The King of Comedy (film) Reagan administration in contrast to other films made during the administration's early years (although the script was written well before Reagan's election, and shooting began less than five months after Reagan took office). "At a time when the film world piles on simple-minded sentiment in thick gooey gobs, a picture like "The King of Comedy" appears a frontal assault. The triumph of the 'little guy' is revealed to be nothing more than lumpen neo-Fascist blood lust." Pauline Kael of "The New Yorker" was one of the critics who disliked the film, describing the character of Rupert Pupkin as "Jake LaMotta
Midnight Run director and actors. Every last person working on the film did a terrific job. De Niro attributed a lot of the film's eventual success to Charles Grodin. "“The way Chuck Grodin is, it worked," he said. "His character was irritating and Chuck knew how to do that, to work that. I felt like that was a good way to go." Midnight Run Midnight Run is a 1988 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Martin Brest and starring Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin. Yaphet Kotto, John Ashton, Dennis Farina, Joe Pantoliano and Philip Baker Hall play supporting roles.