Movie review: De Niro’s performance can’t save ‘The Comedian’

The good news about "The Comedian" is that Robert De Niro, for the first time in what feels like decades, isn't phoning it in.

The bad news is nearly everything else in this shrill, repellent comedy-drama.

De Niro plays Jackie Burke, a stand-up comic in the twilight of a career that has seen brighter days. His harried manager, Miller (Edie Falco), who inherited her client from her late father, books Jackie where she can — which is usually throwback shows with comics who, like him, had a sitcom in the '70s or '80s. (In the movie's opening scenes, Jackie shares the bill with Brett Butler and Jimmie "J.J." Walker, who play themselves.)

A run-in with a heckler gets bloody and ends with Jackie doing 30 days in jail and sentenced to 100 hours of community service at a homeless shelter. It's there he meets Harmony Schiltz (Leslie Mann), recently off a bad breakup that also led to a community-service stint.

Harmony is charmed by Jackie's rough-and-tumble humor and accompanies him to a family event: Brittany (Lucy DeVito), the daughter of Jackie's brother Jimmy (Danny DeVito), is getting married to her girlfriend. The happy couple ask Jackie to do a little stand-up, which they love but offends other guests — especially Jimmy's wife, Florence (Patti LuPone), whose loathing of Jackie goes back decades.

The script is credited to four writers, with comedy writers Jeff Ross and Lewis Friedman compiling the comic bits while Art Linson (who gets story credit) and Richard LaGravanese flesh out the dramatic moments. The tag-team approach means a choppy narrative, bouncing haphazardly from moment to moment. The emotional beats feel phony, such as a scene where Jackie decides there are some lines of decency even he won't cross — which doesn't ring true from the guy who played the title character in "Dirty Grandpa."

Director Taylor Hackford ("Ray") makes the comedy atmosphere around Jackie feel authentic, with trips to comedy clubs and cameos from a host of actual stand-up comics — from old-guard types (Richard Belzer, Gilbert Gottfried, Cloris Leachman) to current stars (like Jessica Kirson and Jim Norton, who acted as De Niro's coaches). De Niro also pulls in plenty of favors, reuniting with Harvey Keitel (who plays Harmony's rich dad), "Analyze This" co-star Billy Crystal (as himself) and "Midnight Run" co-star Charles Grodin (as a Friar's Club rival).

De Niro puts in the work to portray a good insult comic. He's abrasive and bitingly funny, with that pinch of self-loathing that so many comedians carry under the surface. The problem with "The Comedian" is that such a comic is good for an 11-minute set, but you wouldn't want to hang with him for two hours.

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'The Comedian'

Robert De Niro puts in the effort to play an insult comic in this disjointed comedy-drama.

Where • Area theaters.

When • Opens Friday, Feb. 3.

Rating • R for crude sexual references and language throughout.

Running time • 119 minutes.