The Real Seinfeld: As Told by the Real Costanza

Rating:
Summary: A great book if you're interested in Jerry's life before TV
Review: "The Real Seinfeld", as an attempt to cash in on the Seinfeld name is annoying but accepted, but as an attempt to further chronicle parts of Jerry's life before show business, it's one of the best sources available. Mike Costanza was a good friend of Jerry's when they were younger and, in addition to giving Jason Alexander's character his name, Jerry and Larry David have also imbued George with many characteristics and idiosynchracies from Mike's life. If you're interested in Jerry Seinfeld, this one is a must have.

Rating:
Summary: Sad Story
Review: I read this book a few years back, but as a Seinfeld fan, its stayed with me.

Mike Costanza seems like an extremely thoughtful person, a nice New York guy. In his book he remembers how he first met Seinfeld when they were young, and it seems that he was really proud of his friendship.

But Seinfeld would ultimately prove to be a LOUSY FRIEND.

When a poor kid makes good, its nice to bring along friends for the ride. Seinfeld didn't. Worse still, he made it to the heights by taking advantage of Mike Costanza.

The hit TV Series Seinfeld, as we all know, had the character George Costanza. He was the total loser. And, he was based almost totally on Mike, Jerry's supposedly "best friend". As if that was bad enough, Seinfeld continued to take advantage of Mike. When Mike told him that he had gotten some work as a hand model, an episode of Seinfeld turned up with George doing the same thing. When Mike got a hair piece, so did George.

Now, if Jerry was sending cheques to Costanza every now and a then, maybe that would be OK. But he never did. Even when Mike did a cameo bit as a truck driver in one episode, Mike had to pay the airfare from NYC to LA.

SEINFELD SHOULD HAVE PAID HIM MILLIONS FOR THE INSPIRATION OF THE ROLE, AFTER ALL, SEINFELD WAS GETTING MILLIONS PER EPISODE!

Seinfeld is a user. He only met up with his former collegues recently for one reason: to promote the DVDs. Its no wonder that Seinfeld's mini doco on the creation of the show failed to mention how Mike Costanza was the inspiration for George.

Be warned: if you are one of those people that can't seperate characters from their life, then don't get this book. It might ruin the Seinfeld series for you FOREVER.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting
Review: If the price of this book doesn't seem so bad to you, give it a shot. You probably only heard about this book if you were a Seinfeld fan, anyway.

What's interesting about this book is to know that you are reading the very words that made the relationship between Jerry Seinfeld and this "real Costanza" go sour.

Costanza is an interesting and funny guy. This book seems honest-- he tells it like it is in a straightforward manner, and I feel as if I know Jerry a bit better after reading this--he DOES NOT play HIMSELF on his sitcom.

This book includes a few photos of Jerry goofing around straight out of Costanza's photo albulm--it's interesting to see how he acted around his friends. The single best scene in this book is the author's account of when Jerry FIRST took a shot at making people laugh for a few minutes, when he caught his friends off guard and did a few minutes of stand-up that he had spent quite a while preparing.

This book tracks Jerry's life and personality changes from when he was a class clown Joe Shmoe until he found himself in superstardom, making hundreds of times the money that his friends, like this author, make.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting
Review: If the price of this book doesn't seem so bad to you, give it a shot. You probably only heard about this book if you were a Seinfeld fan, anyway.

What's interesting about this book is to know that you are reading the very words that made the relationship between Jerry Seinfeld and this "real Costanza" go sour.

Costanza is an interesting and funny guy. This book seems honest-- he tells it like it is in a straightforward manner, and I feel as if I know Jerry a bit better after reading this--he DOES NOT play HIMSELF on his sitcom.

This book includes a few photos of Jerry goofing around straight out of Costanza's photo albulm--it's interesting to see how he acted around his friends. The single best scene in this book is the author's account of when Jerry FIRST took a shot at making people laugh for a few minutes, when he caught his friends off guard and did a few minutes of stand-up that he had spent quite a while preparing.

This book tracks Jerry's life and personality changes from when he was a class clown Joe Shmoe until he found himself in superstardom, making hundreds of times the money that his friends, like this author, make.