14/04/2026
From the Cracked Archive:
Funny is funny, Jerry Seinfeld often argues (sometimes in defense of some pretty cringe humor). But give the comedian credit. If the gag is good, Seinfeld will laugh hysterically — even if he is the butt of the joke.
Case in point: “The Standups,” a 1980s Saturday Night Live sketch that skewered Seinfeld’s stand-up style years before his titular sitcom debuted. Tom Hanks, Jon Lovitz and Dennis Miller play comedians backstage at a club, all speaking in that familiar “What’s the deal with…?” rhythm.
“I just got back from eating Mexican,” jokes Miller in what has to be one of the earliest Jerry imitations. “And I’m thinking, Hey! What’s the deal with these refried beans? I mean, hey! Why do they have to fry them twice?”
Former Seinfeld writer Spike Feresten played the bit for Seinfeld on a recent episode of his Spike’s Car Radio podcast, and Seinfeld couldn’t stop laughing. He reminisced about other Seinfeld spoofs with Feresten, declaring that he never took offense when his show or style was lampooned. “In fact, I was talking to Tom Hanks about it at SNL50. In 1985, I was a club comic. I had been on TV just a few times and Dana Carvey (it was Miller) and Lovitz and Tom Hanks did a sketch about me, people were talking like me. And they’re making fun of me, but I thought it was hilarious,” he explained. “One of the greatest thrills of my life.”
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