Comedian

While the box promises hilarious comedy, the video it holds delivers a solid documentary about what it takes to be a class act in stand-up comedy, both as an up-and-comer and as someone trying reinvent himself.

Orny Adams is in need of serious mental health help. He consistently goes to pieces and is tortured by his inner demons.

Jerry Seinfeld, on the other hand, shows how someone with a basic sense of self-esteem and a rewarding personal life deals with the nerve-wracking ordeal that is "creating a compelling live show."

The picture documents this process carefully and gives good insights for performers in all genre. It's not a laugh riot, and it's -just- compelling enough to watch the whole way through, but it's not something one needs to see twice.

This documentary is for someone who thinks stand up comedy is easy. No one has an idea what goes on behind the scenes, even the great Jerry Seinfeld, who after a hit TV series decides he wants to go back to the places that gave him his break.

We can feel the pain of newcomers such as Orny Adams who is trying to begin a career as a comedian. His presence in the film makes one understand the frustrations these actors go through on a nightly basis wherever they face a public that wants to be entertained with non stop jokes. It is very hard indeed to be able to do it every time.

The documentary is very fast in the sure hands of Christian Charles who obviously has an eye for capturing the comedians at their most vulnerable points.

We get to see a shaky Seinfeld trying new material. Sometimes he is good, but sometimes he really stink. He has been away from the scene for such a long time that it takes him a while to find his feet. His scenes with Bill Cosby, the great Robert Klein and others are the best things going with the film.

People in general will have a second view after seeing this movie about the funny men in comedy clubs.

What a disappointment.

The problem here is not that I was expecting something like the show. I understood what this was about going into the theatre. It's not "Seinfeld" the TV show. The whole point of this documentary is that Jerry's hit the club circuit again, and that he's trying out a whole new style of comedy rather than the "Humorous observations about everyday life" that made him famous. The problem is that it's simply not a very good documentary. It's erratic and disjointed. It was marketed as a documentary about Jerry Seinfeld, but instead we're forced to spend half the movie listening to a nobody who fails to capture our attention or sympathy in any way. Towards the end, Jerry drops in on Bill Cosby and we don't really know why. Even worse, the conversation between the two is awkward, rambling, boring, and offers absolutely no new insights into either man.

A documentary should teach you something. When you walk out of the theatre, you should have some new insights into the subject matter. By that standard, this film is a complete failure. In the end, all it really tells us is that being a stand up comedian on the club circuit isn't easy. But is there anybody who didn't already know that?

After cocreating and starring for nine years in THE sitcom of the '90s, and rightfully earning hundreds of millions of dollars doing so, funnyman Jerry Seinfeld did not do what I would have done; namely, lay in a hammock by the ocean for the rest of his life. To his great credit, Seinfeld decided to go back to what he loves most: doing stand-up material in front of an audience. Director Christian Charles' 2002 documentary "Comedian," it must be stated, is not so much a performance film as it is a primer in how very difficult it is to put an hour's worth of "killer" material together. This is not a Jerry Seinfeld biography, but rather a collection of glimpses into the lives of working comics. During the course of the film, as Jerry painstakingly--and sometimes painfully--puts his new act together, he talks to such established names as Jay Leno, Gary Shandling, Bill Cosby (his childhood hero, apparently), Robert Klein (whose joke about Florida may be the film's funniest) and Ray Romano. For contrast, perhaps half the film is taken up by the travails of a talented and cocky aspiring comic named Orny Adams, whose various struggles really show us how difficult the comedy business can be. I mean, here it is, more than six years since Orny's Letterman debut, and he is still hardly a household name, right? The net result for most viewers will most likely be a realization of how hard it is to just get up there and tell jokes; forget about making it big in the business! On the down side, "Comedian" features excessively choppy editing, overlapped dialogue that is often hard to make out, and just not enough actual performance footage. The film does have a cumulative effect, however, and the sum does wind up equalling more than its many jagged parts. "Not that there's anything wrong with that."

This documentary follows Jerry Seinfeld during his efforts to become a working stand-up comedian again, after almost 15 years of absence from the stage. But even for a man his caliber, it's far from an easy job to come back on stage just like that. He's got the cheers upfront because he is a celebrity, but once the initial welcome applause is gone, it's the material that counts. But it seems behind every minute of stand-up comedy is a hundred hours of hard work, with weeks of brainstorming, writing, and trying out new material on hackling audiences. "Twenty minutes in three months", he states. Seinfeld also talks shop with a number of friends and colleagues in the business, including Robert Klein, Ray Romano, Chris Rock, Garry Shandling, Jay Leno and Bill Cosby.

Don't expect this documentary to reveal much about the private life of Jerry Seinfeld. He is self-assured and confident - no surprises there - and is always in control. He is only followed when working at his act, but we do get an occasional peek at his wife and kid, for instance before his appearance on the Tonight Show. But this documentary also shows us the struggles of Orny Adams, a young, cocky and insecure comedian, who tries to make to make his mark in show business.

Let me state this now. Orny Adams is not a funny comedian. He's not funny at all. Off-stage, he has a few funny observations, but his act is terrible. But he did invoke some sympathy with me, or empathy, so you will, with a fascinating portrait of his struggles. But I never really understood why they chose him. Obviously, the crew used him for a documentary about Seinfeld, but not on criteria based on comedic talent. To me, it was astonishing and very revealing that Seinfeld never even met Orny Adams before the filming of this project started. I think there is one scene where they meet in a club and have a short conversation. On the DVD Seinfeld casually reveals he never spoke to him again since! Not because they had an argument but probably because he is not in the least interested in Orny Adams. Jerry Seinfeld is well known for not having many friends and not mixing work and private life, but this?

Back to Orny for some final thoughts. I always wondered whether Orny actually was a real guy and not some actor? I still do think he is an actual comedian, but with a name like that? In a restaurant in Montréal, the waitress asks for his name and doesn't believe him and proclaims: "Get out of town. No mother would name her kid Orny." He insists that it is in fact his real name. Well... perhaps one mother did, or it is his stage name. I don't know. Fact is, although he's not funny at all, I liked the portrait and I liked the whole film and found this a fascinating insight in the world of the stand-up comedian. Every Seinfeld-fan has probably seen this already, but I imagine this must be an enjoyable documentary for everyone.

Camera Obscura --- 8/10