irish23 While the box promises hilarious comedy, the video it holds delivers a solid documentary about what it takes to be a class act in stand-up comedy, both as an up-and-comer and as someone trying reinvent himself.Orny Adams is in need of serious mental health help. He consistently goes to pieces and is tortured by his inner demons.Jerry Seinfeld, on the other hand, shows how someone with a basic sense of self-esteem and a rewarding personal life deals with the nerve-wracking ordeal that is "creating a compelling live show." The picture documents this process carefully and gives good insights for performers in all genre. It's not a laugh riot, and it's -just- compelling enough to watch the whole way through, but it's not something one needs to see twice.

Jonathan Dore A catalogue of disappointments.Any film-maker who thinks the built-in mic on his hand-held video camera is good enough to provide the sound for a documentary feature should never have been allowed to graduate from film school. You would have thought the fact that many of the scenes take place in crowded, indoor spaces with reverberant surfaces (comedy clubs in basements, low-ceilinged restaurants, green rooms etc) would have given him a clue that the sound was going to need some help, but he seemed to prefer to capture his venues' authentic ambiance of inaudibility. Apart from the sheer technical incompetence, this decision also means it's difficult to know what's actually going on. What were the producers thinking when they allowed him to get away with this? Second, Christian Charles is so in love with his subject he can't conceive that not everyone will know who everyone in the film is, so he doesn't even bother with the simple courtesy of a name at the bottom of the screen the first time each person appears. Unless for some reason he specifically wants to limit his audience to the United States, that's not a very smart move. Again, the producers don't seem to have grasped a rather obvious issue.Third, the material just isn't interesting enough. Very, very seldom are we allowed to hear a joke all the way through to the punchline, and although that's not what the film's primarily about, a film-maker with any sense would realize that getting some laughs out of the experience is what would make sitting through the comedians' tediously solipsistic backstage self-examination worthwhile. Every laugh we get is like a glass of water to someone lost in the desert. It's what people listen to comedians *for*, Chris. We don't do it because they're interesting people.

JamesGriswold I have watched this twice and it seems you have to personally want/need to entertain to appreciate it. The process of performing or a performance is both immensely nerve racking and ultimately very satisfying. Comedian will draw you in to that process as opposed to entertaining you as a viewer with stand-up comedy. The main quest is the pursuit of a lengthy comedy act. Seinfeld's personal struggle is not intensely dramatic or humorous but rather very compelling to you the performer; "how can I validate myself all over again when I don't need the money, what am I here for?" I would recommend this to anyone who wants to do stand-up or sketch comedy or theater, or any other live performance for that matter. If this is you then you will appreciate the process Seinfeld goes through because it is the journey back to his calling, what made Seinfeld matter to you and me.

Markmainwaring Jerry Seinfeld is not my favourite comedian (that position is currently being fought out between Ricky Gervais and Larry David) but he is pretty high up on my list. When I first heard about this film I was very excited. As soon as it came out on region 1 DVD I got it. And I was disappointed.The main reason for my disappointment was not just due to the fact the film becomes boring fast but also because it seems to follow one of the most annoying men of all time, a young comedian called Orny Adams. Now I can see what the directer was trying to do. Compare a old comedian with new material and a new young comedian trying the same thing. But why they had to follow someone so annoying and arrogant I don't understand.If you do have to buy this DVD the best thing about it is the hilarious theatrical trailer. The trailer is surely the best thing about this film.