Montreal-bound Seinfeld finds filthy standup ‘boring’
TORONTO — The last time Jerry Seinfeld was at Montreal’s Just for Laughs festival was in 1989 and audiences were just getting introduced to his motley crew of TV characters and their droll observations about everyday life in New York.
Since then, the show about nothing became quite something.
The comedy landscape has also changed dramatically since Seinfeld’s last visit. Online streaming services have provided a new way for comics to get their material out. And it seems comedians are more important and influential than ever amid boiling political tensions in the U.S.
“I think there is something about how comedians are able to explain or make you feel better about some of these things that you see that seem crazy,” the comedy giant said on the phone from New York.
“You see somebody make fun of it and you go: ‘OK, so it’s not just me, everyone else is seeing how crazy this is.’
“I think it’s unifying in a time when people feel divided.”
The Canadian Press spoke with the Seinfeld co-creator and star about his upcoming Just For Laughs show at Montreal’s Bell Centre on July 26, which he’s co-headlining with French-Moroccan comedian Gad Elmaleh, who once lived in Quebec. Q: You’re returning to Just for Laughs for the first time since 1989, the year Seinfeld started. What was that time of your life like? A: At that time I was a very popular comedian, in the ’80s, and in those days when you were really popular that meant you would sell out 200 seats a night. That’s how different comedy was in the ’80s than it is now. Then I came to Just for Laughs and then it was like Canada was aware of me and I was able to go all across Canada. Q: Were there any Canadian comedians you came to know? A: I got to know Jim Carrey in California when he came down, I always loved him, and Martin Short and all the great people from Second City. I think there’s always been a great crossover with Canadians liking American comedians and Americans liking Canadian comedians. Q: How has standup changed over the years? A: I think now people go out and it’s very normal to hear a comedian be completely filthy about sex and swearing, and people just consider this normal speaking in comedy. And I think people think it’s cool or they think it’s racy or interesting — and I’ve always found it kind of boring.
I find sexual things just kind of boring, because you’re laughing not because it’s funny, but because we’re all a little embarrassed about our physical bodies. So it’s not the most interesting kind of comedy to me. Q: I read that you’ve been riffing on doughnut holes in your recent shows? A: Yes, I just find it interesting that they can get away with calling something a “hole,” because a hole doesn’t exist. Q: Up here we call them Timbits — have you tried them? A: Yes, I am familiar with the Tim Horton Timbit. [Horton] decided: “This actually exists, so we can’t call it a hole.” Q: You’re developing scripted and nonscripted comedy programming for Netflix. Why did you want to work with them? A: It just seemed to me to have the best network of distribution that has ever existed in history to perform on. You put something on Netflix, it’s seen instantly all over the world in a place that people are very comfortable spending a lot of time .... They [at Netflix] really like comedy, they appreciate it, they know how to produce it, their audiences love comedy, so it’s a natural fit.