Review: two good fingers up for 'Jerry Before Seinfeld'

Left-handed people do not like that the word “left” is so often associated with negative ideas. Left-footed, left-handed compliment, leftovers for dinner. Where did everybody at the party go? Oh, they left!

This is the premise of Jerry Seinfeld’s first claim to fame — the only joke that would work in the summer of 1976 at his audition at the Comic Strip Live, the oldest stand-up comedy showcase club in the world.

A Netflix original comedy special, "Jerry Before Seinfeld," is reminiscent of Jerry’s starting days as a stand-up comedian in New York City. The hour-long documentary mostly consists of a recent Jerry doing his stand-up comedy routine on the very stage that launched his career. The remaining duration of the film includes a mixture of old archival footage and new footage of Jerry in Manhattan and at his childhood home in Massapequa, New York.

Certainly funny and entertaining, the film carries nostalgia in many directions. Jerry’s stand-up comedy routine is in standard fashion of his stand-up comedy jokes at the start of every episode of "Seinfeld," the long-running TV series that brought him to the pinnacle of his success. 

We are brought to the house he grew up in as a kid — the place where he kept his collection of every comedy album and prop he could find. Jerry talks about how different growing up in the '60s was compared to growing up now. There was no nutrition, no restraint, no seat belt, no parental guidance and people weren’t being tracked 24/7. 

“If anything came to a stop, we just flew through the air! I was either eating 100 percent sugar or I was airborne, that was my childhood,” Jerry joked.

Jerry lived a humble childhood, but he never strove to be normal. By watching this film, we discover that Jerry has always been captivated by the desire to live an exciting life. 

“Being obsessed with comedy felt very liberating, because it didn’t have to do with the real world,” he said. 

In the 1970s, being a stand-up comedian was the hot new thing. When Jerry stumbled upon this up-and-coming scene in New York City, he knew immediately it was where he belonged, no matter what the circumstances. 

“I remembered thinking, even if I’m not any good at it, if I could just make enough for a loaf of bread a week I could survive, and that would be the greatest life I could have,” he said.

"Jerry Before Seinfeld" gives insight into the world of comedy. Comedians saw each other as socially dysfunctional and desperate. Jerry explains that it didn’t matter if people liked him— rather, if they liked the material and his sense of humor was validated.

An astounding moment of the film is when Jerry is shown sitting in the streets of Manhattan surrounded by every joke that worked for him since 1975 written on pieces of paper.

The film does a good job of showing the Jerry that people want to see and love, with some behind-the-scenes action. We get a feel for the culture he was inspired by, yet still feel left wanting to truly uncover the mystery behind his magic.  

Jerry is known for turning his thoughts about nothing into something iconic. When given the middle finger, he puts into perspective that it’s only one finger away from the good finger — a thumbs up.

“I don’t understand even why the finger is the finger," Jerry said. "Someone picks one of their fingers, they show it to me and I’m supposed to feel bad… I always try to remember if someone gives me this finger, I’m only one finger away from a compliment, so it’s not that bad.”

Through comedy, "Jerry Before Seinfeld" gives us a glimpse into Jerry’s rise to success and what following your passions may lead to — a message that is always worth watching. 

On that note, I’ll give this film two good fingers up.

@laurashanny

arts@dailytarheel.com