The Gum (14 Dec. 1995)

Lloyd Braun comes back from the insane asylum. Kramer takes him under his wing and convinces Jerry to buy gum from him and wear glasses that don't belong to him to prove that Lloyd isn't ... See full summary »

Director:

Andy Ackerman

Writers:

Larry David (creator), Jerry Seinfeld (creator),

Stars:

Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Michael Richards

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Jerry Seinfeld	...	Jerry Seinfeld
Julia Louis-Dreyfus	...	Elaine Benes
Michael Richards	...	Cosmo Kramer
Jason Alexander	...	George Costanza
Matt McCoy	...	Lloyd
Mary Jo Keenen	...	Deena
Eric Christmas	...	Haarwood
Sandy Ward	...	Pop Lazzari
Ruth Cohen	...	Cashier
Lionel Mark Smith	...	Florist
Vito D'Ambrosio	...	Cop
Alan Watt	...	Attendant

Storyline

Lloyd Braun comes back from the insane asylum. Kramer takes him under his wing and convinces Jerry to buy gum from him and wear glasses that don't belong to him to prove that Lloyd isn't crazy. George tries to prove to his old neighbor Deena that he isn't crazy after a cashier short changes him.

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Plot Keywords:

wet t shirt | popcorn | movie theater | car fire | story continued during end credits | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 December 1995 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shapiro/West Productions, Castle Rock Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

23 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

In this episode, Michael Richards' character Kramer is described as having a "Raymond Massey" physique. Many years later Michael Richards would play the character Jonathan Brewster in a London stage production of Arsenic and Old Lace, a part played in the movie version of Arsenic and Old Lace by Raymond Massey.

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Connections

References The Private Life of Henry VIII. (1933)

User Reviews

Brilliant

"The Gum" is inspired because it's the kind of material that would be hard to pull off with lesser talents than are found in the SEINFELD cast. The business with Jerry and the big glasses is silly, yet it works with Seinfeld's perfect deadpan response to it. While Kramer and the rancid hot dog is a case of an actor really believing the moment. All done to avoid making Lloyd Braun think he's crazy.

Elaine's missing button is a very funny bit, brought to life by the performer's great timing. Possibly best of all is George and his attempt to convince an old friend he's not crazy. This is one of the great SEINFELD episodes in which multiple plot lines are made to intersect, yielding even greater laughs ("Don't you see? He's only wearing them to fool Lloyd Braun!!"), and hilarious visual gags.