Comedian

Rating:
Summary: a sharp and stinging piece of business
Review: "Comedian" chronicles Jerry Seinfeld's return to the comedy club circuit after dismantling his sitcom in 1998 and retiring his well-honed live routines in the HBO special "I'm Telling You For The Last Time."

And though the documentary has lots of stand-up comedy, as well as appearances by comics such as Chris Rock, Jay Leno, Garry Shandling, Robert Klein and Bill Cosby, this is not really a concert movie. It's actually a glimpse into the business of entertaining and the process behind making an audience laugh. "Comedian" is a funny movie, but it's really more about the humor of anxiety and self-doubt than punch lines.

Shot on digital video by Christian Charles (who directed Seinfeld's snappy American Express commercials) and crammed with excellent jazz and pop music, the movie follows Seinfeld and a young comic named Orny Adams as they hit the road, work on new material and perform on "Late Night With David Letterman." Adams -- keyed-up and hypersensitive -- doesn't fare as well as Jerry but given that he's sharing space in a movie with one of the most popular television personalities in history, he kind of has the deck stacked against him.

And yes, Seinfeld, after being out of the spotlight for a while, does remain an interesting personality, even more so when caught on a relatively candid camera (Jerry curses?). His backstage conversations with Leno, Cosby, Rock and Colin Quinn reveal a guarded camaraderie, and fans who spent a significant chunk of the '90s chuckling at the misadventures of Jerry, George, Kramer and Elaine will probably find it amusing that Seinfeld still actively worries he'll bomb in front of a crowd.

But for all Seinfeld's agonized fretting over writing jokes and winning the audience's approval, anybody who puts in 40-plus hours a week at an office probably won't find much sympathy for a guy who has been given hundreds of millions of dollars doing the very thing he loves to do.

Nevertheless, "Comedian" is a sharp, insightful, wry and occasionally stinging piece of business.

Rating:
Summary: Horrible
Review: "Comedian" has nothing to do with comedy. It's one of the most boring movies I have ever seen. Orny Adams was an ego maniac who really didn't deserve any kind of recognition. Jerry Seinfeld was hardly in the movie and Bill Cosby made a cameo. Chris Rock was seen and so was Colin Quinn. Why guys? You should've stuck around to make this movie funny. But, I can see why you left in a hurry.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting & Original Look at Comedy & Show Biz in General
Review: "Comedian" is a fascinating documentary of Jerry Seinfeld's return to standup comedy after ending arguably the most popular tv show of all time as well as retiring all of his old material. Although there are many funny moments in this film, it's really not a comedy - it's a documentary/"behind the scenes" look at the work Seinfeld put into getting back into the groove of coming up with new material and performing for all different types of audiences. Along the way, interesting conversations are documented between Seinfeld and other standup comedians including Colin Quinn, Chris Rock, Bill Cosby, Garry Shandling, Jay Leno, and many others. The movie gives an inside look at how comedians create their sets, and how they feel about performing. It's fascinating to watch Jerry Seinfeld, worth probably 300million dollars, driving himself to small clubs in New York City to pop in unannounced to see if he can try out his new material for an unsuspsecting audience. One of the funniest parts of the movie is when Seinfeld must confront a noisy, talkative audience at a comedy club on Long Island, prompting him to say backstage, "How BIG do you have to be to get people to stop talking during your set?" Another interesting aspect of "Comedian" is that while it chronicles Seinfeld's return to standup, it also chronicles a younger, unknown, aspiring comedian and his struggle to become a famous comedian. The interaction between him and more skilled, experienced comedians is awkward and captivating all at once. I'm not a huge fan of Seinfeld - I loved his show, find a lot of his standup funny, but probably wouldn't see him live - yet I left this movie really liking it and suggesting it to everyone I know. I highly recommend this movie if you're a fan of Seinfeld's, any of the aforementioned comedians, or shows like "The Larry Sanders Show" or "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

Rating:
Summary: a sharp and stinging piece of business
Review: "Comedian" chronicles Jerry Seinfeld's return to the comedy club circuit after dismantling his sitcom in 1998 and retiring his well-honed live routines in the HBO special "I'm Telling You For The Last Time."

And though the documentary has lots of stand-up comedy, as well as appearances by comics such as Chris Rock, Jay Leno, Garry Shandling, Robert Klein and Bill Cosby, this is not really a concert movie. It's actually a glimpse into the business of entertaining and the process behind making an audience laugh. "Comedian" is a funny movie, but it's really more about the humor of anxiety and self-doubt than punch lines.

Shot on digital video by Christian Charles (who directed Seinfeld's snappy American Express commercials) and crammed with excellent jazz and pop music, the movie follows Seinfeld and a young comic named Orny Adams as they hit the road, work on new material and perform on "Late Night With David Letterman." Adams -- keyed-up and hypersensitive -- doesn't fare as well as Jerry but given that he's sharing space in a movie with one of the most popular television personalities in history, he kind of has the deck stacked against him.

And yes, Seinfeld, after being out of the spotlight for a while, does remain an interesting personality, even more so when caught on a relatively candid camera (Jerry curses?). His backstage conversations with Leno, Cosby, Rock and Colin Quinn reveal a guarded camaraderie, and fans who spent a significant chunk of the '90s chuckling at the misadventures of Jerry, George, Kramer and Elaine will probably find it amusing that Seinfeld still actively worries he'll bomb in front of a crowd.

But for all Seinfeld's agonized fretting over writing jokes and winning the audience's approval, anybody who puts in 40-plus hours a week at an office probably won't find much sympathy for a guy who has been given hundreds of millions of dollars doing the very thing he loves to do.

Nevertheless, "Comedian" is a sharp, insightful, wry and occasionally stinging piece of business.

Rating:
Summary: The only Jerry we've got on DVD
Review: "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.

Rating:
Summary: Great For Insomniacs
Review: "You can't get bigger than me" - Jerry Seinfeld. Seinfeld has obviously forgotten about Bill Cosby, George Burns or Richard Pryor -- and countless other comedians who have gone far beyond Seinfeld in their respectvive career field. This film is an obvious attempt to booster the ego of a once funny comedian who is now relizing his past is just that - the past. His comedy is labored and poor. It does show how much Michael Richards, Jason Alexander and Julia Louis Dreyfus carried the show for all those years.

For some reason Seinfeld chose to feature the most untalented comic working the clubs today. This was either because Seinfeld realizes his comedy has gone down hill and wants to show untalented competition, or worse - he thinks this guy is funny. Orny Adams (a name you will soon forget) is a struggling (obviously) comedian who apparently believes he deserves the world. Adams has no timing and no material deserving of even a faint chuckle. If you take out all of Adams' appearences, as well as all of the ego-building that Seinfeld does for himself, you may have a documentary worth watching... If you want to be a comedian or have an interest in the comedy process - other than that, save your money.

Rating:
Summary: Whose Orny anyway?
Review: A comedian? He doesn't seem funny to me and definately isn't the next big thing. It seems Jerry is still hiding behind other people, or at best just trying to blend in. This would have been infinately better minus the Orny stuff. A. I've never heard of him. B. Anything they've showed of him wasn't even remotely funny. And on top of that it's just way too much of him. The Jerry stuff is pretty good, not very informative (like the packaging makes out). Hopefully the commentaries will be good but as it stands now, I shouldn't have bought this because I doubt I will rewatch it... I will keep taping Seinfeld each night and try and forget about this dvd.

Rating:
Summary: A look at the life of a working comedian
Review: A documentary about the hard work and angst that goes on behind the scenes of a stand-up comedy act, focusing on the super-famous Jerry Seinfeld, who is struggling to develop an all-new act, and newcomer Orny Adams, who is just trying to make a name for himself in the business. The insecurity and fear never seem to go away. There are many fascinating aspects of this film: the camaraderie between stand-ups, the importance of coming up with an hour of solid, audience-tested material, the compulsive need of comics to perform in front of a live audience for fear of losing their edge.

I was fortunate to catch Seinfeld's act a few months after watching the movie, and I enjoyed comparing the two. The act was smooth and polished and betrayed none of the insecurity I had seen earlier in the film, which featured the genesis of some of the bits that I saw on stage.

Rating:
Summary: It's gold, Jerry! Gold!
Review: A fascinating look at stand-up comedy by one of the most brilliant and successful comedians ever, Jerry Seinfeld. This movie chronicles his return to the stage after "retiring" all his old bits in his HBO special, "I'm Telling You For the Last Time." There's no shortage of funny moments, but it's the insight into the world of stand-up comedy that makes this such an interesting movie. I didn't care too much about the part about Orny Adams, a young, up-and-coming comic, though. I guess it was necessary to contrast his "journey" with Jerry's, but I just found it distracting and not all that interesting.

Rating:
Summary: One word - Orney
Review: Although this documentary is entitled "Comedian" rather than Seinfield... I rented it mostly expecting a documentary following Jerry. However, much of the time is spent on an up and coming comic Orney Adams. Since I write this in 2004 and he hasn't become the next Jerry I have to assume he never became big but he was the most unsettling part. I suppose Jerry was trying to show the insecurity of a comedian trying to make it, but Orney was so arrogant... and I think in need of medication it really bugged me each time he came on. He seemed manic, indicating how little he slept, and being prone to tremendous highs and lows.

It was such a contrast also... Jerry clearly enjoys telling jokes and being a comedian, while Orney seemed to hate his job. I even think that came through in his comedy act -- which seemed to come accross as angry. Although I did think he was very funny.

Overall I think the documentary was good. Many times I was going to turn it off but I never ended up doing it. It kept me interested and had just the right amount of comedy bits to keep me laughing. When the pace would get slow a comedy bit would get me interested again.