The Fisher King(1991)

Plot Summary

• Jack Lucas (Jeff Bridges), a narcissistic, misanthropic New York City shock jock, becomes suicidal and sad when he learns that some of his insensitive on-air comments inadvertently prompted a mentally unstable regular caller, Edwin (Christian Clemenson), to commit a mass murder-suicide at a Manhattan restaurant.Edwin had called Jack during his live radio show and told Jack that he liked a girl that he met at a bar. Jack had made fun of Edwin reminding him of the time when he proposed to a checkout girl at a supermarket, and her reaction was one of horror. Jack insisted that Edwin had no chance of dating this girl. Jack says that the upmarket girls only date their own kind, calls them evil and says that "they are repulsed by imperfection" and "horrified by the banal." Jack says that people like them should be stopped as they stand against everything that America stands for. Edwin agrees with Jack, driving him to the murder suicide. Edwin arrived at the upscale Manhattan restaurant at 7:15 PM, the peak rush hour. The restaurant hosted the city's best and brightest. Edwin opened fire with a shotgun and killed 7 people, before turning the gun on himself. Jack was on course to make his TV debut, but due to the negative publicity, his radio show is canceled, and his career comes to an abrupt end.Three years later, Jack is working for his girlfriend, Anne (Mercedes Ruehl), in her video store, and is in a mostly drunken, depressed state, fearful of being recognized. Jack hates interacting with people. When a chatty customer annoys him, he tosses her a porno movie and drops a nasty comment about it. Anne takes him aside and tells him to take the day off.One night, while on a bender, he is moments from suicide. Jack wears concrete blocks on his feet and is ready to jump into the East River. However, he is attacked and nearly set on fire by teenage punks who mistake him for a homeless person. He is rescued by a man who calls himself "Parry" (Robin Williams), a delusional and homeless person. Parry is supported by other homeless men whom he leads in an unexpected rendition of "How About You?" as a distraction before they overwhelm the punks and force them to retreat.Parry takes Jack to the usual gathering place of all the homeless of Manhattan. When Jack's sleeve is unexpectedly set on fire and he frantically puts it out, everyone applauds. Jack wakes up in Parry's makeshift shack (which is in the boiler room of a building), which Parry calls home. Parry reveals that he is a knight on a special quest. Jack is terrified as he believes that Parry is crazy. Parry claims he's being guided by the "little people", apparitions only he can see.Parry says that these messengers of God visited him just after he had a really satisfactory bowel movement and told him that he had been chosen to get something that God had lost. They told him to look at the February 1988 issue of Progressive Architecture magazine, page 33. The page had a photo of a trophy that Parry claims is the Holy Grail (in the home of Langdon Carmichael, a billionaire who's home is a castle on 5th Avenue). Parry also says that a Red Knight is always hunting for him, and hence he cannot get close to the Grail, which is why God sent help in the form of Jack.Jack is initially reluctant but acquiesces after learning that he is partially responsible for Parry's current condition. Parry, whose real name is Henry Sagan, had been a teacher at Hunter College. After witnessing his wife's gruesome death at the same mass shooting that Jack had provoked, Henry had a psychotic break and became catatonic.When he awakened, he took on the persona of Parry and became obsessed with the legend of the Fisher King. With Parry as his shielding persona, mentions of reality panic him, and he is continually haunted by a terrifying, hallucinatory Red Knight, from a distorted memory of his wife's head exploding from a shotgun blast. After a year in a mental asylum, he was sent to his apartment (where he lived before the shooting). The building supervisor felt bad for him and gave him space in the basement when his lease expired.Jack finds Parry in Manhattan and tries to offer him money. Parry gives it to another homeless man and tries to enlist Jack's help in getting the Holy Grail. Jack also discovers that Parry is attracted to a shy and awkward woman, Lydia (Amanda Plummer), who does accounting for a publishing house. Parry, knowing her weekly routine, follows her around but cannot bring himself to approach her.Parry takes Jack to Carmichael's home and tells him he has a plan to breach this "castle" and retrieve the Grail. When Jack angrily tells Parry he can't do it, Parry has an episode where he sees the Red Knight, who shoots fire and rides a giant black horse. Parry suddenly realizes the Red Knight is frightened by Jack's presence and the two chase him into Central Park. After the Red Knight seems to be banished, Jack and Parry find a homeless man (Michael Jeter) who's buried himself in the dirt along a horse path. They take him to a shelter where the eccentric man, who seems obsessed with Broadway performing, tells Jack he might be a mentally unstable veteran.Jack and Parry wander through Central Park that night. Jack is quite scared to be in the park after dark and is astonished when Parry suggests they both strip nude for what he calls "cloud busting". Parry tells Jack the story of the Fisher King, a man whom God charged with finding the Grail, but the King incurred an incapacitating wound for his sin of pride. "A Fool asks the King why he suffers, and when the King says he is thirsty, the Fool gives him a cup of water to drink. The King realizes the cup is the Grail and asks, 'How did you find what my brightest and bravest could not?' The Fool said 'I don't know. I only knew that you were thirsty.'"Jack seeks to redeem himself by helping Parry connect with Lydia. He enlists the help of the Homeless Cabaret Singer to inform Lydia at her office that she's won a free membership at Anne's video store. Parry poses as an employee but the ruse doesn't work on the sharp Lydia, until she sees that Anne has a fancy manicure she did herself. Lydia is interested in having her own nails done and agrees to do so at Anne's place that night. While she and Anne gradually connect and Anne helps Lydia with her lack of self-confidence, Jack preps Parry for a potential dinner date. The four go to a Chinese restaurant and Jack and Anne discover that Lydia and Parry are a perfect match.Afterward, Parry walks Lydia home and declares his love for her. She reciprocates and goes to her apartment, but the brush with reality summons the Red Knight. Fleeing his vision and the memory of his wife's murder, he is ambushed by the same punks against whom he had defended Jack. Beaten and knifed mercilessly, Parry becomes catatonic again. Jack, feeling whole again after "saving" Parry, breaks up with Anne and begins to rebuild his career. Anne gives an impassioned defense of her love for Jack but they're interrupted by a phone call from the police: Jack's wallet was found on Parry after he was beaten. Jack and Anne visit Parry in the hospital where a doctor explains Parry's condition and that it's unknown how long it'll take him to recover. Jack goes with his agent to meet with executives to revive his radio career and possibly start a TV talk show, however, he has a crisis of conscience during a sitcom pitch after snubbing the Homeless Cabaret Singer who spots him walking to the meeting.Jack visits Parry again, spotting and hiding from Lydia, who has also be visiting Parry. Jacks talks to the catatonic Parry, saying he needs to wake up; people have breakdowns every day and this one shouldn't be different. Jack also emphatically says he won't carry out Parry's plan of stealing Carmichael's trophy but then acquiesces and agrees to do it. He dons Parry's clothing and follows Parry's written plan to sneak it the castle with a slingshot, crossbow bolts, rope and an anchor. During the theft, Jack must overcome his own hallucination of the shotgun-wielding Edwin. He eventually finds the "grail" and also finds Carmichael unconscious from a suicide attempt. He intentionally triggers the alarm while leaving, alerting authorities and saving the man's life.When he brings the "Grail" to Parry, Parry regains consciousness and asks a silent Jack if it's OK that he misses his wife. Lydia visits Parry in the hospital; she finds him awake and leading the patients of the ward in a joyous and animated rendition of "How About You?", with Jack. Parry and Lydia embrace, and Jack reconciles with Anne, telling her that he loves her. She slaps him but grabs and kisses him. That night, Jack and Parry lie naked in Central Park, happily gazing at the clouds, as they view a fireworks display over New York. Parry tells Jack to say goodnight and Jack does.

Storyline

• Jack Lucas was once a famous, arrogant and egotistical New York City call-in radio talk show host. Largely self-inflicted due to remorse and grief, Jack goes on a quick downward spiral, both personally and professionally, after a glib comment he makes to one of his regular callers results in that caller going on a murder spree. Three years later, the only emotional and financial support a despondent Jack receives is from his current video store owning girlfriend, Anne. When Jack hits rock bottom, he meets a seemingly crazy and homeless man calling himself Parry. Parry does have mental health issues, namely hallucinations centered around the story of the Fisher King, which is why he has an obsession with obtaining the Holy Grail. When Jack learns of Parry's own background and the reason he got to where he is, Jack feels he needs to be part of Parry's salvation. He figures the way to do so is to connect Parry with Lydia Sinclair, a shy and uncoordinated woman who Parry loves from afar. In doing so, Jack may himself be able to recapture his old life back. But if he does, he may not realize that he was no saint in that former life. — Huggo A former radio shock-jock (Bridges) sinks into a boozy depression when his flip comment on the air is blamed for a shooting spree in an upscale cafe. Living off the kindness of long-suffering girlfriend Anne (Ruehl, who won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress), Jack has an epiphany when he is rescued from street punks by Parry (Williams), a homeless former professor who has created a world of his own invention to insulate himself from the pain of witnessing his wife's death in the cafe shooting spree.