Xixax Film Forum

Film Discussion => Digital Streams & Criterion Dreams => Topic started by: sphinx on May 24, 2003, 01:29:11 PM

Title: comedian
Post by: sphinx on May 24, 2003, 01:29:11 PM
just watched the movie on dvd.  thoroughly enjoyable, i know a lot of people detested it, but i have to say that i'm a fan of jerry seinfeld.  i like the clean menu design, but it gets a bit annoying to watch them fade in and out before they come up to something selectable.

the movie itself was good, i could relate to a lot of the things, even if you're not a comedian, if you've ever gone on stage there's some stuff you'll just eat up in it.  it wasn't trying to be anything more than it was, and i adored the soundtrack.  many critics were put off by the fact that we didn't get to see seinfeld telling as many jokes as we could, but i don't think that's the point of the movie----we already know how funny seinfeld is, and the movie isn't supposed to be some joke writing tutorial, either.  i was devoid of expectations before watching and i thought it was great.

deleted scenes were good, especially the 'dna' one.  it was great to be able to see the letterman appearances in full, 'where is orny now' was enjoyable and sad, i didn't get much out of the jiminy glick interviews, and i'm diving into the commentaries right now.

there's a bit of a boogie nights reference at the beginning of the seinfeld commentary if that makes any of you go out and rent it.
Title: Re: comedian
Post by: Cecil on May 24, 2003, 02:19:53 PM
Quote from: sphinxthere's a bit of a boogie nights reference at the beginning of the seinfeld commentary if that makes any of you go out and rent it.

can you just tell us what it is?

ive allready seen the movie in theatres
Title: comedian
Post by: ©brad on May 24, 2003, 02:33:23 PM
wait what is this thing? i'm lost. i've never heard of it before. seinfeld is in it? i'm there.
Title: comedian
Post by: AlguienEstolamiPantalones on May 24, 2003, 02:33:44 PM
this movie will be for future stand up comics what wall street is to stock brokers today
Title: comedian
Post by: sphinx on May 24, 2003, 02:41:26 PM
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.amazon.com%2Fimages%2FP%2FB00005JLW5.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg&hash=154cceec8a4918f9c912936a18b392349cfb08e2)

and no, i can't just tell you the reference because that would be cheating

:yabbse-cheesy:
Title: comedian
Post by: ©brad on May 24, 2003, 02:52:24 PM
SWEET!
Title: comedian
Post by: ShanghaiOrange on May 24, 2003, 05:25:59 PM
I love that cover-art. :(
Title: comedian
Post by: cowboykurtis on May 25, 2003, 12:10:59 PM
i found this movie very bitter sweet -- i was quite depressed when i walked out of the theater.
Title: comedian
Post by: RegularKarate on June 14, 2003, 03:00:06 PM
I'm bringing this back to life (until it's ignored for the weekend at which point, it will die again).

I just watched this last night and liked it quite a bit.  I have to say that I HATE Orny.  What a fucking annoying, unfunny prick and it was really too bad that they spent so much time with him.

Other than that though, good shit.

****SPOILER****

I CAN'T BELIEVE BILL COSBY SAID "SHIT" TWICE!!!!
Title: comedian
Post by: sphinx on June 14, 2003, 03:03:34 PM
orny really does have problems.  a lot of them.

it was fun to see him fail at times, though

and the 'where is orny now' dvd feature will give you satisfaction that he hasn't risen to be the nation's new idol or something
Title: comedian
Post by: AlguienEstolamiPantalones on June 14, 2003, 04:36:15 PM
Quote from: sphinxorny really does have problems.  a lot of them.

it was fun to see him fail at times, though

and the 'where is orny now' dvd feature will give you satisfaction that he hasn't risen to be the nation's new idol or something

orny seems rather self important , and i just dont get it why so many un happy people get into comedy

i know that whole cliche about uh happy people are the funniest people, but i dunno you at least have to be happy about something, then you can be misrable about everything else .

when it comes to comedy, i am not as jaded as i am about other things

i love stand up comedy with a passion, and thats the one thing i got from jerry in the movie

but i will say this in ornys defense , being in that world could make you crazy
Title: comedian
Post by: SoNowThen on June 14, 2003, 06:27:06 PM
I love Orny. I especially like when he has a bad set, and he blames it on the audience. Classic. I think the guy's got a unique attitude. Like when that fucker is telling him to be more like Steven Wright, the whole time I was thinking "just shut the fuck up", then when he leaves, Orny actually puts voice to what I was thinking. We need more funny assholes.
Title: comedian
Post by: Sal on June 14, 2003, 08:57:52 PM
Didn't like it.  I rented hoping to, but was very dissapointed by the time it finished. The documentary really didnt know what it wanted to be about.  It started weak, it progressed weak, and it ended weak.  Comedy is hard business.  Great.  Did I need to sit through two hours to figure that out? I got that in the first ten minutes.  What else was left, watching an asshole named Orny try and elevate into the business?  Success comes with attitude, and the guy was sporting a bad one.  

Eeh.  And the special features were weak, too.
Title: comedian
Post by: sphinx on June 14, 2003, 09:07:21 PM
Quote from: AlguienEstolamiPantalonesbut i will say this in ornys defense , being in that world could make you crazy

that's true.  i know very little of the structure of standup as seinfeld pointed out to me in the movie
Title: comedian
Post by: lamas on June 14, 2003, 09:57:04 PM
I hated Orny throughout the movie but thought he was actually somewhat funny during his Letterman appearance.  It's worth renting this alone to see Seinfeld completely lose his train of thought onstage.  That was classic.
Title: comedian
Post by: AlguienEstolamiPantalones on June 15, 2003, 05:03:16 PM
Quote from: SoNowThenI love Orny. I especially like when he has a bad set, and he blames it on the audience. Classic. I think the guy's got a unique attitude. Like when that fucker is telling him to be more like Steven Wright, the whole time I was thinking "just shut the fuck up", then when he leaves, Orny actually puts voice to what I was thinking. We need more funny assholes.

that he is, funny and a asshole

i just wish more comedians would be happy doing what they are doing, its your lifes dream remember that
Title: comedian
Post by: AlguienEstolamiPantalones on June 15, 2003, 05:11:41 PM
Quote from: sphinx
Quote from: AlguienEstolamiPantalonesbut i will say this in ornys defense , being in that world could make you crazy

that's true.  i know very little of the structure of standup as seinfeld pointed out to me in the movie

you have to know the rules before you break them, some people forget that

what makes me ill is people my age who watch a few andy kaufman movies stuff like mr show, and they try and go out there and become comics, and well fuck nooooooooo

nothing is as painfull in life as sitting through a BAD improv group that is filled with cocky assholes who think they are awsome but they fucking have no talent what so ever.

i love comedy, and i study it i watch shit that people my age would never even think to look at

i study george wallice, and i study eddie murphy , and old school bill murry, re runs of the david letterman show from the 80's  

i study all kinds of comedy and absorb it all, i love don rickles and rodney dangerfield

but a lot of young comics dont even know who these guys are , they may know rodney but only from his films

one of my fav stand up comics in the 90's was wanda sykes hall, and she has gotten really popular

i dunno i love stand up comedy, i think people who do it and look like they are misrable for it, are just ya know being dumb
Title: comedian
Post by: children with angels on June 15, 2003, 08:42:24 PM
Quote from: AlguienEstolamiPantalonesi love comedy, and i study it

Totally serious recomendation: you might like to check out the play 'Comedians' by Trevor Griffiths.

I just always recommend that play to anyone I meet who wants to be a comedian. It's about a group of aspiring stand-ups working on their routines and performing them and it's got a lot to say about comedy - why we need it, why we do it... It's very British, and a bit dated (from the 70's), but it's excellent.
Title: comedian
Post by: AlguienEstolamiPantalones on June 15, 2003, 09:32:09 PM
Quote from: children with angels
Quote from: AlguienEstolamiPantalonesi love comedy, and i study it

Totally serious recomendation: you might like to check out the play 'Comedians' by Trevor Griffiths.

I just always recommend that play to anyone I meet who wants to be a comedian. It's about a group of aspiring stand-ups working on their routines and performing them and it's got a lot to say about comedy - why we need it, why we do it... It's very British, and a bit dated (from the 70's), but it's excellent.

i saw the tv version with David Burke, i like trevor griffiths he also wrote reds with warren beatty

sorry i called you a douch the other day, i was mad  you called me a frat boy . the irony is i am mad because no frat would take me........ the pain the pain
Title: comedian
Post by: AlguienEstolamiPantalones on June 15, 2003, 09:53:22 PM
i like to think my comedy is cute and goofy while still being very Cerebral to the point that it is very easy to get the wrong idea, but fuck it because i really only care what people think about my dancing, after all i am the Leader of the Mambo Revolution, tito puente is our Che Guevara

phill marlowe is our Ace hitman , more badass then any green beret

he has been known to kill many a man in the name of mambo
Title: comedian
Post by: godardian on June 16, 2003, 01:04:37 AM
Quote from: AlguienEstolamiPantalones

one of my fav stand up comics in the 90's was wanda sykes hall, and she has gotten really popular


I haven't seen her show, but her standup is brilliantly funny. She and Chris Rock, with their perfect mix of intelligence and irreverence, make most others look one-dimensional at best. From what I've seen, I don't think what they've been offered outside of stand-up has been up to their talents.
Title: comedian
Post by: AlguienEstolamiPantalones on June 16, 2003, 02:28:01 AM
Quote from: godardian
Quote from: AlguienEstolamiPantalones

one of my fav stand up comics in the 90's was wanda sykes hall, and she has gotten really popular


I haven't seen her show, but her standup is brilliantly funny. She and Chris Rock, with their perfect mix of intelligence and irreverence, make most others look one-dimensional at best. From what I've seen, I don't think what they've been offered outside of stand-up has been up to their talents.

wow a word for word post from you that i agree with, your about as shocked as i am
Title: comedian
Post by: phil marlowe on June 16, 2003, 04:38:26 AM
Quote from: AlguienEstolamiPantalonesbut fuck it because i really only care what people think about my dancing, after all i am the Leader of the Mambo Revolution, tito puente is our Che Guevara

phill marlowe is our Ace hitman , more badass then any green beret

he has been known to kill many a man in the name of mambo
mí español es primitivo pero mí creencia es fuerte.
Title: comedian
Post by: Sigur Rós on June 16, 2003, 05:51:54 AM
Quote from: AlguienEstolamiPantalonesi like to think my comedy is cute and goofy while still being very Cerebral to the point that it is very easy to get the wrong idea, but fuck it because i really only care what people think about my dancing, after all i am the Leader of the Mambo Revolution, tito puente is our Che Guevara

phill marlowe is our Ace hitman , more badass then any green beret

he has been known to kill many a man in the name of mambo

What's all this about a Mambo Revolution. I'll be willin' to do suicide bombings! Just let me in on the plan!  :(

...And you know what? I can:

 (https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eventsdirect.com%2Fcorprave%2Fmambo.jpg&hash=18d8bf98984815a0f49aff8293384221897d3ab7)
Title: comedian
Post by: phil marlowe on June 16, 2003, 05:57:22 AM
if the mambos kills this thread well then we have an angry angry sphinx.

for now, lets just say, death to the gringos who won't let us dance.
Title: comedian
Post by: AlguienEstolamiPantalones on June 16, 2003, 03:49:04 PM
Quote from: Phil Marloweif the mambos kills this thread well then we have an angry angry sphinx.

for now, lets just say, death to the gringos who won't let us dance.

damn dirty gringos
Title: comedian
Post by: MacGuffin on October 03, 2003, 03:25:38 PM
Quote from: RegularKarateI'm bringing this back to life (until it's ignored for the weekend at which point, it will die again).

Okay, I'll bring this back again and steer around to the film again.

Just watched this and I really enjoyed it. It shows the great difficulties in being a comedian, finding/writing new material and how much power the audience has. Like sphinx said, any performer can relate to the pressures of doing great, being "on" and not forgetting and ruining yourself on stage. That stuff was great to watch, but there wasn't enough of it. A lot of scenes were montages. I wanted to hear more conversations with Bill Cosby, Jay Leno and Robert Kline. Those were the interesting bits to watch.

As for Orny, while it was a great idea to see the contrast between an established comedian and a fresh one, Orny was not the guy to watch. His arrogance and whining to have it all NOW just really makes you not want the guy to succeed; instead of seeing the hunger and desire, you see his ego.
Title: comedian
Post by: kotte on February 02, 2004, 02:08:09 PM
Just watched it. Like it alot. Agree with pretty much everything MacGuffin said.

The thing I like the most is the Seinfeldt - Orny conversation. I love how he says 'yuck' to family-house-dog-volvo. Love it. I can totally relate to what Orny's feeling...buddies getting well-paid jobs etc etc.
My favourite favourite part.
Title: comedian
Post by: SoNowThen on February 02, 2004, 02:12:46 PM
I like Orny. I like his personality. Often I was more interested in him than in Jerry. I don't understand why a guy has to be 'nice' for people to get on board with him. Orny's hungry, and pissed off, and emotional -- and that makes for good watching. He's not boring, he's always got something to say. Plus, keep in mind he's in his early thirties (or late 20's?), and he's been slumming at this for awhile. If I have to wait until I'm 28 to make a film, I will be bitter and hate everything too... oh wait, I kinda already am... :wink:

Anyway, I love this little movie. I do agree though, I would've liked to see more Cosby. I didn't realize he was so respected by his peers.
Title: comedian
Post by: kotte on February 02, 2004, 02:35:46 PM
Love Seinfeldt's beetle.  :)
Title: comedian
Post by: Sebastian Haff on February 14, 2004, 08:07:02 PM
I had expected a little more from Comedian. It was not bad, but it seemed very "stream of conscience." There wasn't really the tension or plot that you so often see in great documentaries.

It was interesting to watch once, though. Like being a fly on the wall in this guy's life.

Personally, I find documentaries either fascinating or horrible. Rarely do I find myself on the fence in regard to a documentary like I did Comedian.
Title: comedian
Post by: Sigur Rós on February 15, 2004, 12:33:43 PM
Quote from: Sebastian HaffI was not bad, but it seemed very "stream of conscience."

Why is that a negative thing?