Wednesday, April 15, 1998
David not bitter about end of ‘Seinfeld’
FILM: Co-creator carries over inspiration from his sitcom to
‘Sour Grapes’
By Lonnie Harris
Daily Bruin Contributor
Larry David has a hard time walking down the street without
legions of fans following him around, all of them shouting out the
same question – the question on the minds of just about every
American who owns a television set: What happens on the last
"Seinfeld"? Of course, David can’t answer. That would ruin all the
fun.
David tries to downplay the social and cultural importance of
his brainchild, "Seinfeld," the most popular sitcom of the 1990s
and perhaps of all time, which David co-created with friend Jerry
Seinfeld. He emphasizes that people watch the show only "because
they want to laugh" and refuses to believe that the enormous
following the show has garnered over its eight seasons is anything
more than coincidence and luck.
Of course, David hopes that whatever it is about "Seinfeld" that
makes it so popular will extend into his feature film debut, "Sour
Grapes." In the film, which David wrote as well as directed, he
attempts to carry over much of the "Seinfeld" formula into a film
format. The result is a 2-hour situational comedy with new
characters that often resemble the familiar faces of the TV
show.
"Larry has a very distinct comic voice, and it is recognizable
in the movie," says "Sour Grapes" star Craig Bierko. "If Woody
Allen had worked on a TV show for eight years and then left to do
‘Annie Hall’ and ‘Manhattan,’ I think people would say, ‘Yes, it’s
good, but it’s a lot like Woody Allen’s TV show.’ Larry has to deal
with these same sort of comparisons."
In the film, Bierko portrays Richie, who – along with cousin
Evan (Steven Weber) – travels to Atlantic City for a weekend of
gambling. When Evan loans Richie his last two quarters to play in a
slot machine, Richie winds up winning the casino’s jackpot of over
$450,000. Evan feels that he is entitled to half of this money,
whereas Richie wishes to keep the money for himself. This argument
sets off a chain reaction of happenings between the two cousins
that carries on through the rest of the movie.
Thus, the film follows a pattern established by a thousand
episodes of "Seinfeld," in which small arguments or occurrences in
the characters’ lives lead to incredibly complex and intricate
relationships, all of which eventually come crashing down in the
final 5 minutes.
"This premise seemed funny, and I felt like I could do a lot
with it," David says. "It could have been a ‘Seinfeld’ episode, on
cable. I think NBC and the censors would have had a couple problems
with it."
To be sure, David pushes the envelope in "Sour Grapes" more than
he ever could working on network television, though he is careful
to point out that he rarely showed restraint on "Seinfeld."
"On ‘Seinfeld,’ I had to preserve the story lines, and the
tangents would be the first things to get cut," David says. "In
this movie, I get to do a lot of things structurally that I
couldn’t do before. I didn’t feel restricted in television. We
probably couldn’t do this, but it never occurred to me to do this
while I was on the show. Maybe the fact that it was movies
emboldened me to do it."
Though "Sour Grapes" can be seen as more bold than the average
"Seinfeld" episode, restraint is hardly the first word one would
apply to the show which has dealt with topics including
masturbation, oral sex, the handicapped, public urination and even
death, all at 9 o’clock on network TV.
"I like to walk the line," David says. "I like to take a high
dive and, if I can, do a much more complicated dive. I think the
payoff will be much richer and funnier. There is a risk with a dive
like that, but I think I can pull it off."
This self-confidence is somewhat surprising, coming from a man
whose humor is often self-depreciating and dark. David has compared
himself to "Seinfeld" character George Costanza, though leaning
back in his chair and musing on the nature of comedy, he seems more
of a talented innovator than the neurotic character that he
created. But the physical resemblance between David and actor Jason
Alexander (who portrays Costanza on TV), is undeniable.
David would probably find it difficult to efface himself too
much, however, in the face of so many fans of his work. Most of the
actors in "Sour Grapes" took the part as a chance to work with him,
mainly because of his relationship with "Seinfeld."
"When I was on (the television series) ‘Wings,’ we would come in
Friday mornings and discuss how great ‘Seinfeld’ was the night
before and ask ourselves, ‘Why couldn’t we do that?’" actor Steven
Weber says. "Well, now I finally got to do it."
Now that "Sour Grapes" has been made and "Seinfeld" has run its
course (the series finale is slated for May), David is left to
figure out his next project. For now, however, his time is consumed
in answering those who question him about the last episode, which
he wrote over the course of five days. He dodges the question
however possible, never ceasing to be surprised at just how fevered
everyone is to learn the fate of his creations.
"I’m amazed at how many people want to find out and how much
secrecy there is surrounding it," David says. "I can’t really delve
into all the sociological or psychological theory as to why it’s
popular. I think people just like to laugh. They enjoy good
comedy."
FILM: "Sour Grapes" opens Friday.