The New Deal

A decade or so later, it's easy to mock the observational humor style of Jerry Seinfeld, as what was once innovative has become the stand-up cliché. Seinfeld knows it, too, which is why, after his eponymous sitcom ended, he did one last big HBO special and then formally retired all his own material to start afresh. Unlike many stand-ups, he's never seemed to have big acting aspirations -- with one or two minor exceptions, he's only ever played stand-up comedians named Jerry Seinfeld. So it's no surprise to note that the first feature film to bear his name above the credits as the star, Comedian, is in fact a documentary. Directed by Christian Charles, who worked on Jerry's American Express commercials, it's a movie designed primarily to answer the question: "So, just what the hell is Jerry Seinfeld doing these days anyway?"

He's doing stand-up, of course, and agonizing over new material. And some of his stuff is genuinely different this time, though by movie's end he's fallen into familiar patterns of wondering just what the deal is with answering messages, or why people in cars check themselves out as reflected in mirrored buildings. Charles takes us somewhat into the creative process -- Jerry pacing in the green room, Jerry testing new jokes, Jerry eating french fries with Colin Quinn. Yet Jerry doesn't completely open up: When his wife and baby show up, those of us who don't obsessively follow the tabloids may wonder, "Wait a minute! What wife, what baby? Is she that teenage girl he dated a while back?" (Answer: no.)

That Jerry would want to keep his personal life shielded is understandable; that his wife and daughter aren't even named on film when we see them, nor looked at in any depth by the director, seems a significant sin of omission. It makes you wonder what else Jerry, who also produced, kept out of range of the cameras: We get to hear him use profanity (the only reason for the film's R rating), but other than that, there's little sense of just how Jerry Seinfeld the person differs from Jerry Seinfeld the character on that show produced by Larry David.

All of this is perhaps why Charles splits his focus and turns his camera on another comedian: up-and-comer Orny Adams, a big swinging dick determined to convince the world and himself that he's God's gift to the comedy game. Ever camera-aware, Orny never shuts up about himself, even in candid moments, and it's with him that we get a look at just how much preparation is really needed to get out onstage and do a good job. Charles's heart isn't with Adams, however, and at a certain point he simply loses interest and goes back to Jerry. What we're left with is half a movie about a cocky up-and-comer and half a movie that could be one of those MTV Diary of . . . specials on Jerry Seinfeld.

Which isn't to say that Comedian's worthless; it's often a capable documentary on an interesting subject, even if it doesn't probe as deeply as it could. It gives us a look at various familiar faces in casual moments, among them Bill Cosby, Chris Rock, Jay Leno, and Garry Shandling, who seems the most like his onstage persona, more so even than Jerry.