Rob’s Review:
Jerry Seinfeld is back at it with 12 new episodes of guests as they discuss comedy, life, showbiz, and their own individual histories, all while drinking coffee, eating breakfast, and driving around in some unique automobile. It’s a formula that still works, but now more than ever, depends entirely on both the guest and their chemistry with Jerry.
Season 11 has some good episodes and an amazing one; if you want to see the best of the bunch, start at the beginning with episode 1 featuring Eddie Murphy. It’s so hysterical it’s one of the longest ever CICGC episodes clocking in at 41 minutes. By comparison, the shortest episode of the season goes to comedic embarrassment Sebastian Manicotti who can only squeeze out 16 minutes of air-able content, 2 of which is Jerry describing the scooters they’re riding, and the rest of the time, Jerry providing anything remotely close to humor. With Murphy, he and Jerry talk about their beginnings, why and how there are those of us who literally find everything funny, and we get great insight into Eddie’s early days dealing with Richard Pryor and Bill Cosby. It’s a spectacular episode that reminds you how funny and talented Eddie Murphy is and why he needs to get back on tour (which he claims he’s working on).
Episodes 3 & 4 are good, but relatively speaking, disappointing, if you’re a Ricky Gervais-phile such as I. It has some stellar moments, including the never ending gag about whether or not they will leave in Jerry’s politically incorrect reference to all Chinese people looking alike; but there are also too many slow moments. Towards the end, we find out Jerry is exhausted from a charity gig the night before and it shows. Ricky is his usual ebullient self, but can only carry so much of the 30 minutes.
For other highlights, episode 6 with Jamie Foxx is fun and episodes 8 and 9 are good, with asterisks. Both Martin Short and Mario Joyner have short self-lives for me; meaning they get old quickly, and in each of these episodes it’s true. The rest of the guests are somewhere between lackluster (Seth Rogan, Mathew Broderick) and just flat out lame (who the hell is Bridget Everett anyways…don’t write and tell me, I watched the episode and it was awful).
For fun when you’re bored, watch for continuity in this show; it’s appallingly bad. Don’t get me wrong, I get what Jerry is doing (he personally oversees all of the editing). He cares more about the verbal content, which I respect. But it is funny to see Eddie Murphy stirring his coffee one moment, and 1 minute later being served coffee for the first time while still seemingly talking about the same subject. There are also fun background games you can play spotting police escorts and people who recognize the stars and mouth the words “That’s Jerry Seinfeld.”
It’s a fun show, but it really shines with the right guests. Don’t binge it; watch it when you need an escape.
