As a huge, huge fan of Jerry Seinfeld, a big enough fan to have spent hundreds of dollars on Seinfeld DVDs, it pains me to say that I am getting really, really sick of his ubiquitous presence in the media. Good lord, how much can he plug "Bee Movie?" Shouldn't there be some sort of limit to how much he can shamelessly self-promote this (ok looking) animated movie?One of the great things about Jerry Seinfeld has always been the way he projects a certain air of effortless cool. He's obviously an extremely funny guy, but part of his likeability seems to come from the fact that he just seems like a winning person, the kind of guy for whom things work out without him ever having to sweat. It's a facade, of course, and by all accounts Seinfeld is a pretty insanely hard worker, especially when it came to his show. Still, part of his appeal was the way he made it look easy, and his shameless promotion of "Bee Movie" is so desperately over the top that it reeks of an intense desire to be liked and embraced. Not appealing, and definitely not cool.
Perhaps some of this is NBC's fault. I personally have a bone to pick with that network anyway, particularly due to their unwillingness to license itunes/ipod-friendly shows any longer. Last year I probably spent 50 bucks buying shows that I missed and catching up with them on my own time. It was money well spent, especially when friends came over and I played them, say, my favorite 30 Rock episodes. Apparently, this method stood in the way of NBC/Universal's corporate synergy, so you can now watch commercial-packed versions of the show only on their internet website.
Regardless, there's no way Seinfeld didn't have his hands all over this supreme promotion. He even plugs the movie, along with his wife's book, in a computer commercial that came out this week. Yeesh. Additionally, I thought it was a major coup for "30 Rock" to have him on the show, until his performance turned out to be a.) not funny and b.) nothing more than a plug for his movie.
Enough already, Seinfeld! You're great, and it's great to have you back, but couldn't you blanket the airwaves in a way that isn't so grating to your fans?
6 comments:
I know, this campaign i driving me crazy. Are you even going to see this movie now? The worst part about all this is with as good as Larry David has been since Seinfeld i am starting to wonder about jerry's contributions to the show. Kind of like a Wings vs plastic ono band effect. I keep thinking, really, is this what was next?
Yeah, I agree. He's built up a lot of good will with me, so I'm cutting him some slack and I may even see the movie. Still, I just hate any sort of agressive marketing campaign, it almost seems like a counter-productive strategy, destined to turn off as many people as it reaches.
Look, i didn't read most of this post, but i just wanted to weigh in with the facts: Jerry Seinfeld is a jerk and his movie is going to suck so bad. All the promotion just highlights this.
Also, I told you he would break 30rock. that episode was the worst.
That episode was the worst! I hate when people break the 4th wall, look at the camera and say something like "coming out October 31st!" Its supposed to be winking and fun, but I think this was already played out by the time the Animaniacs did it every episode.
Congratulations, you beat the AV Club by a few days:
http://www.avclub.com/content/hater/jerry_seinfeld_now_officially
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