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''The Comic'' is a 1969 comedy film co-written, co-produced and directed by Carl Reiner. It stars Dick Van Dyke as ''Billy Bright'' – the original title of the film – and Michele Lee as Bright's love interest, Reiner himself and Mickey Rooney as Bright's friend and work colleagues. Reiner wrote the screenplay with Aaron Ruben, which was inspired by the end of silent film era, and in part, by the life of silent film superstar Buster Keaton. == Plot == Billy Bright (Dick Van Dyke), a silent-era film comedian, narrates this film which begins at his character's funeral in 1969 and tells his life story in flashbacks, unable to see his own faults and morosely (and incorrectly) blaming others for the turns of the events in his life. Headstrong and talented, vaudeville clown Bright arrives on his first California film location insisting that he will perform his bit role only if he can wear the outrageous costume and makeup of the character he has been known for on the stage. The director refuses and Bright begins to storm off, but when his car rolls off a cliff he is forced to accept the terms. As soon as the cameras are rolling, however, he improvises (and sabotages) his way to becoming the hero of the scenario. His combination of acquiescence and audacity pays off, and before long he has become a major film comedy star in the 1910s and '20s, the silent picture era of Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel. He steals his leading lady, Mary (Michele Lee), from the film bigwig she's been dating and the two increasingly popular performers marry, starting their own production company together. As early as her pregnancy, however, she begins to suspect his adultery; when she confronts him he tries to turn the tables and shame her into apologizing for the accusation. When, at the height of their fame and fortune, he is served with papers naming him in a Hollywood power couple's divorce filing, she leaves him, taking their young son — and the couple's palatial estate. Bright sinks into despair and alcoholism, and leaves the country to film in Europe for four years. He sobers up and attempts a comeback in Hollywood, but — ever living in the past — will accept it on no other terms than those he had been accustomed to, adamantly refusing the studio's offer to star him in a talkie, and storming out on his agent (Carl Reiner). Like the film industry, people are moving along without Billy: his wife has moved on, and rebuffs his attempt to win her back by reminding her of what once was. The one constant in his life, other than his decreasingly appealing sense of identity, is his old screen sidekick and only friend, Cockeye (Mickey Rooney). A late-1960s talk show host (Steve Allen as himself) has the faded star on in an effort to revive Bright's career, and the elderly comedian proves capable of — if somewhat pathetic to the groovy stars of the day on the couch alongside him — for recreating his old pratfall schtick. The pitch works, but this time the only vehicle that will allow him to run through his preferred brand of slapstick is a detergent commercial. The denouement of Bright's life, and the film, finds him in and out of the hospital, and visited by his now-grown son Billy Jr. (also played by Van Dyke in a dual role), reduced to setting the alarm in his dingy two-room apartment, and catching airings of he and his former wife's old comedies at odd hours on TV — which he watches without a hint of a smile. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Comic」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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