious, deranged, touched, or what. It's what I imagine a serial killer would be like, charming and odd and ultimately dangerous.
Sandra Bernard is terrific too, in just as creepy a way. Sometimes it's hard to watch her, but like driving by a car wreck, you can't NOT look.
But surprisingly (to me anyway) it's Jerry Lewis who holds the film together. I'd only thought of him as the wacky guy from the Dean Martin movies, but he's got weight and charm and a screen presence that dominated DeNiro. I've read that Johnny Carson was offered this movie, which would have been interesting- but Jerry Lewis is so solid and wonderful, it's hard to imagine anyone else in the role. He's the only sane person in an insane world, and therefore we take the ride of the movie through his eyes.
A terrific take on modern celebrity, the hazards of fame, and the regrets you can have just by being nice to a stranger. Scorcese scores big with this one!
I won't go into the plot, it's all over this site. But the performances are stunning, DeNiro is perfect- you never know if he's serious, deranged, touched, or what. It's what I imagine a serial killer would be like, charming and odd and ultimately dangerous.
Sandra Bernard is terrific too, in just as creepy a way. Sometimes it's hard to watch her, but like driving by a car wreck, you can't NOT look.
But surprisingly (to me anyway) it's Jerry Lewis who holds the film together. I'd only thought of him as the wacky guy from the Dean Martin movies, but he's got weight and charm and a screen presence that dominated DeNiro. I've read that Johnny Carson was offered this movie, which would have been interesting- but Jerry Lewis is so solid and wonderful, it's hard to imagine anyone else in the role. He's the only sane person in an insane world, and therefore we take the ride of the movie through his eyes.
A terrific take on modern celebrity, the hazards of fame, and the regrets you can have just by being nice to a stranger. Scorcese scores big with this one!