On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) asked if Jerry Seinfeld was right about the state of comedy. (You can read his full interview with David Remnick here.) Then they review Challengers, an erotically charged relationship movie set in the world of professional tennis. Make sure to swing by Friday for a bonus episode on the cinematic soundscapes of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. And if you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend!
So being a rude dick is what makes you funny? Personally I never thought that Seinfeld was funny. Maybe it was because They were boorish people. I'm old school comedy. Friends, Cheers, Frazier.
I have seen Jerry Seinfeld complain about political correctness several times over the past few years. It isn't as though political correctness didn't exist while he was producing his classic sitcom. I wonder why no one has ever come back with the quote from his 1997 "60 Minutes" interview, which I relevantly queued up here within the segment for everyone's convenience:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2togFepved8&t=572s
"That's fun! That's part of the game! It's like playing by the rules. That's what makes the game fun is the rules. Without the rules it's not fun."
(Thanks to 60 Minutes/CBS for posting this segment to YouTube within the past year; I haven't forgotten this quote since I first saw it when it was broadcast. It's pretty brilliant for addressing political correctness in comedy)
Alyssa nails it. I HATED Seinfeld. It was just a stupid show about a bunch of thoroughly unlikeable characters. I don't like roasts. I ABHOR pranks and all of the video shows. I love Abbot Elementary. It's such a great show. Comedy doesn't have to be raunchy or mean or political. But people have different tastes. There are approximately a billion shows available now, so we all can find something we like.
I listened to the Seinfeld interview (the New Yorker broadcast in NPR). It is really unfortunate to analyze in a serious way what is just a tidbit from his interview. In fact he talked about a lot. Much more about the life of a comedian. So.. he said over a lifetime you can write maybe 2 hours tops. And ... there is something to his comment about PC - other comedians have noted this too. Thus many say that it is harder to appear at colleges these days. I am older too - and I suggest Seinfeld watches much less TV at 70 that he did when 50. I also suggest that the world had moved on from Seinfeld - that he is old and no longer represents the times. I remember humorist Henry Morgan speaking about SNL when it was new. I was in my 20s and found him out of touch. So Seinfeld not longer represents our times. You guys spent way too much time on what was just a comment.