Sorry, this movie sucks

Pretty Good

Please don't spend money on this.

How sad is this?

The documentary Comedian is basically the story of a genius and a hack. The genius, being Jerry Seinfeld. Come on, he is. He did the best TV show ever created, he is such a funny guy. He's the richest comedian in the world actually.The hack being a guy named Orny Adams. I know, that is a horrible name. Orny Adams is a hack. He's not funny, he is too sensitive when people don't lime his material. He thinks he's so funny. On an episode of Seinfeld, Jerry is heckled by a woman named Toby. Later on in the episode, George convinces Jerry to go to her office and heckle her. I can picture Orny Adams doing that. " You can't be in this business if you can't take it". Well, clearly Orny Adams shouldn't be in the business. Cause he can't take anything. Seinfeld is obviously a genius. Orny though, is a cocky, ass hole. Seinfeld , as it shows here, thinks of himself of not being good enough." I have no excuse, I just wasn't good". That is something that he says in this movie. Orny on the other hand is the exact opposite. From the very first scene you can tell.The film, is about two comedians. The two I have been talking about the entire review. How hard it is to make people laugh and how annoying and cocky some people are in the world. I was more than glad to see little of Orny, cause he was so annoying.The film, isn't entirely funny. I know, a genius comedian and some other genius comedians are in it. You'd expect a documentary about comedians to be funny right? Well, I didn't exactly. And do you know what, it wasn't really. But it's very interesting. and it's good to see Jerry Seinfeld back. No matter who says otherwise, Orny, you blow, Seinfeld, you're the best there is. And after seeing Seinfeld in this, the Bee movie, and other things, I have one thing to say. More.Comedian:A-

Follow the construction of this film closely and you will see that it is much more than a documentary of stand-up comedy. Notice, for example, how the ending is a beginning. The final word, "thanks" is precisely the advice given to Orny--the anti-Jerry of this story. Notice the film move directly into the credits, accompanied by Susannah McCorkle's heart-wrenching version "Waters of March", itself Jobim's testimony, from the perspective of early Autumn, that life is a journey. The photos that rotate under the credits, like an iPhoto photo album, are close-up studies of scenes that any comic would immediately recognize as "Comedy Club". Preceding this was Steely Dan's "Deacon's Blues" a song about a suburban New York kid who dreams of leaving the suburbs for the exciting life of show business in the city. Indeed, the choice of soundtrack numbers is worthy of Woody Allen. This movie is worth watching a few times to see how adeptly the film-makers juxtaposed Jerry and Orny in order to make this tale of rebirth. This is very, very good film-making. I only give it 9 out of 10 stars because throughout the film the dialog recording is not as clean and clear as my old ears require. Perhaps this would have been an impossibility, given the documentary nature of this film. Nevertheless, I had to go back and watch it with "English for the hearing impaired" selection in order to catch the dialog.

I like Jerry, his humour appeals to me. But what the hell was going on in this pseudo-documentary? Jerry with his private jet at his disposal is executive producer and doesn't spring for a cinematographer to take this out of the realm of a home movie - poorly shot, dimly lit and so badly cut I felt a migraine coming on. He wants our sympathy, all these comedians do, whether multi-millionaires (Cosby, Leno) or not. Their angst over their material is palpable. One up and coming comedian is depicted and his selfishness and poor attitude does not engender any warmth whatsoever. A waste of film. No meat, no potatoes in any of it. A hollow empty feeling. 4 out of 10. Avoid.

My first memory of this movie's release was seeing its trailer poster - an intrusive billboard-sized mural in Mid-town Manhattan. It pictured Jerry Seinfeld awkwardly striding across a city street in a suit, microphone and stand in tow. The poster told me 'here is a superstar, a living legend of the small screen, stripped of his entourage of writers; stripped of his supporting cast of characters, his Kramers and Costanzas; sent to live among us once again and say I bet I can make you laugh.' I remember thinking 'I bet you can't' as I descended into the subway.Perhaps I was harsh. But watching "Comedian" I learned I pale in comparison to the comic's toughest audience: himself. "Comedian" gives us a taste of the life that exists between 20 minute sets; the intimate moments of a seasoned stand-up comic, earning his weight in laughs. The movie could work on its own as a story about the unique turns that lie in wait of one pursuing a profession in comedy. But what makes "Comedian" special is the voyeuristic quality of its backdrop. We're used to Jerry Seinfeld's Seinfeld. Here we see Jerry Seinfeld's Jerry, a cool if not sometimes meekly understated professional who still gets the jitters before taking the stage at unknown Midwestern laugh-ins. "Comedian" pulls the celebrity curtain down, serving us fizzy gin and tonics with Rocks and Romanos on the side. The movie makes you feel like you are at your home town's shadiest club and comic greats are eating peanuts just a few bar stools away. Silently we mutter 'sure Jerry is performing a set tonight, but not before I buy him a cocktail.' If the movie works, we believe that Jerry Seinfeld is a working man - and we're nervous for him. Our hero, off to slay a dragon each night he performs. We wish him luck on the road, one he navigates in a beamer.Afterword: "Comedy" is refreshing in its suggestion that accomplished stars can be working stiffs too, if their star hangs from a comic cellar's rafter. To wit, Chris Rock recounts a cutting-edge set he caught recently at a theater in Newark, N.J. The comic was a long-time favorite of his, but he didn't recognize most of the jokes. He delivered a 2 1/2 hour, uninterrupted set, a task regarded by Seinfeld in the movie as a "physical feat." The man was killing the crowd (along with Chris) with brand new material he had never heard. His name was Bill Cosby.