I Just Watched...

[Dargo]

So interesting. Everyone I know loved Seinfeld. Thought the show was hilarious. It's only on this site and our old TCM site that I've experienced negative comments about the show.
I agree, the show had a lot of NY humor. The Dick Van Dyke Show was like that too. Yes, Jewish humor on both shows.
If you guys didnt like Seinfeld, I can just imagine how you'd feel about Curb Your Enthusiasm! lol.
Sorry but I think both Seinfeld and Curb were brilliant, hilarious shows.

Kay, I have to confess I didn't like Seinfeld, and I couldn't bear what little I saw of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Obviously, Kay, you know I don't have a problem with New York Jewish humour! And I loved The Nanny!

WAIT here, Swithin! So, you DIDN'T like 'Seinfeld', BUT you loved 'The Nanny'????

(...what, did Fran Drescher's voice remind you of some long-lost NYC love-interest you had back in the day and before you switched teams?)

LOL

[KayFrancis]

Dargo. we must have posted at the same time. My response was knocked out! My post was lengthy and I'm too tired to repost. All I can say Swithin and Holden is
To each his own

The Soup nazi, the Contest, the Southampton lobster, the Rye bread, the Cadillac just to name a few were so funny . I think the whole cast was great. btw, Seinfeld was 2nd in ratings for its entire run just behind ER and 76 million watched the last season. Curb won a Golden Globe for best comedy.
I'm so glad that I had so much enjoyment from these 2 shows.

[nakanosunplaza]

i agree with you.Seinfeld was a tour de force extremely well done and conceived.i also love Curb.2 fantastic series.

[Dargo]

Dargo. we must have posted at the same time. My response was knocked out! My post was lengthy and I'm too tired to repost. All I can say Swithin and Holden is
To each his own

Hey! In THAT case, I wonder if Holden and Swithin might like THAT old tearjerker. It's one of MY favorites, anyway! Miss Olivia won an Oscar for that one, ya know!

The Soup nazi, the Contest, the Southampton lobster, the Rye bread, the Cadillac just to name a few were so funny . I think the whole cast was great. btw, Seinfeld was 2nd in ratings for its entire run just behind ER and 76 million watched the last season. Curb won a Golden Globe for best comedy.
I'm so glad that I had so much enjoyment from these 2 shows.

Absolutely agree with ya here, Kay. Could never understand why so many people thought and still think that 'Seinfeld' was a show about "nothing"!

(...and when it fact, almost every episode had a little "moral" wrapped up inside all of its absurdities)

[KayFrancis]

Dargo, To Each His Own is a favorite of mine too and I'm glad Olivia won the Oscar for her performance.
So glad you agreed with me. Your comment above was very astute and so true

[kingrat]

An early contributor to this site, ChiO, said that he never argued about comedies because what people think is funny (or isn't) differs so much. He felt much more comfortable arguing about dramas.

There are also regional differences, like Southerners (me, for one) who thought All in the Family was WAY TOO LOUD!!! PEOPLE SHRIEKING AT EACH OTHER IN UGLY ACCENTS!!!!!! Whereas Designing Women, so brilliant and funny in its early years, might not have made as much sense to people in other parts of the country.

[KayFrancis]

I live in New England now, ( Fla too sometimes) but grew up in the Bronx and loved Designing Women, never missed an episode. Cybill. Murphy Brown and Designing Women were favorites at that time. I do think you're making a good point about regional comedy, although I like to think I can appreciate many different types of shows. All 3 shows were about strong, independent women and all 3 shows take place in different parts of the country. It's funny about All In the Family, I watched it when it was on but have no interest in watching reruns now.

I'm not arguing about Steinfeld and Curb, that's why I wrote To each his own and I am so glad that I got enjoyment from Seinfeld and Curb. I never once said that anyone not finding these shows funny were lacking a sense of humor......... lol I'm teasing. You're right, what we each find funny is very personal and there is no right or wrong.

[Dargo]

I live in New England now, ( Fla too sometimes) but grew up in the Bronx and loved Designing Women, never missed an episode. Cybill. Murphy Brown and Designing Women were favorites at that time. I do think you're making a good point about regional comedy, although I like to think I can appreciate many different types of shows. All 3 shows were about strong, independent women and all 3 shows take place in different parts of the country. It's funny about All In the Family, I watched it when it was on but have no interest in watching reruns now.

Hmmm, well I have to say and regarding the sitcom 'Murphy Brown', I liked the show well enough, but I could never understand why and how Candice Bergen got all those Emmys?!

And nope, it nothing to do with her "accent". Nope, sorry but it had EVERTHING to do with how almost every punchline she ever delivered in it, she WAY over-punched it, and thus not exactly something I would've ever thought constituted "great acting" enough to be given all those little trophies.

Nope, I even started thinking because of her lost-time family connection to the biz, she probably had some sort of "inside track" in winning them, and this besides the fact that she always was indeed hard to dislike as a person.

(...nope, I just never thought that she was all that good of an actress, that's all)

[kingrat]

I live in New England now, ( Fla too sometimes) but grew up in the Bronx and loved Designing Women, never missed an episode. Cybill. Murphy Brown and Designing Women were favorites at that time. I do think you're making a good point about regional comedy, although I like to think I can appreciate many different types of shows. All 3 shows were about strong, independent women and all 3 shows take place in different parts of the country. It's funny about All In the Family, I watched it when it was on but have no interest in watching reruns now.

Hmmm, well I have to say and regarding the sitcom 'Murphy Brown', I liked the show well enough, but I could never understand why and how Candice Bergen got all those Emmys?!

And nope, it nothing to do with her "accent". Nope, sorry but it had EVERTHING to do with how almost every punchline she ever delivered in it, she WAY over-punched it, and thus not exactly something I would've ever thought constituted "great acting" enough to be given all those little trophies.

Nope, I even started thinking because of her lost-time family connection to the biz, she probably had some sort of "inside track" in winning them, and this besides the fact that she always was indeed hard to dislike as a person.

(...nope, I just never thought that she was all that good of an actress, that's all)

It could have been because she had improved so much from her early work. In THE SAND PEBBLES she was a very pretty girl who could not act her way out of a paper bag. There's also something odd about Emmys: unlike the Oscars, people who win one Emmy have a good shot at winning two or three more, even in consecutive years.

[KayFrancis]

Perfect example of what we all find funny or not. You were so right on about the humor in Seinfeld being about the absurdities of life and yet I disagree about Candace's

deliveries. I found her deliveries of lines and timing funny.She certainly did not start her career as a great actress but in my opinion did become a good comedian . That's why she won all those Emmys. It was a terrific ensemble cast. Smart, funny, a timely show.
That's about it for me tonite it's 1:51 am here, I'm getting punchy lol. Goodnight

[HoldenIsHere]

So interesting. Everyone I know loved Seinfeld. Thought the show was hilarious. It's only on this site and our old TCM site that I've experienced negative comments about the show.
I agree, the show had a lot of NY humor. The Dick Van Dyke Show was like that too. Yes, Jewish humor on both shows.
If you guys didnt like Seinfeld, I can just imagine how you'd feel about Curb Your Enthusiasm! lol.
Sorry but I think both Seinfeld and Curb were brilliant, hilarious shows.

Kay, I have to confess I didn't like Seinfeld, and I couldn't bear what little I saw of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Obviously, Kay, you know I don't have a problem with New York Jewish humour! And I loved The Nanny!

WAIT here, Swithin! So, you DIDN'T like 'Seinfeld', BUT you loved 'The Nanny'????

(...what, did Fran Drescher's voice remind you of some long-lost NYC love-interest you had back in the day and before you switched teams?)

LOL

I also liked THE NANNY. I enjoyed every episode that I watched although I have not watched a whole lot of episodes.
I love Fran Drescher. THE BEAUTCIAN AND THE BEAST was one of my favorite movies as a kid.

I am a Chicago Jew rather than a New York Jew.
I know the line sometimes blurs between Jewish humor and New York humor because many of the great American comic writers are both Jewish and from New York.
I love Woody Allen, James L. Brooks, Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Garry Shandling (who was born in Chicago) and Judd Apatow.
But I do not like Jerry Seinfeld at all.
I have never seen CURB YOUR ENTHUISAM.

[TikiSoo]

I have never seen CURB YOUR ENTHUISAM.

We just began watching it. We were looking for a sitcom to binge and well, there’s 12 seasons. We loved Loudermilk but that was a scant 3 seasons.

Curb Your Enthusiasm is funny, but the schtick gets tiring episode after episode. MrTiki likens David to Woody Allen as a NYC Malcontent who puts his foot in his mouth far too often. Any normal person would learn to keep their mouth shut after awhile.

Although the writing & acting is pretty funny, sometimes hilarious. David leaves a restaurant with leftovers and offers it to a guy begging on the corner. The beggar asks what it is & David says “Tuna”. The beggar refuses saying “I don’t like tuna” and that gives David pause to laugh, he just can’t believe the audacity.
The line that killed us is when David’s wife returns from a week with her relatives, kisses him & noticed he hasn’t shaved all week…. he laughingly comments “the prostitutes don’t seem to mind it”

[Swithin]

So interesting. Everyone I know loved Seinfeld. Thought the show was hilarious. It's only on this site and our old TCM site that I've experienced negative comments about the show.
I agree, the show had a lot of NY humor. The Dick Van Dyke Show was like that too. Yes, Jewish humor on both shows.
If you guys didnt like Seinfeld, I can just imagine how you'd feel about Curb Your Enthusiasm! lol.
Sorry but I think both Seinfeld and Curb were brilliant, hilarious shows.

Kay, I have to confess I didn't like Seinfeld, and I couldn't bear what little I saw of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Obviously, Kay, you know I don't have a problem with New York Jewish humour! And I loved The Nanny!

WAIT here, Swithin! So, you DIDN'T like 'Seinfeld', BUT you loved 'The Nanny'????

(...what, did Fran Drescher's voice remind you of some long-lost NYC love-interest you had back in the day and before you switched teams?)

LOL

There is actually wisdom in The Nanny, i.e. a combination of Jewish foibles and Jewish wisdom. Seinfeld and Enthusiasm are just shtick. In terms of Woody Allen, I love much of his work, particularly Radio Days, Manhattan, Annie Hall, A Rainy Day in New York, etc. I even like What's Up, Tiger Lily?. But I'm not a fan of Play It Again Sam and Take the Money and Run.

In terms of Jewish sensibilities, I once mentioned to a friend that the British director Mike Leigh's films display "Jewish sensibilities," even though he's not Jewish. My friend said, "He is Jewish." I didn't know that.

[Lorna]

There are all kinds of posts above that I want to make responses to, but I’m not at my computer at the moment I’m posting my phone – which is something I don’t like to do. It’s just too complicated editing quotes.

However- I am having one of those moments where I just kind of have to think out loud and I’m curious what some of you might think of this:

(ESP KINGRAT)

I am watching THE GODFATHER right now, I’m about 2/3 through. Wait, no I think I only have half an hour ago, whatever. Is the first time I’ve seen it in about 38 years – the last time I was a child – and while there are lots of things I remember, there are a few things that I don’t.

Chief among those things is the fact that Marlon Brando’s performance suuuuuuuucks.

I mean it. He *murders* every scene in which he appears, and I don’t mean that in the complementary sense.

And then I pause the movie and I started thinking “who would’ve been really good as Don Corleone?” in a perfect alternate universe

And the first person I thought of was Sterling Hayden – I know he has another role in the film – and I know he wasn’t Italian, but for some reason he seems like he would’ve been really good. And then James Whitmore crossed my mind. But then I’m not sure if he’s Italian either and I guess we really probably should get an Italian to play one of the most famous Italian roles

And then it occurred to me, the man who would’ve been perfect as Don Corleone is the absolute last person on earth, who would have excepted the role. In fact, if you had come to him with it, there’s a good chance he would’ve grabbed you by the lapels and thrown you off the closest balcony.

But Frank Sinatra would have been fantastic in the part.

And I am aware that he is kind of sort of in the movie as it is – but the thing is I hate that entire storyline where Robert Duvall goes to Hollywood and puts the horses head in the bed, I don’t think it does a Thing for the film and I don’t like cruelty to animals, although the vintage shots of Hollywood are terrific. But if that entire part hit the floor, I think it would be a better film.

And also with Francis Albert “One-Take” Sinatra, delivering the lines and not mumbling them like somebody whose mouth is full of cotton swabs, it would really be an intense affair.

Also, you can understand what in the holy hell he is saying.

Just think about it.

[Lorna]

Can’t wait for the tomato garden scene.