Movie Review: Comic life not all fun and games

Documentary offers insight into Seinfeld's life

Published: Wednesday, November 13, 2002

A documentary about comedians shouldn't have to be funny.

Anyone expecting to leave the theaters with a stitch in the side and an increased repertoire of one liners might be a tad disappointed with the new Jerry Seinfeld documentary "Comedian."

"Comedian" chronicles a chapter in the life of Jerry Seinfeld the person, rather than Jerry Seinfeld the television character. It's not about Jerry the narcissist or Jerry the womanizer or Jerry the shallow debauchee. It's about Jerry Seinfeld, the surprisingly reserved performer who succeeds in pleasing everyone but himself.

"Comedian" is a telling documentary about a comic's journey to become a legend both before and after mainstream success. While the film is at times uproariously funny, there's no neurotic George, no philandering Elaine, no conniving Newman and no arrogant Kramer. There's no diner, no funky bass lines, no sponge-worthy and no Soup Nazi.

There are, however, a fair number of pop-in cameos by famous comedians. Colin Quinn, Bill Cosby, Chris Rock and Ray Romano all make appearances.

The mid-depth profile of America's funniest stand-up comic offers direct insight into the troubled world of the comedian. Seinfeld is stuck at the nucleus of a demanding nocturnal spiral. Instead of merely returning to the comic circuit and wowing audiences with scripted nuggets of hysteria, Seinfeld's resurgence is marked by the presence of a tabula rasa.

He enters the stage almost completely empty handed. Jerry Seinfeld extraordinaire has proclaimed that he will retire all of his old material, material that he has used since the late '70s, and start from square one. He's sworn never to tell an old joke again.

It is at this moment that the audience realizes that this film will be much more a gritty, episodic piece relaying inner struggle, than Jerry's answer to Chris Rock's "Bigger and Blacker."

By doing so, Seinfeld is taking a huge gamble in the stand-up comic world. Retiring his old material means he's running the risk of never being funny again. If Jerry's a dry well, this will soon come to light.

The world grants Seinfeld the privilege to experiment in the entrails of local New York City's comedy clubs and prove to himself that he's still got it. Orny Adams, an up-and-coming comedian, is shown working hard to prove to the world that, like Jerry, he's got it, too. The presence of the twenty-nine-year-old Orny creates a nice dichotomy in the film as his story parallels and complements Jerry's tale.

Jerry's a household name who's ditched his old gig to prove that he still deserves his success, while Orny's a frustrated, arrogant nobody who's proving to the world that he deserves success.

The similarities between Orny and Jerry are strong. They're both working out the kinks in their delivery, they're upset with themselves, they're insecure about new material and they're both represented by George Shapiro.

"Comedian" ends abruptly and the monologues are sometimes inaudible due to a bad soundtrack. The music attempts to make up in atmosphere what the movie lacks in tension.

Despite these drawbacks, "Comedian" is compelling. Instead of a constant stream of chuckles, we're shown the frailty of the comedians' personalities as Jerry and Orny perpetually wonder if what they're doing is funny enough.