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Sometimes the fun and magic of cinema is comparing and
contrasting two seemingly unrelated films. 2005's Broken Flowers by Jim
Jarmusch and The King of Comedy from 1983 are the subjects. The former
stars Bill Murray as an aging playboy who receives a mysterious letter
proclaiming that he has a son by way of one of his ex-lovers. With some
prodding, he sets out to find the mother of his son. Robert DeNiro stars

in the latter Scorsese-directed pic as a man also searching for
something, in this case, fame as a stand-up comic.

Both films are about a journey and both offer self-serving main
characters searching for themselves, one through his past and the other
through his perceived bright future. But then as Ebert so confoundingly put
it..."movies aren't about what they are 'about.'

Talk about different styles of filmmaking! Jarmusch and Scorsese could
not be more dissimilar. Jarmusch is slow, thoughtful, and plodding
while Scorsese is manic, energetic, and edgy. As one would imagine, the
main characters mimic the styles of their auteurs. Despite their
stylistic differences, it isn't much of a stretch to see Jarmusch listing
Scorsese as one of his favorite directors, if not influences. Both stamp
their "fingerprint" on their films, with trademarks such as holding a
shot a few seconds after the action ends and odd angles, in the case of
Jarmusch and jump-cuts and bizarre close-ups that Scorsese has made
famous, at least after having seen them in the French New Wave. Perhaps
this movie was marketed as a "date movie?"

Broken Flowers isn't nearly as vital or "important" as The King of
Comedy. Flowers is a quiet, ponderous piece with a few laughs that
Jarmusch hopes will make his audience ponder. In the DVD extras, he says that
this isn't a "go get a pizza after the movie" type of movie. "It has a
bit more weight to it..."

The King of Comedy is prophetic in that it predicts or possibly even
encourages our culture of celebrity worship. It's main character is
obsessed with becoming the next big comedian and will do anything to appear
on the Jerry Langford Show, helmed by Jerry Lewis in a magnificently
understated performance. DeNiro is tour de force as usual and portrays
Rupert Pupkin, a manic, off-kilter, cousin of Travis Bickle. Scorsese
himself that this film could be the sequel to Taxi Driver. One aspect
of the film I particularly enjoyed was that the buildup to the comedy
performance was not let down, they actually showed Pupkin's standup
routine. At the end of it all, we can't help but feel a bit proud for
Pupkin. The film also co-stars Sandra Bernhard in zany/angry, off-the-cuff
form.

Comedy was a box-office flop, probably because audiences were expecting
something entirely different from Jerry Lewis. It is important though
because it raises some provocative questions, particularly, what will
one man go through to become famous?

Learn more about this author, Jonathan Hiott.
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