The Fusilli Jerry
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"The Fusilli Jerry" is the 107th episode of the sitcom ''
Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...
''. Featuring the introduction of
David Puddy This is a list of characters who appeared on '' Seinfeld''. This list features only characters who appeared in multiple episodes; those that appeared in only one are not included here. Primary characters Jerry Seinfeld George Costanza Elain ...
, the episode also features Kramer receiving vanity plates that say "ASSMAN" as well as marital problems between George's parents. This is the 21st episode of the sixth season. It aired on April 27, 1995. Since its release, "The Fusilli Jerry" has seen positive critical reception and has appeared on rankings of the best ''Seinfeld'' episodes.


Plot

Elaine starts dating Jerry's mechanic,
David Puddy This is a list of characters who appeared on '' Seinfeld''. This list features only characters who appeared in multiple episodes; those that appeared in only one are not included here. Primary characters Jerry Seinfeld George Costanza Elain ...
. During their first night in bed, Puddy performs a sex move which she recognizes as Jerry's. Jerry is appalled when he hears about this. He goes to chew Puddy out, and finds someone else to look into his car. Puddy maintains that he was doing the same move before Jerry told him about it, but is so psyched out by Jerry's accusation that he can't do the move, so he uses
George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...
's move. Jerry suspects that his new mechanic is over-pricing the repair bill on his car, so Elaine asks Puddy how much he charges, proving Jerry's theory. He gives Puddy permission to do the move so he can take his car back to him. George is unable to excite his girlfriend during sex, and asks Jerry to teach him the move. He can't remember the details correctly and eventually resorts to taking notes on his hand. His girlfriend is disgusted when she notices the notes. Kramer goes to the Department of Motor Vehicles for his new
license plate A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate (British English), license plate (American English), or licence plate ( Canadian English), is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identificati ...
, but is instead given
vanity plate A vanity plate or personalized plate (United States and Canada); prestige plate, private number plate, cherished plate or personalised registration (United Kingdom); personalised plate (Australia, New Zealand, and United Kingdom) or custom pla ...
s which say "ASSMAN". He suspects that the plate was meant for a
proctologist Colorectal surgery is a field in medicine dealing with disorders of the rectum, anus, and Colon (anatomy), colon. The field is also known as proctology, but this term is now used infrequently within medicine and is most often employed to identify ...
, and uses this theory to his advantage, by parking in a "Doctors Only" spot when he goes to pick up George's mother Estelle after her eye job. The plate also scores him cat calls from passing drivers, and a date with a big-bottomed woman named Sally. Estelle cannot cry for ten days or risk ruining the eye job. When Kramer drives her home, he runs over a pothole and pushes his arm on Estelle, which she interprets as her husband Frank's move ("stopping short"). Frank is upset at this, and finds Kramer at Jerry's apartment. A fight ensues, causing Frank's rear end to land on a "
Fusilli Fusilli () are a variety of pasta that are formed into corkscrew or helical shapes. The word ''fusilli'' presumably comes from ''fuso'' ("spindle"), as traditionally it is "spun" by pressing and rolling a small rod over the thin strips of pasta to ...
Jerry" — a pasta statue made by Kramer that resembles Jerry doing a stand-up routine. Later, when the gang takes Frank to a proctologist, Kramer spots a picture of a boat called "ASSMAN". He approaches the doctor and confirms that their plates got mixed up. That night, Frank and George come home from the proctologist, and Estelle is so overwhelmed with relief that she starts to cry, ruining her eye job.


Production

"The Fusilli Jerry" had a large number of writers.
Marjorie Gross Marjorie Gross (April 18, 1956 – June 7, 1996) was a Canadian comedian best known for her work as a television writer and producer. She wrote for ''Seinfeld'', '' Newhart'', ''The Larry Sanders Show'', '' Get a Life'' and '' Square Pegs''. Bi ...
and her brother Jonathan came up with the Jerry, George, and Elaine stories;
Ron Hauge Ron Hauge is an American television writer and executive producer. Early in his career, Hauge was a contributor to '' National Lampoon''. In 1989 he created a graphic for ''Spy Magazine'' captioned "The World Championship," with wars between c ...
and
Charlie Rubin Charlie Rubin is an American television comedy writer, producer, and humorist. He has written for '' National Lampoon'', ''The Carol Burnett Show'', ''In Living Color'', ''The Jon Stewart Show'', ''Saturday Night Live'', '' Seinfeld'', and ''Law ...
came up with the license plate story; and Marjorie Gross wrote the actual teleplay. The writers had not intended for
David Puddy This is a list of characters who appeared on '' Seinfeld''. This list features only characters who appeared in multiple episodes; those that appeared in only one are not included here. Primary characters Jerry Seinfeld George Costanza Elain ...
to be funny himself, only to serve as a foil to Elaine, and so were impressed with how funny
Patrick Warburton Patrick Warburton (born November 14, 1964) is an American actor. On television, he has played David Puddy on '' Seinfeld'', the title character on '' The Tick'', Jeb Denton on ''Less Than Perfect'', Jeff Bingham on ''Rules of Engagement'' and Lem ...
made the character in his audition. The sequence where
Frank Costanza This is a list of characters who appeared on ''Seinfeld''. This list features only characters who appeared in multiple episodes; those that appeared in only one are not included here. Primary characters Jerry Seinfeld George Costanza Elaine ...
falls on "Fusilli Jerry" required numerous takes, with actor
Jerry Stiller Gerald Isaac Stiller (June 8, 1927 – May 11, 2020) was an American actor and comedian. He spent many years as part of the comedy duo Stiller and Meara with his wife, Anne Meara, to whom he was married for over 60 years until her death in 2015 ...
making a different vocalization of pain on each take. Throughout the scene
Julia Louis-Dreyfus Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus ( ; born January 13, 1961) is an American actress, comedian, and producer who worked on the comedy television series ''Saturday Night Live'' (1982–1985), ''Seinfeld'' (1989–1998), ''The New Adventures ...
, who played Elaine, had to dig her fingernails into her skin to keep from breaking out into laughter at Stiller's performance; she can be seen doing this in the finished episode when Stiller first comes in.


Reception

"The Fusilli Jerry" has generally attracted positive reception from critics. In 1995, John P. McCarthy of ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' said of the episode, "Only ''Seinfeld'' could deal with proctology, lovemaking techniques and corkscrew pasta in the same half-hour, and with hilarious results." David Sims of ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' called the episode "the 'classic' episode of season 6, the episode with tropes everyone remembers, much like '
The Puffy Shirt "The Puffy Shirt" is the second episode of the fifth season of the American NBC sitcom '' Seinfeld''. It was the 66th episode and originally aired on September 23, 1993. The episode centers on Jerry having to wear an ostentatious "puffy" shirt ...
' of season 5, '
The Contest "The Contest" is the 51st episode of the NBC sitcom '' Seinfeld''. The eleventh episode of the fourth season, it aired on November 18, 1992. In the episode, Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer hold a contest to determine who can go for the longes ...
' of season 4 and so on and so forth." Sims also praised the clever intersection of the episode's plotlines as well as Kramer's story arc, dubbing the episode the "best Kramer episode ever." ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' named the episode one of the "10 ''Seinfeld'' Episodes You Forgot You Loved" that gets "unfairly overlooked." ''
Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...
'' named "The Fusilli Jerry" the fourteenth best Seinfeld episode, praising the "brilliant way" Kramer stops short on Estelle Costanza as well as the introduction of David Puddy.


Callback

*In the ''Seinfeld'' episode " The Understudy," Kramer gives
Bette Midler Bette Midler (;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Be ...
a "Macaroni Midler," calling back to this episode's "Fusilli Jerry."


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fusilli Jerry Seinfeld (season 6) episodes 1995 American television episodes