Elaine discovers she’s labelled a ‘difficult patient’ by doctors. Kramer attempts to get Jerry a refund for his old stereo through mail fraud. George attempts to flirt with a woman working at a one hour photo shop through his camera roll.
Written by: Jennifer Crittenden
Directed by: Andy Ackerman
Elaine’s story here is one of the funniest in any Seinfeld to me. I know the way I’m insecure, in that I fret over hurting people but am indifferent to what people think of me, and so I’m perpetually amused by people like Elaine, who are the other way around. It’s especially funny to me because Elaine doesn’t actually like most people, so her obsession with making sure people like her comes off absurdly hypocritical. At the same time, this is an attitude I see all the time – literally any kind of criticism is apparently a grave existential threat. I once worked for a woman who, when a customer complaint came in, would need about twenty minutes of talking her way out of having to care what that person thought afterwards, and she was about fifty years into her career.
One of the great things about Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s performance is the intensity she brings; when Elaine has a goal, JLD will put 100% of her heart and soul into achieving it. It’s like a switch turns on, and it makes her absurd actions all the funnier; she’s so desperate to try and look good in front of the doctor (or at least to steal her file) that you can see she’s trying way too hard, and you know it’s going to blow up in her face. Neediness is one of the least attractive qualities in a simple social situation, and JLD is so great at jumping whole-hog into a version of it that’s based less on fear and more on ego. In her own way, Elaine is the most impulsive of the group.
TOPICS O’ THE WEEK
- “Now what would be the point of taking the water?” / “It’s gorgeous water.” One of the upsides of losing Jerry’s standup (aside from the fact that it’s the worst part of the show) is seeing these little glimpses into the Seinfeld world.
- “Oh, extra teeth, I love that look.”
- “Not the gown again!”
- Jennifer Crittenden also wrote many iconic Simpsons episodes. The first time I watched Seinfeld and spotted her name, I wondered if I’d also spot signature ideas, but no – she blends into the ethos of Seinfeld seamlessly.
- “Who’s gonna bomb you?! An airline for all the stupid little peanut jokes?” Interestingly, Seinfeld (comedian) never once told jokes about airline peanuts – this misconception apparently came from an SNL parody of him, which he’s obviously decided to run with.
- “I’ve kept the same job for two years. That’s not luck.”
- George asks Elaine if she ever sent a racy picture, and she reminds him of the nipple incident.
- “He’s all smooth now. Looks like a seal.”
- The write-off scene is, in my experience, one of the most iconic funny moments in the show; it’s up there with “Who’s on first?” in terms of clean, efficient, funny joke-telling. This episode is actually an embarrassment of riches for frequently-used shitposting material; “Leo, I don’t care for your demeanour”, “Parcels are rarely damaged during shipping!” / “Define rarely.” / “Frequently.”, “Actually, I’m quite comfortable.”, “It’s ‘Benes’, you jackass!”, and “That’s correct.” all get a lot of use.
- There’s something incredibly funny to me about using Wayne Knight to parody his exact character in Basic Instinct. Like, beyond pulling in an actor to parody a character – to have the character who shot him into popularity parody a character who came later is really weird to me, I love it.
- That’s actually Phil Hartman as the man who calls Elaine to confirm her surname.
- Kramer’s persona as Dr Van Nostrum is something Always Sunny would grab onto and run away with as a character detail for Charlie, with all his disguises and personas.
- Newman has a business card with only one name.
- Another absolutely incredible noise from Wayne Knight when he’s interrupted during his big speech.
- I like how minimalist the final joke is. Seinfeld powers through jokes, but it also knows when enough is enough.
Biggest Laugh: Oddly enough, it’s Jerry’s reaction to the write-off bit that kills me.
Next Week: “The Fatigues”.