Indeed, there are many different ways to be funny. Scorsese and De Niro’s 1983 collaboration, The King of Comedy, is certainly funny at times, but, despite the name, it is far from a comedy.

The punchline of Martin Scorsese ’s 1983 film The King of Comedy is that Robert De Niro’s Rupert Pupkin, a fame-obsessed huckster who kidnaps his idol for a spot on a late night show, is ...