Jerry Seinfeld is definitely a seasoned stand-up comedian, for sure. But he is just not all that funny,. And that is a statement that I will stick to. In fact, I didn't even laugh once throughout this hour of comedy. all he managed to get was some smiles here and there.His material in terms of jokes and punchlikes is well thought through, but it just was a swing and a miss as in regards my sense of humor.He was funny in the "Seinfeld" show, and that is why I decided to sit down to watch the "Jerry Before Seinfeld" stand-up comedy show. And with it now seen, then I can honestly say that I am in no way motivated to go sit down and watch his other stand-up comedy shows.

One recent Sunday night, my nephew sent me a text with a screenshot of a photo taken of me in the early 80s, when I worked at the Comic Strip in New York City. That's where Jerry performed as a comedian at the start of his career and the setting for Jerry Before Seinfeld. My nephew was watching the film on Netflix, saw the photo and recognized me immediately. When I saw this picture of 'young me' in his text, I was stunned. At first I wondered how the producers could use it without asking my permission. And then I wondered about the context for which it was used. So I watched the show with this in mind. Until I saw the photo, I laughed a lot (hence the rating of 5). But seeing myself in the context in which the photo was presented made me feel sick. At the risk of writing anything that resembles a spoiler, I won't describe that context but I will say it hurt me profoundly. And the insinuation surrounding the photo is, in fact, untrue. It's deeply egotistical on Jerry's part, in fact. The whole 'bit' feels like it was done at my expense, and that seems pathetic to me. As well, when I think of the millions (Jerry was reportedly paid $100,000,000!)that were spent on this film, and the time and effort spent on retrieving archival tape and photos, the fact that no one sought my permission(and I am not that hard to find) is indicative of the utter disregard that the producers had for me as a person and for their portrayal of me(albeit momentarily) in this film. I think using me this way was shameful and so incredibly unnecessary. The film benefited not one iota from it, and its disregard for another being is deeply uncharacteristic of the Jerry who, at the beginning of his career, sat in my living room and dreamt aloud about having a one-bedroom apartment, a sign that he had 'made it.'

10/4/17. While I never really watched Seinfeld, I did catch bits and pieces when my kids watched it (they are die-hard fans). I decided to watch his stand up and it is pretty much like the series. He is funny, and clean, too. You will enjoy him more if you are native New Yorker. One hour of comedy that is definitely worth the watch.

I really like Seinfeld and I love Seinfeld the TV show. But this special really disappointed me simply because most of the jokes(70% in my rough estimate) are old material. I am talking about jokes from Seinfeld the TV show. I do understand that this is special is about his history but I can't help to think he should have included way more new material.