The Films of Taylor Hackford

The Idolmaker

An Officer and a Gentleman

Against All Odds

White Nights

Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll

Everybody's All-American

Blood In, Blood Out

Dolores Claiborne

The Devil's Advocate

Proof of Life

Ray

Love Ranch

Parker

The Comedian (February 3/17)

An erratic yet entertaining comedy/drama, The Comedian follows Robert De Niro's Jack Burke, an aging insult comic, as he's forced to work in a soup kitchen after assaulting an audience member during a less-than-lucrative show - with the movie subsequently detailing Jack's efforts at softening his abrasive personality and his eventual romance with Leslie Mann's Harmony. It becomes clear fairly early on that filmmaker Taylor Hackford is going for the vibe of a slow character study here, as The Comedian, for the most part, unfolds as a series of episodes involving the central character's exploits alongside a series of surprisingly well-developed supporting characters - including Jack's exasperated brother (Danny DeVito), Jack's annoyed sister-in-law (Patti LuPone), and Harmony's shady father (Harvey Keitel). The watchable atmosphere is heightened by an ongoing inclusion of better-than-expected sequences, with, for example, Jack's first encounter with Harmony's pop containing far more tension than one might've naturally anticipated. (And it's worth noting, too, that Jack's set at his niece's wedding is something of a showstopper within the proceedings.) It is, however, clear that The Comedian grows more and more meandering as it progresses, with the growing emphasis on Jack and Harmony's fledgling relationship contributing heavily to the picture's increasingly less-than-involving vibe. The tedious final stretch, which is concerned with a series of personal and professional complications in Jack's life, ensures that The Comedian ends on a somewhat anticlimactic note, with the movie's mild success ultimately due to its strong first half and the effectiveness of De Niro's often engrossing performance.