Comedian
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Movie Reviews of Comedian
Movie Review: The only Jerry we've got on DVD
Summary: 4 Stars
"Comedian" may be a little hard for some viewers to take because it was shot entirely on a handheld digital camera in some of the darkest locales (NYC pubs, nightclubs, penthouses) known to man. But if you can pay attention long enough, and ignore the motion sickness induced by the camerawork, you'll find that "Comedian" is a riveting, almost dramatic documentary about the greatest living comedian (certainly the most successful one) who intentionally goes back to Square One with his comedy routines. Why do it, especially when money for Seinfeld is no object? That's the driving theme of the movie, and the great mystery of it.Seinfeld is, of course, Seinfeld, always charming, always elusive, though a lot more candid here than in any of his other incarnations. He allowed the documentary cameras access to a great deal of his personal process, showing us that developing good comedy is as much work for a millionaire superstar as digging a ditch is for the average joe.
"Comedian" contrasts Seinfeld's struggle for 20 minutes of decent material with the equally up-hill battle waged by unknown comic Orny Adams, who is fueled by ego and a desire to become rich and famous. Orny isn't necessarily bad, it's just that he wants the fruits of success without first slugging it out in the trenches. One gets the feeling that Orny, if he were ever as successful as Jerry Seinfeld, would never go back on the comedy club circuit, but simply rest on his laurels. That, indeed, may be the reason he fails.
"Comedian" is valuable because it is, in the end, about work. Sure, Seinfeld has it a little easier than the rest of us trying to make ends meet -- his t-shirts alone probably cost more than I bring home in a year -- but it's inspiring to see a genius of his level work so hard to maintain his own integrity.
Also: BRING OUT "SEINFELD" EPISODES ON DVD! ENOUGH WAITING! Thank you.
Movie Review: Comedy is Pain
Summary: 4 Stars
COMEDIAN is about the life of a standup comedian, and happens to focus on Jerry Seinfeld. Seinfeld's story: He's retiring his old act (which culminated in that live, HBO special a few years back) and is trying out new jokes, slowly building up to a 45 minute set. There's more stories in COMEDIAN. Orny Adams (what a name!) is the antithesis of Seinfeld. He's desperate for stardom. He desires his own television show like Seinfeld. And he's the most obsessive comic you will see -- he keeps a catalog of his jokes, organized by subject, date, etc.COMEDIAN is a fascinating look at the lives of these hardworking joke-tellers. Jeez, these have to be the hardest working guys in show business! Everyone (including Jay Leno, who has the cushiest job on TV!) fears that they'll "lose it" if they don't keep doing live dates.
COMEDIAN is not a laugh-riot. In fact, it's just the opposite. It shows that comedy is a very serious business. It is painful to watch Seinfeld bomb onstage. He forgets his joke! He gets lost in the middle of it, wonders the stage trying to regain his train of thought, and consults his notes (yes! Comics make very detailed notes for their acts). An audience member yells out, "Is this your first gig, love?" Oy, you could just die!
Watch COMEDIAN if you are interested in the life of a standup. Don't expect Seinfeld doing his standup act. That comes later ... COMEDIAN is about how that act gets developed.
Comedy is pain.
Movie Review: WHAT MAKES JERRY RUN?
Summary: 4 Stars
Jerry Seinfeld has it made, or so it seems. He's obscenely rich, famous and beloved. So what's missing? In COMEDIAN we see a guy who goes back on the road to try out new material to see if he can once again reach that personal nirvana, that ultimate high, of enthralling an audience of strangers with laughter-inducing new observations. This documentary screams a central question: What drives Seinfeld? Is it the personal challenge to see if he can do it again? Is it an overwhelming craving to feel the waves of laughter from strangers that he interprets as love? Or is it an attempt to discover if his rise to celebrity was a fluke. The answer is hard to pindown in this utterly absorbing documentary -- shot mostly with a hand-held consumer videocam -- that follows Seinfeld and unknown comic Orny Adams as they travel around the country to mostly small clubs to test their material. This is not a feature length concert performance, but an upclose, sometimes painful, look at the labored process of appearing spontaneously funny for a few precious minutes.
Extras include hilarious Jiminy Glick interviews with Seinfeld and Adams, the full Seinfeld routine on his return to the David Letterman show, and an acerbic commentary with Seinfeld and fellow comic Colin Quinn. For a feature length Seinfeld stand up performance, try the very funny I'M TELLING YOU FOR THE LAST TIME (HBO).
Movie Review: This is a documentary not a comedy special
Summary: 4 Stars
Somebody told me not to watch this cause it was stupid but i was curious so i rented it and had very low expectations. It turned out that this was a very interesting look at what its like to be comedian. Seinfeld has to start his act from scratch and we see how the act evolves and some behind the scenes conversations on comedy with Chris Rock and Colin Quinn. I think the most interesting conversations Jerry has are with Orny Adams (the young comic also featured in the film) and Bill Cosby. Also i thought it was kinda funny when him and Ray Romano were sitting and talking and Ray looked a little intimidated by Seinfeld and what he was trying to acheive. The movie goes back and forth between Seinfeld and Adams. The Adams portion of the movie is probably a lot more interesting because you see more of the process a comedian has to go through in order to get where Seinfeld is. Adams has some moments that seemed pretty raw and real unlike Seinfeld who always is light-hearted looking pretty confident. In some moments it looks like Adams was not aware he was being filmed. They showed some stand up from both Seinfeld and Adams but for the most part its a back stage look.Movie Review: Getting to the Joke
Summary: 4 Stars
Jerry Seinfeld can do most anything and I would laugh, but this documentary came close to the limit. A behind the scenes look at stand up comedy and the struggles of both superstars and wannabes. To see Jerry swear was new, to see Jerry with other comedians was cool, but on the road, on stage, in the wings, on his jet, were all interesting, but not very entertaining. Though documentaries intend to provoke thought, not necessarily entertain and the fact Comedian does both makes this film satisfying.
Comedians are all insecure and tortured with the exception of Bill Cosby. The wannabe in the film is Orny Adams, who shows the ugly and unpleasant side of the business and his personality. He is a bad man.
More than anything else Comedian shows Jerry is not much different than his SitCom character. He is a funny guy that made it big, but not much different from anybody else.
The DVD special features were a bonus especially the Jiminy Glick interviews.
md
Michael Duranko
www.bootism.com