Re-Watchterpiece Theater: The King of Comedy (1983)

Re-Watchterpiece Theater is a series that explores the organic way that attitudes about films change after you watch them a second time, a third time, or more, further down the line than the original viewing.

It was only through dumb luck that I found out that yesterday was Martin Scorsese’s birthday. If you’re a regular reader here, then you know that I think the world of Scorsese. He’s a perfect embodiment of America as a melting pot, translated to the big screen. And he accomplishes all of it- all of his subtle winks and nods to foreign film movements gone past- without once sacrificing the entertainment value of his films. In that way, you could argue that he’s like Hitchcock- his films are equal parts artful and engaging. All of this discussion of Scorsese appreciation is pointed towards one end. Namely, I honored his birthday by re-watching The King of Comedy (1983).

100 More Things I Love About the Movies

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When I passed the 100,000 hit marker in November, I honored the event with what became one of my most popular entries- 100 Things I Love About the Movies. As it turns out, my odometer recently rolled over another milestone- the 200,000 hit marker. As logic follows, I’m due for another stroll down 100 Things Avenue. So without further ado, here are 100 More Things I Love About the Movies:

10 Dirty Secrets That I Keep

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No, not THAT dirty. Just dirty movie secrets I keep- things that I generally don’t say out loud because I know it’ll make someone else angry. It’s much like Peter Griffin’s confession on Family Guy that he didn’t like The Godfather. Even if you really do think that The Godfather “insists upon itself” and you preferred The Money Pit, you’d be wise to not bring it up very often. There’s also the notion that it’s better to keep some things to yourself for fear of how you’ll be viewed among your peers. I’m hoping that there are at least a few people out there who agree with me on these. I also hope that half my readership doesn’t view me as some sort of angry ogre after finishing this article. So without further adieu, here are 10 Dirty Secrets That I Keep.

1. I like Kevin Smith, and I like his movies
This puts me in peril of losing a lot of credibility with a lot of people who take films very seriously. You know what? I don’t care. Clearly, his movies (other than maybe Clerks) aren’t beacons of cinematic accomplishment. But they make me laugh. I even liked Cop Out. Hell, I liked it quite a bit. His schtick about being an outsider who broke the system gets a little tiresome, but I’m not going to hold that against his films. And he seems to be a genuinely good human being (if you don’t mind the vulgarity and crass topics, which I clearly do not).