“Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee” Review by Josh Davis
August 1, 2019 1:20 pm |
The aptly titled Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee since 2012 has been legendary funnyman Jerry Seinfeld’s vehicle (pun intended) to interview celebrities and generally wax philosophical on what comedy means in today’s world.
Seinfeld himself starts every episode by driving a car to pick up his interview subject. Each time, he’s carefully selected the auto to represent his guest, sometimes driving up in something cool – like the 1963 Corvette Stingray he used to drive around President Barack Obama in Season Seven – while other times guests get the short end of the stick shift, like the 1978 AMC Gremlin used to scoop up Jon Stewart in Season Four.
Obama was a particular highlight from previous seasons, as were other luminaries like a bearded Stephen Colbert in Season Six, the wizened duo of Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks in Season One, and Jim Carey in a bizarre Season Six episode that included a visit to the actor’s abstract art studio.
The show won Producers Guild of America awards for Outstanding Digital Series in 2015, 2016 and 2017, and was also nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards.
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee originally aired on Crackle, but has since migrated to Netflix. Season 11 debuted on July 19, with guests Eddie Murphy, Seth Rogen, Ricky Gervais, Matthew Broderick, Jamie Foxx, Sebastian Maniscalco, Martin Short, Mario Joyner, Melissa Villaseñor, Bridget Everett and Barry Marder.
Spending time with Murphy is a particular highlight, as he and Seinfeld spend roughly 30 minutes (by far the longest Season 11 episode) talking about their early standup careers, and we learn the two apparently came up around the same time and in the same area.
Murphy vows he’ll do stand-up again (rumors are it’ll happen on Netflix) and he tells stories about Sammy Davis Jr. talking about Satan worshiping, Richard Pryor being distant with him early on because of the limited number of black comedians at the time, and Bill Cosby generally being an asshole.
Speaking of Cosby, Rogen later tells an anecdote about awkwardly bumping into Cosby during an event, and then later that night having Hannibal Buress warn him that Cosby had “raped a bunch of women.” On a lighter note, Rogen and Seinfeld also visit an Arby’s and giggle while making several of the workers say, “we have the meats.”
The Seinfeld and Broderick episode has some great meta moments referencing Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, including dressing up for baseball at Citi Field in New York. In between, they stop to watch old W.C. Fields bits on YouTube on a cell phone, while driving around in a neon green Lamborghini.
The latter moment is a perfect distillation of the show – it’s epic comedy naval gazing. It’s car porn and comedy porn interspersed with slow-motion sequences of LavAzza brand coffee being either ground up or poured. It’s conversations on the state of stand-up and comedy in general, bashed out by some of the funniest people alive. With Murphy, Seinfeld says, “Nobody could believe that you could be onstage and not feel comfortable, but you can,” to which Murphy replies that “All comics are” uncomfortable.
In another episode, Foxx recalls he and his family watching Joe Williams on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Williams, as Foxx tells it, finally gets invited to sit on Carson’s legendary couch “and my family held each other.” On his way over, however, Williams trips and falls on a microphone cable. It’s the kind of awkward comedy moment Seinfeld has relished for decades.
Three episodes in particular stand out, not so much for their comedic beats, but for their more controversial moments.
In a two-parter with Gervais, Seinfeld casually makes a racist joke about China in part one, which even Gervais calls “one of the worst things you’ve ever said.” The cringe-worthiness of moment is then played for laughs, with the episode closing on an Adam West era-Batman cliffhanger, and the two comedians picking up the debate during the second episode on whether or not to air the joke.
Later, in an episode with Bridget Everett, she brings up John Belushi as an influence and mentions another comedian Belushi was apparently friendly with. Seinfeld then goes on an extended tirade about what a hack the comedian is, although his name is bleeped out. (The internet generally agrees it was Bobcat Goldthwait). Seinfeld eventually lets it go, but the matter is brought up again as he and Everett visit a psychic.
Controversies aside, the show continues to be beautifully shot and edited, and full of interesting anecdotes for fans both of comedy and of Seinfeld himself, although the quality of each episode largely hangs on whether or not you’re interested in the guest.
Season 11 wraps up like the show began in 2012, with Seinfeld driving Marder around in a 1960s Porsche that once functioned as a Dutch police car.
If that setup sounds funny, this show is probably for you. If it doesn’t? There are always reruns of Seinfeld – the sitcom – on Hulu.
PCL Rating: High Taste It
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: FRESH 🍅
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Tags: Comdians In Cars Getting Coffee 2019, Josh Davis, netflix, pop culture leftovers
Categorised in: Television Reviews
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