Jerry Before Seinfeld

Jerry Seinfeld's clearly a pro comes when it comes to comedy, and even if he's telling jokes that aren't among his strongest or best, I still find them entertaining (as is the case here). Most of Jerry Before Seinfeld shows Jerry telling jokes from throughout his career, while small sections where he reflects on his past and his beginnings in comedy are interspersed throughout his routine.

This special is a little on the short side, and likely won't blow anyone's expectations, but fans of Jerry Seinfeld will likely get something out of it. Most jokes worked for me personally, even if nothing really proved to be 'laugh out loud' funny.

There were only a couple of parts that I thought misfired. There's a short section where two of Jerry's friends reminisce with him about doing comedy in the 1970s, which felt a little awkward and forced, and then another part shortly after, where somebody in the audience calls out something related to baseball, which Jerry then springboards off and begins a lengthy joke about sports teams. If this was intended to feel spontaneous or unscripted, it didn't really.

Still, I can't be too negative about watching this, because it was enjoyable enough and, like I said, most of it worked fairly well. Also, I've always admired Jerry Seinfeld's ability to be funny without being raunchy or swearing a whole lot, even though I personally don't really have a problem with bad language in comedy (if I did, there wouldn't be too many comedians I could listen to!) I guess his relatively clean comedy serves as a nice change of pace, and maybe even adds to the casual, relaxed feeling of a comedy special such as this one.

I learnt of this special when it was mentioned in an episode of the new Comedians in Cars season - before that I had never heard it was out there; perhaps this was the reason for the mention, but I doubt it. The special is somewhat of a trip down memory lane, as Seinfeld does a show at the club he started at, and that show is framed as memories from the time, as well as pulling material from his past too. In this way it feels very familiar, although I am not sure it is the material so much as the many himself. His presence and cultural impact via his show very much means he has no tricks left to pull other than the ones we know. As such I'm not sure he has a gear that would now be seen as pushing the envelope.

So, it is familiar and he seems to know that, hence the comfortable approach to the material. His delivery is good, and even though on paper the subjects and observations are all over the place, it actually flows very well and stands up well as a whole. I've read comments saying it is low energy and not 'classic' Seinfeld but I think that the problem is that it very much is 'classic' Seinfeld - and we know what that is and how it works. As such the show is overly familiar and delivers no more than we expected, even if it is funny and professional throughout.

People who are expecting new material will be disappointed. The title says it all. These are glimpses or insights into a part of Jerry before he became THE SEINFELD. It is shown in fragments of him on stage as well providing us reels of him as a child, how his family is, just a normal kid. Perhaps it will be easier for the new viewer not to take things too literally and get to know him a bit. Which is the purpose of this docuspecial anyways. It is interesting to take into account that Jerry the normal kid became such a megacomedian if say you want to compare him to other superstar comedians who came from the slums, poverty and the likes. His normalcy gave him an edge, clean cut you may say but a funny genius nonetheless.

I've been on a standup binge lately, both in English and Spanish. It is a breath of fresh air to hear an OG great comic do a whole set without talking about weed and jobs. I'm a Millennial and I'm burnt out going to garbage shows and watching trash specials that rely on weed and sex as their whole set. Love Jerry's light observational humor here. Nothing that will have you crying laughing, but a nice way to spend an hour.

Jerry Seinfeld is no doubt one of the original kings of clean comedy and we remember him for this stand-ups pieces from Seinfeld. Even his special, post Seinfeld was tight. However, this offering from Jerry doesn't even come close.

Jerry is aging and that is no secret. However, it is evident from the lack of energy in his routine. Jerry has tried to transition to the seasoned comic routines that the likes of George Carlin specialized in, where the comics talk about their experiences a lot and crib about everything. However, without the aggression of Carlin and the comic relevance of Louis CK, this particular stand-up is more of a miss than a hit. Most of the special focuses on his experiences and only a few punch lines are funny. And those are the jokes from several previous specials.

Some of the lines lack humor to the extent of making you cringe. People used to say the Jerry's comedy was for the sheep and I was one of them. His mainstream comedy has transitioned into an unfunny narrative that is selectively laced with mild humor.

Watch it for Jerry, if you have to. If you miss it, you wouldn't be missing much. If like me, you want to remember Jerry in a different light, avoid watching at any cost.