Elaine gets George a job where she works, and he returns the favour by getting her a cashmere jacket – except the jacket is marked down because it has a red dot on it. Meanwhile, Jerry accidentally gives an alcoholic a glass of booze.
Written by: Larry David
Directed by: Tom Cherones
It’s funny to me that Seinfeld episodes are, as a rule, wildly unpredictable despite being taken almost entirely from real life. There’s that famous adage that the difference between fiction and real life is that fiction has to make sense, and I feel like Larry David as a creative is someone who tosses that out entirely – he doesn’t have to explain why George would sleep with the cleaning lady or why he would try and bullshit his way through the interview the way he does, because he already knows it’s plausible because it actually happened. There’s a weird tone to Seinfeld as a result – one that isn’t present in any other TV show, even the ones that ripped it off.
(Part of the reason I notice this is because this episode has a specific example of its exact opposite – Kramer will very reliably say exactly the wrong thing, like pointing out the eponymous red dot)
Funnily enough, it’s the cashmere jacket that catches my thoughts more than George banging the cleaning lady – now this might be a lifetime of George-esque poverty speaking for me, but I’ve never understood the politeness rules around the price of presents; I was always taught that you make sure to take the price tag off when giving them, which never made sense to me because it’s based on people not knowing the prices of things they presumably want. I realise, of course, this probably makes me sound like Jerry. If anything, if I were in George’s position, I’d be bragging about the luck in finding this thing so cheap.
This does nothing to affect how funny I found the plot, to be clear. Julia Louis-Dreyfuss is downright adorable all episode, making faces at Jerry as he tries making excuses for George, and expressing absolute joy when George falls for her dumb trick. This might be a series of insane decisions I would never make, but I can relate to the aggravation of trying to do right by someone without actually having to make any kind of sacrifice or ego loss of any kind.
TOPICS O’ THE WEEK
- I love how the famous Seinfeldian conversations are an effective way to fill out scenes on this show, like the opening scene of George and Jerry discussing the Statue of Liberty. It’s wonderful how they work so well specifically because the plotting is so tight. The continuity nods – both George’s living situation and his improvising Art Vandelay – serve the same purpose with the added bonus of making old funny jokes even funnier.
- I love that George is a terrible interviewee because he has no interests outside of sports.
- George’s cheapness is extremely funny, but also I’ve noticed my own cheapness lately. I worry analysing George will turn me into him.
- I love that Kramer is instantly ready to go with whatever scheme they’ve got going.
- I never noticed until now that George (and presumably Jason Alexander) is left-handed.
- I love the weirdness of the alcoholic plot interrupting Jerry’s standup. I always love when a story invents its own language and then plays with it – and if there’s one thing this show does well, it’s play with language.
- With all respect and admiration for “You know, we’re living in a society!“, my all-time favourite George line is “Was that wrong? Should I not have done that?”. It’s all of George’s weedy, pathetic attempts to weasel his way out of every situation, reduced to the most essential salts. I also love that he moves his tongue slightly before saying it, as if to say “Alright, let’s try this.” You can imagine how happy I was to learn it’s also Jason Alexander’s favourite George line.
Biggest Laugh:
Next Week: “The Subway”.