I was hard on Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee before it was released because, to me, the show sounds the most arrogantly privileged web series ever: Rich guys driving sweet cars to a coffee shop, and chatting idly. But you know what? It works. It works because the episodes are short and lively, and because Jerry Seinfeld is a great conversationalist, especially when he has great guests. The Michael Richards episode, in which he addressed the N-word controversy, was outstanding, as was the Letterman ep, where they drove around in a station wagon souped up by Paul freaking Newman.
His guest a couple of weeks ago was Chris Rock, and they drove around in an absurdly cool 1969 orange Lamborghini. That’s important to note because, at the end of the episode, they were pulled over by a police officer for speeding, and I’m about 80 percent sure that the cop thought the car was stolen because Chris Rock is black, even though Jerry Seinfeld was driving. The first question the officer asked after asking for license and registration, in fact, was “Does this car belong to you.” Clearly, the officer didn’t recognize Seinfeld or Chris Rock for who they are (the rest of the traffic stop was not aired, so we have no idea what was said to the police officer, although in this case, I HOPE it was, “Do you know who I am? I’m Jerry f***king Seinfeld, and this is Chris Rock, and the reason we’re driving a Lamborghini is not because it was stolen, you fat f***, but because we’re rich, b*tch.”)
Anyway, much of the episode, as you’d expect in a conversation between comedians, were bits. For instance, Chris Rock did a bit I’ve heard before on people asking him for money. “People ask me for $5,000 like they’re asking for bus fare. Like, they’re asking for the time.” He also talked about his favorite food: “Two pieces with a biscuit [from Kentucky Fried Chicken] is one of the greatest meals ever invented … Popeye’s is too good. After you have Popeye’s, you need one of those Men in Black memory sticks, or else you’ll come back to the place every day.”
They also briefly addressed the Conan O’Brien controversy over The Tonight Show, specifically how Conan couldn’t have seen that coming as soon as they put Leno on in primetime ahead of him. “The reason Conan doesn’t have The Tonight Show is that he’s not a comedian. He’s a talk show host,” Chris Rock said. A “comedian” would’ve spotted it a mile away. It’s like dating Beyonce and Alicia Keyes. “No you’re not. You’re going to date one of them, or you’re going to lose both of them. As my brother would say, ‘Pick a b*tch.'”
Rock also mentioned that he admires people that have breakdowns. “Once you have a breakdown, you can clear the slate.”
The juiciest bit, however, was near the end, when — apropos of nothing — Chris Rock mentioned this:
“I had a make a wish kid, a 15-year-old kid dying of cancer. And I snuck him the Pam Anderson sex tape. He’s dead now, but he lived a little more.”
And that, folks, is why Chris Rock is amazing.
The episode is not available for embed, but you can watch it here.
(Hat Tip: Reddit)
