Jerry Before Seinfeld (2017)

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld takes the stage at the comedy club where he began his career to recount his early life.

Director:

Michael Bonfiglio

Writer:

Jerry Seinfeld

Stars:

Jerry Seinfeld, Jimmy Brogan, Mark Schiff

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Credited cast:
Jerry Seinfeld	...	Himself
Jimmy Brogan	...	Himself - Special Guest
Mark Schiff	...	Himself - Special Guest
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Carolyn Liebling	...	Herself - Jerry's Sister (archive footage)

Storyline

Jerry Seinfeld returns to The Comic Strip in New York City for a stand-up set at the club that helped launched his career. Interspersed with never-before-seen material -- including a library of legal pads with every joke he's written since 1975, childhood videos, and more -- Jerry performs jokes that put him on the comedy map.

---

Plot Keywords:

tonight show | return to roots | cereal | the comic strip | stand up | 

---

Genres:

Documentary | Comedy

---

Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 September 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

Jerry Before Seinfeld

Filming Locations:

The Comic Strip, 1568 2nd Ave, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Embassy Row

Technical Specs

Runtime:

62 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jerry used many of his jokes from past performances for this film.

---

Connections

References The Bourne Identity (2002)

User Reviews

A Nice Look Back With Modest Humor

When a comic goes back and does his old schtick sometimes it doesn't quite impress as it did when it was topical and fresh. Jerry Seinfeld can, at least in front of a home crowd, re-do his old act and still hold an audience's interest. Will it be the same for everyone who became fans mostly built on his humor in the Seinfeld series is another matter. What will be appreciated is that it's clean and not in any way reaching. Jerry is just doing young Jerry and he's definitely not trying too hard...and, he's still funny to an acceptable degree. But, for a standup comedy video act this isn't overly funny. As a straight comedy video it's even kind of pedestrian. As a look-back with his early act it works much better which is the point.

What's clear is that Jerry always has been a wry observer for whom everything should be questioned to find some absurdity. Jerry does this as good as anyone and definitely has his own style. I'd like to see a less reined-in Seinfeld with material that looks at today's absurdities in his unique style. Maybe that will be the second installment of his specials? For now it is good to see him on stage and having a good time with some modest amount of humor laced with a few killer observations. I think as a fun little look back at his early years it succeeds so don't be expecting a revelatory "Jerry's Back" act. Seinfeld, especially for what he did with his series, is definitely one of the finest comedians of any time.