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.

I was never a big fan of "Seinfeld", though that had more to do with my natural opposition to sitcoms (laugh tracks make me cringe) than with the material in the show itself. So, by extension, I didn't think I was the biggest fan of Jerry Seinfeld himself either, but after seeing "Comedian", an intense and funny documentary about what it takes to make it in that profession, I have a newfound appreciation for him, as well as stand-up comics in general.

Stand-up comedy is one of those professions that a lot of people probably think anybody could get up there and do, but this movie proves otherwise. It's rough work entertaining people, especially in a live setting and when you're up there all by your lonesome.

The movie mainly focuses on Seinfeld as he gradually makes his comeback to the stand-up scene after years of absence, slowly compiling new material and testing it out on audiences. It's a brave format for a comedy film, because it's about HOW an act is perfected, and not just the perfect act itself. That means we're allowed to see what it looks like when jokes fall dead flat, because that is all a learning experience for a comic, no matter how long they've been doing it.

Several other comics, like Colin Quinn, Chris Rock, Garry Shandling, and George Wallace make brief appearances, and in a nice scene near the end, Seinfeld has a good conversation with one of his idols, a warm and encouraging Bill Cosby.

Also a big plus is the cool, New York atmosphere and the soundtrack, which features songs by artists as diverse as Charles Mingus, Al Green and Bob Dylan.

The documentary `Comedian' provides a nuts-and-bolts, behind-the-scenes glimpse into the world of the stand-up comic. While it features a sea of familiar faces - Ray Romano, Gary Shandling, Chris Rock, Jay Leno, Bill Cosby - making what turn out to be little more than cameo appearances, the film focuses almost exclusively on two figures from the comedy nightclub scene: one well known, Jerry Seinfeld, and the other an up-and-coming, potential new star named Orny Adams. `Comedian' derives much of its meaning from the ironic juxtaposition of these two men. Seinfeld is a man who has managed to achieve what, for any comedian, would be the pinnacle of success – fame, fortune and international celebrity status - yet he still finds himself riddled with personal doubts and feelings of inadequacy every time he gets up to perform on stage. Adams, who has yet to get that `big break,' somehow comes across as much more cocky, arrogant and self-assured than Seinfeld – although Adams, too, confesses that he may indeed be a harsher critic of his own performance than are the members of his audience.

`Comedian' was originally shot on video and transferred to 35 MM film, a fact that accounts for the dark, blurry, grainy quality of the picture. Most of the film's time is spent backstage with the comics as they air their views on their chosen profession, their colleagues, their personal idols, their various demons, their need to perform, their drive for perfection and their harsh, overly critical evaluation of their own skills and talents that often lead them into bouts of serious depression (Adams seems particularly prone to such reactions). These scenes are interspersed with brief snippets of some of their stand-up routines, which, surprisingly, seem rather devoid of laughs (Seinfeld has always struck me as more funny on his TV series than he ever has been on stage). One also notices that the world of the stand-up comedian in this film is strictly an Old Boys Club. Perhaps, we will one day be treated to a sequel entitled `Comedienne' to give the distaff side of the profession its due.

`Comedian' is a very short film – it runs a mere 81 minutes – and, as a result, it feels a little superficial at times and even truncated at the end. We would like to see a bit more of the lives of these two men – Adams, in particular, seems to disappear from the film a bit prematurely – but it is a must-see for anyone interested in this unusual branch of the entertainment field. The film will make you view stand-up comedy in a whole new light.

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 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.