Vinnie Ortez
Lately, I’ve become a bit of an amateur comedy nerd. I think it’s from listening to all these comedy podcasts and the constant exposure of stand-up specials shoved in my face from Netflix. The past year I feel like Judd Apatow has been producing some real solid works. Shows like Love, Girls and my personal favorite Pete Holmes’ rising comedy star series Crashing, to my beloved dark comedy of the summer the Big Sick. When I began to hear about his documentary the Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling through (you guessed it) podcasts, the spark of interested flickered. I’ll admit, I’m a slightly egotistical nerd and when I get into something I want to absorb it all so I know what the hell I’m talking about. I know who Garry Shandling was, I’ve heard of the Larry Sanders show and assumed he was a comedian, it just didn’t go beyond that point for me. Besides knowing he’s a secret Hydra agent disguised as a senator in Iron Man 2 and a Cap. Movie, I needed to see this. Also, I’m thinking that it has to be worth my time if this is Judd Apatow’s first documentary. In the Zen Diaries, split into two parts, you come to learn that Garry was his mentor, an idol of many that Judd actually interviewed over the phone for a comedy section in his high school newspaper. At the beginning you understand why Judd is doing this and as a viewer that kind of comforted me. While being shown the life arc of Garry Shandling, you are on Judd’s side to understand this neurotic but hilarious and very self-aware comedian.
The first part you’re shown Judd’s personal attachment to Garry and his early life to his rise from a successful comedy writer to a stand-up comedian and constant innovator of the craft. When he was a boy his older brother, Barry, died from cystic fibrosis and their mother wouldn’t let Garry go to the funeral. Can you only imagine the type of grief you would be holding on to for your whole life? His mother’s attachment to him became worse and became a root of his comedy. You see him leave being a writer for shows like Sanford and Sons to being a stand-up comedian and late night guest host favorite.
I got the sense that his material was really rooted in everyday problems from liking yourself to dealing with relationships of all kinds. He was very open about mediating and being true to yourself so his routines were very self aware and unlike most comedians at the time. His first show,It’s Garry Shandling’s Show (1986), became extremely popular for breaking the fourth wall and interacting with the audience. Being aware that this is a show, he can pull the viewer aside and he can make it funny. His other hit show, the Larry Sanders Show (1992), was another big hit. It was a live talk show parody showing the inter-workings of the late night world while also showing the true ego of famous people and playing with that. After watching both parts, I saw a few episodes of Larry Sanders and it’s pretty damn funny. Just the way the comedy timing works and little nuanced jokes that carry on through episodes were completely new and innovative. I sometimes couldn’t tell if what was making me laugh was scripted or just natural hilarity. You can see the very inspiration for shows we love today like everyone’s favorite binge-worthy show, the Office.
The second part goes through the Larry Sanders show and the eventual personal hardships Garry had to work through towards the end of his life. It does get incredibly sad having the watch someone you’ve grown to love and enjoy get broken down so badly. I’m not trying to ruin too much so there still some passion to watch but it does end on a somewhat happy note. Through multiple interviews with loved ones and fellow comedians who knew him, I feel like I really got to understand someone who actually suffered for their craft. Not only to make himself better but to spread the experience and knowledge to help others become the best they can be. It truly grabbed me at my core and inspired me to become the very thing I love to do. Understand and love myself so I can better for myself, my crafts and my loved ones around me.
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