Jerry Seinfeld: 23 Hours to Kill

Seinfeld is one of the most hardworking professionals in his industry and for that reason I will be deducting points from 10 rather than looking for pluses.

10 - 1 = 9. Because this was rather unfunny or as funny as you could expect a funny friend to be and not someone who makes a living out of being funny.

9 - 1 = 8. Because the material is extremely outdated and I could only imagine someone finding it amusing if it was done in the late 90's or early 2000's.

8 - 1 = 7. Because even though Seinfeld set the bar higher for observational comedy in the past, all of this seems to be a parody of himself or something performed by some hack attempting to imitate Seinfeld with a very lame performance. Improve yourself, be better than your past self, don't be a pathetic shadow of your golden years.

7 - 1 = 6. Because the delivery was very bad. I don't know what happened, but I found all that screaming very annoying. At times I thought he was trying to sound like Jerry Stiller acting as George's father. It wasn't his usual delivery and it sounded forced, especially since the material was far from innovative or outrage-inducing.

Jerry's still one of the greatest, but he should avoid resting on his own laurels and up his game or retire.

Jerry can range. And what I mean by that is he doesn't always, uh, "soar".

And I would suggest that he doesn't soar, here.

Here, he showcases a predilection for "observations" that don't really work. They're the kind of stuff that, under the tender ministrations of Larry David, often got lampooned in the old Seinfeld show.

It was a little disappointing to see. I wanted to see Jerry soar, here. He too often falls flat.

I think Seinfeld has run out of interesting things to say. I won't totally bash him because there were a few funny moments in this special but for the most part it didn't seem like the same Seinfeld.

There were a few moments that seemed like he was testing new material. If you're a Seinfeld fan, give it a try. Unfortunately, it won't be a special I'll be revisiting in the future.

JS is a brilliant comedian but this is just flat. The audience laugh and applaud every sentence, when only one in ten are actual jokes. It's weird. I'd rather have seen him doing this in a more intimate club setting. This feels like an audience who have shelled out to see a great comic so are adamant to laugh at every line even when it's dated and unfunny.

One routine on Pop Tarts kind of sums up how dated this routine is. Why not do a standup about his Comedians In Cars shows? Must be some fantastic anecdotes from that. But instead we get the observational humour of a 65yo millionaire who thinks relationships are strange and Pop Tarts are topical. 4 stars for the opening stunt.

Some scattered thoughts on another solid Jerry Seinfeld standup special:

1. Jerry looks really good for 65 years old.

2. I don't know why it's called 23 Hours To Kill.

3. That helicopter stunt was pointless but admittedly pretty cool, especially considering his age.

4. 99% of this standup special will be exactly what you expect it to be. So if you like Jerry Seinfeld's comedy you'll enjoy it, and if you don't really like his style, then you probably won't like this special. Thankfully, I generally enjoy his standup, and so generally enjoyed this.

5. Jerry looks like he could do this in his sleep he's so natural. I won't argue he's the funniest standup comedian, but he might be one of the most skilled. His style and delivery remains incredibly natural and I often find myself forgetting it's a well-rehearsed, painstakingly panned performance.

6. Pick up your stupid trash when you're in a movie theatre, Jerry. It's probably a joke but if that's his genuine attitude that's pretty petty, not gonna lie.