By Adam Goetz
“What if I came to your work and judged you on how you sent a fax,” Jerry Seinfeld says emphatically in his ‘bit’ about his job as an entertainer. “You would ask why would I have the right to do that. And I would say… I bought two drinks.”
The film Comedian is a gritty behind the scenes documentary on the life and success of a stand up comic. A camcorder follows Seinfeld and Orny Adams as they tour the familiar New York area comedy clubs. For Seinfeld, it is a way of validating his success after recently ‘retiring’ over 20 years of material. Adams, on the other hand, is starting out where Seinfeld did at the beginning of his career.
Chris Rock, Gary Shandling, Colin Quinn, Jay Leno and Bill Cosby all make cameo appearances in various candid conversations. The film gives an enormous amount of insight into what a comedian actually goes through every night they are on stage. It was amazing to see the amount of anxiety even a pro like Seinfled can go through before a big show, which was then contrasted by the young ‘hot shot’ perspective of Adams. It makes you realize that what they do is an actual job, with the same stress and obstacles as any other profession.
Now don’t go to the theatre expecting an hour-and-a-half of Seinfeld material because there is very little of that in the film–it is a documentary after all. But if you are at all interested in the profession itself, I would definitely recommend checking it out.