Summary:

In 1998, following the nine-year run of SEINFELD on NBC, comic Jerry Seinfeld put together an HBO special titled, I’M TELLING YOU FOR THE LAST TIME, in which he performed the bulk of the stand-up material that he had spent an entire career creating.  Following that special, the comedian retired every single joke in his vast repertoire.  He then set about the painstaking process of creating, joke by joke, an entirely new act from whole cloth.   Much of this process involved returning to his stand-up roots and trying out his new material in comedy clubs around the country.  COMEDIAN charts his progress, while paralleling the effort with the rise of an up and comer named Orny Adams.

Steve says:

COMEDIAN is probably the funniest documentary you’ll ever see, but only because humor and the mystery of its creation is at the heart of the movie’s theme.  There are also moments of supreme discomfort as we watch Seinfeld go completely blank on stage.  It is to his credit as an honest and humble man that he didn’t simply burn the tape and never let it see the light of day.  Instead, it happens early in the film, effectively making the point that comedy is hell, even for the seasoned pro. 

The art of stand-up comedy looks deceptively easy, primarily because comedians like Seinfeld and his contemporaries, George Carlin, Jay Leno, Chris Rock, and a host of others make it seem that way.  But think about it.  Almost any other performer has help.  The actor can rely, in part, on the talents of a director, a writer, his fellow cast members and, if things don’t go particularly well, an editor.  In the end, even someone of modest talent can be made to look at least competent.  Not so for the stand-up comedian.  He’s alone up there and he’d better have the goods and deliver when called upon to do so.  If not, he will be consigned to the scrap-heap of unknown funnymen who never quite had what it takes to rise above the level of Kiwanis smokers and cruise ships.

Intercut with Jerry Seinfeld’s rebirth as a stand-up is footage of a thirty-year old New York comic named Orny Adams who, while possessed of a modicum of talent, is so neurotic he makes Richard Lewis look serene.  Contrasted with the veteran Seinfeld’s assurance and professionalism, we see the self-loathing Adams committing slow career suicide, even while still in his ascendancy.   For Adams, a bad set is immediately blamed on a “terrible audience,” while Seinfeld takes immediate blame and responsibility for his failures, even when they are not perceived as such by his fellow comics.

Additional insights are provided by Robert Klein, Garry Shandling, Colin Quinn, Leno, George Wallace, and Chris Rock, who declares his admiration for Bill Cosby with the observation that the sixty-five year-old comedy legend does a two and a half hour show, without intermission, and kills with every joke. 

Later we are treated to a backstage encounter between Cosby and Seinfeld, in which Jerry, himself a legendary figure sits at the feet of the master in unabashed awe.  It is both touching and sweet, illustrating the central reason why everyone knows who Seinfeld is but will probably never see or hear of Orny Adams.

As we noted in last week’s review of BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE, it’s not often that documentaries get a general release in more than a handful of theaters.  COMEDIAN proves itself worthy by being as entertaining as it is informative. 

Technical credits are poor as COMEDIAN was done on video and then transferred to film with less than satisfactory results.   Since much of the footage was shot in under-lit backstage areas of comedy clubs, the images are dark and washed out.  Perhaps that serves as a metaphor for the soul of the court jester, but it’s just plain hard on the eyes.  Think of watching CITIZEN KANE through a pair of black L’Eggs Pantyhose and you have some idea of what most of COMEDIAN looks like.

The film is a triumph of substance over style.

 

* * * *

Patty says:

Aside from the fact that you feel like you’re watching the neighbor’s Yellowstone Park vacation movies, COMEDIAN rocked.  There are only a handful of comedians who are real enough to be universally appealing.  Carlin, because of the things that cross your mind but you couldn’t tell your mother.  Cosby, because he’s sixty and can still pull off a two-hour and twenty minute performance that holds Ritalin addict, Chris Rock’s interest.  Jerry Seinfeld because he’s had such great commercial success and still gets stage fright.

Throughout the film I kept wondering why Seinfeld needed the money.  He had a great run.  A nine year run is a sensational tribute to his star appeal.  Although I love Jason Alexander,  ROCKY AND BULWINKLE sucked.  Seinfeld’s personality was the reason the show enjoyed almost a decade of prime time success.  The rest of his cast members are fading fast.  Jerry keeps on,  keepin’ on.  So why does he worry about repackaging his act and being successful on the comedy club circuit?  He needs proof that he’s funny?

Seinfeld distinguishes himself as an artist among craftsman.  Craftsmen are able to replicate perfection.  Artists are inspired to create it. 

I’ve got one word for Orny Adams:  Lithium.

Adams is so self-absorbed that he’d miss his own mother’s obituary if it wasn’t a headline.  I don’t know if Seinfeld made a conscious decision to use Orny as his comedic antithesis, but the contrast was almost trite. 

If you like to laugh, it’s eight bucks well spent.

 

* * * *
November 2, 2002