Norman's Corner

This is one of the best comedy specials Cinemax ever aired. It follows grouchy newsstand owner Norman played by Gilbert Gottfried throughout his day working at his newsstand. There are some hilarious interludes with the various people he comes in contact with. Gottfried's performance suggests that Norman is just a few steps from being insane. One of the best quotes is one Gottfried says to a homeless woman played by Margaret Smith "Meatloaf I don't like it's like a bunch of hamburgers that got in a car accident". Although lacking in some points it is still 30 minutes of fun and I give it 10 cause I expect nothing more or less from it.

I was watching Gilbert's stand up act when this one off came on. I could not believe how incredible he was as an actor, it is literally him doing a one man show since he goes the entire time with little or no play amongst other actors. AMAZING! I actually brought this up to Gilbert once and he was embarrassed by it. Honestly don't know why he would feel that way because his performance was incredible. And to think that this guy sits on this much talent is incredible.

Also, it is very Seinfeldian. Obviously Larry David wrote this BEFORE Seinfeld, and you can tell. Gilbert is by far the better actor, if you look at Seinfeld he always has an embarrassed/nervous smile on his face whereas Gilbert is by far the pro. This sitcom would not have done well on TV because it is too stagy -- it might have been due to a low budget that they did not have the capacity to make it with a "sitcom" feel.

Gilbert shines! It is interesting to ask yourself the obvious question, "Why wasn't this Seinfeld?" Too stagy, too "shticky" in terms of Gilbert's mannerisms it could have been an "All In the Family" type sitcom with embellished social issues from passersby...

Without question, worth watching...just to see this guy ACT!

This one-off pilot/vehicle for Gilbert was written by Larry David with Gilbert's own material added in. It is based in Manhattan where Gilbert runs a stand that sells papers, magazines, snacks, etc. Of course, being Gilbert, he constantly has funny and neurotic things to say about his customers and work at the stand, including a rant about how he loves to make change, and his price for Lifesavers candies is part of a massive conspiracy when a man considers the price to be too high. Of course their is a supporting cast of characters as well, the best being Arnold Stang, who has been in various movies and TV shows. The most interesting thing about this pilot is the fact that it has all the basic elements of what would later be Seinfeld. It's got a very New York sensibility to it, with characters talking about nothing, and doing it in a very funny way. There is also no warm fuzzy sentiment or resolution to the story, something that later would be the backbone of the Seinfeld show. So, if you don't like Gilbert, you might find this hard to watch, but might find it interesting because it's a prototype of Seinfeld, arguably the greatest sitcom made to date.