October
11, 2002 | At one point in Comedian, a funny and fascinating
documentary about a seriously demanding profession, Jerry Seinfeld appears
on The David Letterman Show to tell a few jokes and, not incidentally,
answer a burning question: Just what the heck has he been doing since
the grand finale of his phenomenally popular sitcom? His serenely simple
answer: "Nothing."
The
response gets a big laugh from the studio audience. In the context of
Comedian, however, Seinfeld's on-camera flippancy is even more
hilarious, because almost every other scene in this shrewdly observed
film indicates he is telling a whopping big fib.
Truth
is, his fleeting appearance on the Letterman show simply is one more
one-night stand on a seemingly endless itinerary. Seinfeld may
have made him fabulously rich at a relatively young age, but Seinfeld
himself isn't ready to retire. As Comedian begins, however, we
see that he is ready to lower his sights and work his way down to the
middle. Unlike his sitcom co-stars, who tried to make lightning strike
twice by starring in their own short-lived series, he opted to return
to his stand-up roots when Seinfeld signed off.
Early
in Comedian, we're told Seinfeld retired his old stand-up act
- which had served him well for several years -- on a well-received
HBO special. After that, he launched a lengthy tour of comedy clubs
throughout North America, usually appearing as an unannounced, late-night
"surprise guest" in small venues.
Armed
with hand-held digital-video cameras, director Christian Charles and
producer Gary Streiner followed Seinfeld for well over a year on the
road, as the comic gradually created and shaped 60 minutes of new material.
Not surprisingly, we see that Seinfeld doesn't tour in the manner of
a struggling newcomer. Rather, he flies from city to city on a private
jet, and safely assumes that any audience will be favorably disposed
toward him for at least the first 10 minutes. The challenge, as Seinfeld
sees it, is to continue for another 50 minutes without fumbling or stumbling,
or pausing too long, or being heckled. Or, worst of all, failing to
make people laugh out loud.
Comedian
abounds with helpful pointers for would-be comics - never open your
act, Seinfeld repeatedly emphasizes, with a new, untested joke - and
offers an intriguing counterpoint to Seinfeld's cool professionalism
by occasionally focusing on Orry Adams, an up-and-coming comic whose
ferocious hunger to succeed makes him more than a little scary, on stage
and off. While viewing his act, you get the feeling that some members
of his audience laugh because they're afraid of what Adams might do
if they don't.
In
sharp contrast, Seinfeld comes across as self-assured but chronically
fretful, happy in his work but vaguely anxious about his talent to amuse.
Comedian is not exactly a probing, warts-and-all biography -
we get only brief glimpses of Seinfeld's wife and child, and next to
nothing about his life that isn't work-related - and we don't get to
see nearly enough of his act for this to qualify as a "concert
film." But there are quite a few unguarded moments, especially
when Seinfeld talks to some of his peers - including Jay Leno, Chris
Rock, Colin Quinn and Garry Shandling - about the insecurities and aspirations
that are common to comedians. They agree: You can never be too funny.
But, then again, maybe you can never be funny enough.