Embarrassed riches

Though well-cast, ‘The Comedian’ sorely disappoints

Hello, is this thing on?

The answer, unfortunately, is no, no it’s not. This thing isn’t on, at all.

An increasingly cringe-worthy experience by almost every measure, “The Comedian” takes an embarrassment of riches and, well, embarrasses them. From a Who’s Who ensemble lineup of 1970s-era acting greats to New York City elegantly showcased against the classy compositions of jazz maestro Terence Blanchard, “The Comedian” has everything it needs to succeed but then ruins it.

Robert De Niro stars as Jackie Burke, a washed-up insult comic struggling to reinvent himself, pigeonholed as his iconic sitcom character from decades past. Jackie can’t tell jokes without hecklers screaming for him to regurgitate his most famous quotes. The premise is tired, along with its running commentary on social media and Reality TV trends that offers no observational understanding, only simplified mockery.

That banality wouldn’t be so bad if the script or performances were actually interesting. De Niro is supposed to be playing an angry comic in the vein of Don Rickles, but he just comes off as angry. The film’s first half-hour is bogged down by exposition, cramming backstory into dialogue as it works needlessly to set up characters and relationships for contrivances to come. 

When the story finally settles in, its lowbrow humor falls flat. Adding to the awkwardness is a horribly conceived May/December romance between De Niro’s Burke and Leslie Mann’s Harmony, a 40-ish woman he meets while doing court-appointed community service at a church’s Thanksgiving buffet for the homeless. The plot’s machinations essentially force them together; nothing about their connection feels organic or true. 

The romance (if it can even be called that) isn’t developed; the two are merely sent out on a series of social engagements that effectively pass as dates before they eventually hook up. De Niro and Mann are both fine actors and no doubt they’d do well playing father and daughter, but the age gap here as lovers is insurmountable and borderline creepy.

Considering its pedigree, “The Comedian” shouldn’t feel so consistently amateur. Ironically, it’s all at the hands of an experienced director. Taylor Hackford has had successes, from “An Officer and a Gentleman” to “Ray,” yet while he crafts a classy New York movie he has no affinity for the bubble of this specific world. 

Hackford attempts to dramatize the life of a comedian, but his mix of comedy and drama is a clumsy mess. One can’t help but think of the similar but far superior FX series “Louie”; it also lives in this same world, and plays up similar dynamics, but to far superior results. Give this premise to Louis C.K. and you’d get something that’s reflective, poignant, and hilarious. But with Hackford, the only funny moments are the interstitials of real-life comics performing bits from their own routines. Somewhere on the editing room floor there’s a great stand-up special.

If there’s an interesting meta aspect to “The Comedian” (albeit an unintended one), it’s in the dynamic between Jackie and his manager Miller, played by Edie Falco. She’s not good at her job, constantly landing Jackie in one horrible gig after another. Given some of De Niro’s inexplicable late career choices like “Dirty Grandpa” and “Last Vegas,” one could imagine he read this script and related to that angle. Unfortunately, “The Comedian” becomes the very thing it satirizes.

For more from Jeff, read his review of “20th Century Women.”