Seinfeld's "The Understudy" features Bette Midler, playing herself, starring in a new musical about to open on Broadway, "Rochelle, Rochelle" which borrows the Seinfeld gang's movie some of them saw at a theater a couple of seasons back when they were all trying to meet at the movie theater.
Here we have George and Jerry playing on the same softball team, "The Improv" about to take on the cast of "Rochelle, Rochelle" on their team. Kramer has come out to watch because he adores Bette Midler, who arrives with an entourage of a half dozen. Kramer offers to get her anything she'd like, so she sends him out for a pineapple gelato, we think, because it should take him a long time to find that flavor. Indeed he misses the entire game, but finally finds that flavor and rushes back to the softball field in Central Park just in time for the dramatic conclusion.
For reasons unexplained, even though this is slow pitch softball, George is dressed like a catcher in a baseball game. He winds up getting a long hit and circles the bases just as the throw comes into home—Crash! He bowls over Midler and she is injured and unable to perform on opening night of the show because she has to stay in the hospital—with exact injuries unstated.
Now the collision causes huge problems for George, Jerry, and Jerry's new girlfriend, Gennice, because she is the understudy for Midler. Gennice has some real emotional problems, crying non-stop over such trivial things as dropping a hot dog, but when she learns her grandmother died, she doesn't bat an eye. One of the best lines here was a line that stole part of the lyrics of the theme music of The Patty Duke Show, a gem that cracked me up.
In Gennice's part of the plot, we have a takeoff on the ice skating attack on Nancy Kerrigan, with Gennice playing the innocent beneficiary, Tonya Harding, while Jerry is accused of being Jeff Gilooly, the then-husband of the figure skater who arranged for an attack on Kerrigan to help his wife reach the Winter Olympics in 1994. The pair are chased by Midler's teammates through the park, and later all three have to escape angry fans of Midler who recognize them in the hospital. There's even a scene at the end of the show where Gennice more-or-less copies what happened to Harding in her Olympic performance.
Meanwhile, Elaine is frequenting a nail salon for manicures but becomes suspicious because all the women employees are Korean and rudely speak Korean to each other right in front of her. That doesn't bother her, like it would me, but she is only concerned because she thinks they are making fun of her.
She learns that George's father speaks fluent Korean and brings him with her to learn if she is right. She was, as we see an English translation on the screen, and Frank confronts the women. In the hardest-to-believe scene, Elaine now feels embarrassed for bringing in Frank to learn if they were making fun of her. They were, but they are not embarrassed at that, nor do they feel apologetic at all for their overall rudeness for speaking in Korean right in front of her.
Elaine leaves the shop in tears because she can't get their manicures anymore. I guess it's hard to find a good manicure place in New York City. Who would have guessed? Bawling as she wanders down the street in the rain, Elaine happens to be comforted by the character of J. Peterman, publisher of a huge clothing catalog. They talk for a while and Elaine happily reports to Jerry that he has hired her to write for his catalog.
A really funny Seinfeld, with the usual odd behaviors that are far from normal. A solid 8.
Here we have George and Jerry playing on the same softball team, "The Improv" about to take on the cast of "Rochelle, Rochelle" on their team. Kramer has come out to watch because he adores Bette Midler, who arrives with an entourage of a half dozen. Kramer offers to get her anything she'd like, so she sends him out for a pineapple gelato, we think, because it should take him a long time to find that flavor. Indeed he misses the entire game, but finally finds that flavor and rushes back to the softball field in Central Park just in time for the dramatic conclusion.
For reasons unexplained, even though this is slow pitch softball, George is dressed like a catcher in a baseball game. He winds up getting a long hit and circles the bases just as the throw comes into home—Crash! He bowls over Midler and she is injured and unable to perform on opening night of the show because she has to stay in the hospital—with exact injuries unstated.
Now the collision causes huge problems for George, Jerry, and Jerry's new girlfriend, Gennice, because she is the understudy for Midler. Gennice has some real emotional problems, crying non-stop over such trivial things as dropping a hot dog, but when she learns her grandmother died, she doesn't bat an eye. One of the best lines here was a line that stole part of the lyrics of the theme music of The Patty Duke Show, a gem that cracked me up.
In Gennice's part of the plot, we have a takeoff on the ice skating attack on Nancy Kerrigan, with Gennice playing the innocent beneficiary, Tonya Harding, while Jerry is accused of being Jeff Gilooly, the then-husband of the figure skater who arranged for an attack on Kerrigan to help his wife reach the Winter Olympics in 1994. The pair are chased by Midler's teammates through the park, and later all three have to escape angry fans of Midler who recognize them in the hospital. There's even a scene at the end of the show where Gennice more-or-less copies what happened to Harding in her Olympic performance.
Meanwhile, Elaine is frequenting a nail salon for manicures but becomes suspicious because all the women employees are Korean and rudely speak Korean to each other right in front of her. That doesn't bother her, like it would me, but she is only concerned because she thinks they are making fun of her.
She learns that George's father speaks fluent Korean and brings him with her to learn if she is right. She was, as we see an English translation on the screen, and Frank confronts the women. In the hardest-to-believe scene, Elaine now feels embarrassed for bringing in Frank to learn if they were making fun of her. They were, but they are not embarrassed at that, nor do they feel apologetic at all for their overall rudeness for speaking in Korean right in front of her.
Elaine leaves the shop in tears because she can't get their manicures anymore. I guess it's hard to find a good manicure place in New York City. Who would have guessed? Bawling as she wanders down the street in the rain, Elaine happens to be comforted by the character of J. Peterman, publisher of a huge clothing catalog. They talk for a while and Elaine happily reports to Jerry that he has hired her to write for his catalog.
A really funny Seinfeld, with the usual odd behaviors that are far from normal. A solid 8.