Word: seinfeldisms
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...Seinfeld doesn't swagger; he has a cool confidence that is quiet but unmistakable. He laughs out loud at other comedians' jokes, something rare in that line of work. "Hey, I'm not that insecure," he says. His own comedy dives just below the surface of the culture; he talks about "tweezering" things out of society. "Every great joke uncovers something," he says...
...schools of comedy grew out of Lenny Bruce, he says. One is the Establishment comedian represented by Alan King; the other is the younger, edgier, anti-Establishment comic represented by George Carlin. What they have in common is simple: "They're funny." For Seinfeld, that's the gold standard. A young Alan King appears onscreen in a tuxedo, holding an unlit cigar. Seinfeld looks on reverently. "The cigar confers authority, wisdom, arrogance," says Seinfeld, "all key elements of being a comedian...
Next up is Robert Klein, wearing a sweater and saddle shoes, performing before a college audience. Seinfeld chuckles as Klein talks about sliding down the couch on the Tonight Show. Seinfeld recalls that when he first saw Klein perform, "I said to myself, 'I could do that.' The way he looked at the world was funny. He had a point of view. That's stand-up. And at the time, I didn't even know how to get a tuxedo...
...Seinfeld, who's a lot more socialized than most. His stance toward the universe is bemused irreverence; he's the ironic Bar Mitzvah boy, neat, well mannered but ready to puncture the pretense of everything going on around him. In some ways he just hides the hostility better than most. At one point in Comedian, he turns to a club audience and says, "You're in charge of deciding what's funny or not, and you know nothing. What gives you the authority? You bought two drinks." They laugh...
...People say that Pryor at his peak was the best there ever was," Seinfeld says, "but Bill Cosby is just as good." He doesn't get the credit, Seinfeld says, "because he's not as dark." Darkness, he says, makes you sexier. At this point, Seinfeld is interrupted when a senior ladies group from Long Beach, Long Island, on a tour of the museum, spy him. Three gray-haired women surround him, practically pinching his cheek. One says, "Jerry, I watch your show all the time, but it's too late, 11 o'clock." "Then watch...