The Comedian (2016)

The Comedian review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

The Comedian, like a lot of aged comedies, carries certain symptoms of old-man syndrome that one could see coming a mile away from the premise alone. Jackie (Robert De Niro) is an aged comedian who doesn’t dig his past of being known as a sitcom star and despises the new generation with their cocky ideas of entertainment. It doesn’t take long for him to strike back, as when a vlogger engages him at a show resulting in a punching match. Jackie insults his verbal attacker further in court with a insulting comedy and takes his prison sentence.

Jackie’s journey has its moments of pleasing comedy and insightfulness but only because of its ambling nature that never fully embraces the soapbox. He stands out as a comedian of his age but only because he can rustle a crowd with the most biting and controversial of humor. Some people dig him while others find him crude. He always goes for the low blows and easy offense, as when he inadvertently plays at a nursing home where he breaks into a lounge song about poop. His agent (Veronica Ferres) tries to get him gigs and deals but she struggles to deal with his very volatile attitudes. All she can do is rub her head and hope he doesn’t break something. Why does she put up with him? Well, he still gains a crowd for his controversy, forcing to the agent to say those dreaded words when a modern star is on the rise; “you’ve gone viral.”

The film moseys for a handful of the expected scenes. Forced into community service, Jackie meets the young and stressed Harmony (Leslie Mann), someone who Jackie feels he can make smile and maybe take out on a date. Jackie’s old buddy Jimmy (Danny DeVito) is good for a loan despite their bitter past and Jimmy’s even more bitter wife (Edie Falco). Their chemistry is palpable enough as one would expects for scenes where De Niro, DeVito, and Falco clash, especially during a wedding ceremony where Jackie proceeds to savage the audience with Falco taking the brunt of the bashing.

There’s somewhat of a distance in the film’s desire to brutally attack the younger generation but not absent. Jackie meets with a TV network for a show deal and is so enraged by the young and cocky executives he nearly breaks the door on his way out. He is later hired for a shocking competition show where he gives a big middle finger to the idea after seeing the inhumanity of the concept. He seems more at peace when later attending the roasting of an aged comedian (Cloris Leachman) whom he can relate to as a woman who wants to smoke and drink where others may look down on her. And every comedy set by Jackie, despite going into some gross and outlandish territory, always feels contained just enough for him to give a “you’ve been great” and garner applause.

The Comedian seems to constantly be at odds with what it’s trying to say and ultimately lands as a mostly-okay comedy of one hothead not hot enough to destroy his career. Part of me wanted to see him crash and burn; another part just hopes he won’t for fear of collateral damage. From this angle, the film holds itself just enough afloat to appreciate De Niro singing a song about bodily functions that wasn’t a kid’s movie.