ComedianDirected by Christian CharlesStarring:Jerry Seinfeld, Colin Quinn, Orny Adams and George ShapiroComedian: Movie A, DVD B+Comedian is a documentary on Jerry Seinfeld's decision to return to stand-up comedy. He is actually not simply returning to stand-up, but he has decided to let go of all his time tested material and come up with a whole new show. This documentary chronicles his journey. Comedian also intertwines a parallel story of up and coming comedian, Orny Adams. Adams is a 29 year old comedian who always seems to be on the verge of something bigger, but is not quite making it. Comedian being a documentary has some stand-up in it, but it is not featured. If you are expecting to see a Seinfeld stand-up show this is not the movie to get. This film goes way beyond Seinfeld taking the stage, it shows his struggles to come up with new material and his nervousness as he prepares to try that material on new audiences. There is a great scene in the movie where he forgets part of the joke as he is telling it and has to resort to looking at his notes. It is almost painful to watch, but it also makes you see Seinfeld's vulnerability as a performer. There are several such vulnerable moments in the film. In contrast to Seinfeld, we see Orny Adams. Adams is almost the complete opposite of Seinfeld. He is cocky and so sure he is going to be a huge success. It is a good comparison to see the two comedians, not only with such different personalities, but also at completely different stages of their careers. Seinfeld, of course, has already made it about as far as a comedian can go. In fact it seems he really has no where to go but back to the beginning, and that is exactly what he does. In a way he is on the same level as Adams, they play the same clubs and are both trying to get a feel for their material. Some of my favorite scenes are Seinfeld sitting around with other comedians talking about comedy. Most of the time we see Seinfeld talking with fellow comedian Colin Quinn. It is interesting to hear them talk about comedy as a job. They sound almost like anyone talking about a job they have been doing for a long time. There are also several other scenes with Seinfeld and other well known comedians. Comedian is a documentary well worth seeing, if you are interested in comedy. Like I said earlier, this is not a concert film, there is not a lot of Seinfeld stand-up. It is just a great chronicle of Seinfeld's return to where he started. The DVD has several good features. There are a few deleted scenes, the complete David Letterman performance from both Seinfeld and Adams, the Primetiem Glick shows featuring both, and two commentary tracks. I only have listened to the Seinfeld and Coling Quinn track, which was pretty good. They both go off topic several times but are entertaining to listen to. The other commentary track is the director, Christian Charles and producer, Gary Streiner. Review by Sherry |
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