Ricky Gervais seemed to pray for his safety in a car ride with Jerry Seinfeld more than he laughed, but the laughs were plentiful as the two friends went before the cameras in Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.
The second episode of Seinfeld's new comedy series, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee aired last night on Crackle.com. It followed the extremely funny show that kicked off the series with Seinfeld creator Larry David.
David and Seinfeld riffed in bits that could have been appended to the nine seasons of the iconic sitcom without missing a beat. That recap, here.
Watching Ricky Gervais interact with Jerry after that makes one realize how rare that comic camaraderie is. There were awkward silences acknowledged as such by the two comic stars, but when the conversation flowed it worked.
The car part of the series title was played by a 1967 Austin Healey 3000 roadster and the location for the shoot was New York City. David and Seinfeld had driven to their coffee meeting in a classic VW Beetle from 1952, in and around Southern California locales.
The coffee was supplied by a neighborhood place on scenic City Island. The island is a rest stop from the manic pace of Manhattan, but the city vibe didn't abate when Ricky Gervais sat down in the passenger seat of what he considered a death trap.
Bracing himself against the dashboard that was too close for comfort, he lived through the drive to the coffee shop but not without much swearing and wailing about near death experiences.
It was the best the episode had to offer which was aptly named, "Mad Man in a Death Machine." The roadster did not include the kind of suspension system that would soften the blows when pot holes and rough road surfaces came along and the jolts only added to Gervais' misery.
When Seinfeld drove as if he was bound and determined to get stopped by a cop, it made his comic pal wonder about why he agreed to it in the first place.
Gervais makes Seinfeld crack up in ways that many others don't and couldn't. Some of it is the British slang and some is just good old Ricky being Ricky.
He was asked by Jerry to repeat the now infamous line Gervais uttered the first time he hosted the Golden Globes and kicked up a storm with his celebrity-ribbing style.
Seinfeld asked, "What was the line about Mel Gibson?" Gervais didn't skip a beat as he intoned, "I like to drink as much as the next man, unless that man happens to be Mel Gibson." That of course was shortly after the actor had made headline for months along with his now ex and their child.
Ricky, whose belly laughs are plentiful didn't spare us any of those as Jerry Seinfeld countered Gervais' over-the-top style with his clever asides. They clearly enjoy each other.
Despite Gervais' reservations about making the return trip in the roadster for drive back, he sat himself down for a ride this time with the top down. Image: Wikipedia/David Shankbone
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee airs new episodes on Crackle.com and the show's website on Thursday nights.
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