Seinfeld: 8 Unpopular Opinions About Jerry (According To Reddit)

Jerry’s humorous, and upbeat personality carried Seinfeld for nine seasons. Part of his allure was his generous spirit and the ability to overcome setbacks effectively. Jerry was often a victim of his friends’ machinations. The saddest part was watching him lose everything he’d worked for in Seinfeld‘s divisive finale episode. Fans felt bad about this man, who had stuck it out in the gig economy of the ’90s only to watch his public image go down the drain before he actually had the opportunity to burst onto the scene with his show.

As shocking as Jerry’s jail sentence was, despite still when the credits rolled, he had the courage to make viewers laugh by repeating his subtle season 1 joke about the shirt buttons. That said, some fans never quite warmed up to Jerry and took to Reddit to express their unpopular opinions about him.

8 Jerry Wasn’t That Funny

In one Reddit post, user NonPC_Italian states, “The real comedy came from the show’s other characters. If the show was just about Jerry doing his typical style of humor, it would be boring. The best scenes are always with George, Kramer, Elaine, and the side characters.”

As untrue and harsh as this take is, fans do acknowledge George, Kramer, and Elaine were comic geniuses. However, Jerry was the glue that held the group together and if it wasn’t for him, they wouldn’t have known each other, let alone hung out together. George, Kramer, and Elaine needed someone as disciplined as Jerry to stop them from most of their misadventures and to keep them grounded. Jerry was the sane one in their group, and if it wasn’t his observational brand of comedy, Seinfeld would have fallen apart.

7 Jerry’s An Awful Actor

In the same thread, user _Woodrow_ states, “Jerry Seinfeld is funny, is really good at knowing what is funny, but is an awful actor and really had to be carried by the supporting cast.”

This opinion is neither here nor there, and it is formed on account of Jerry Seinfeld’s successful portrayal of a plain vanilla character. His main job was to closely observe and comment on the hijinks of his zany friends. It should be noted that Seinfeld played a semi-fictionalized version of himself nine straight seasons, and that alone is a commendable job. His character was neither written to be dramatic like George Costanza, nor a master of physical comedy like Kramer, or the assertive one like Elaine. Jerry Seinfeld’s character was every bit engaging, hilarious, not to mention incredibly hard to play

6 Jerry’s The Weakest Link In The Cast

In a thread asking for unpopular opinions about Seinfeld, user GeddyVedder states, “Jerry is the weakest link in the cast. I still love him, but it’s true.”

This is clearly an unpopular opinion because Jerry’s character has made more comedic contributions than anyone else in the group. Fans were thankful to have him around every time they got tired of keeping up with the supporting casts’ antics. Jerry mastered most forms of comedy and boasted remarkable versatility. He would roughhouse when the script demanded and his slapstick gags often outshone Kramer’s. All in all, Jerry continues to remain a wildly underrated character and the majority aren’t happy about that.

5 Jerry’s The Nexus Of All The Problems

In the above-mentioned thread, Redditor centuryx476 simply states, “… Jerry is the nexus of all the problems the group experiences.” This is certainly an unpopular opinion, since most would agree that Kramer was the absolute worst character on Seinfeld. Episodes such as “The Old Man,” “The Non-Fat Yogurt” and the divisive Seinfeld finale are a few instances where Kramer landed his friends in serious trouble. Jerry was usually left to deal with the repercussions of Kramer’s actions and in most cases, would try and solve various problems they encountered.

4 Jerry’s Hair In “The Barber” Looks Good

By far, the most amusing and unpopular opinion on Seinfeld would be that Enzo gave Jerry a good haircut in season 5’s “The Barber.” A Reddit user opines, “Controversial opinion – Jerry’s bad haircut in “The Barber” actually looks better than his usual hairstyle.”

A haircut can either make or break a person’s look, and Enzo definitely ended up doing more harm than good. Enzo was afraid to lose his business to his nephew, Gino (who by the worked in his establishment), and practically dragged Jerry to the salon chair. The long and short of it is that Jerry’s hair looked worse than before, his friends laughed at him and that’s precisely why this remains an unpopular opinion.

3 Soup Is Not A Meal

Another amusingly unpopular opinion comes from a Reddit user who simply states, “Soup is not a meal, and a coffee shop lunch is not equivalent payment for an Armani suit.” Fans may recall this is in reference to season 6’s “The Soup” wherein fellow comedian, Kenny Bania gives Jerry a brand new Armani suit and expects to be treated to a meal in turn.

Now, as complex as this exchange was, it cannot be denied that Jerry reluctantly did take the suit. But here’s the catch – he didn’t ask for it, need it, or expect Bania to really deliver the suit. Soon as Bania dropped off the suit, viewers realized he was only looking for a way to score a free meal. While at the restaurant, Bania decided to have soup and save the meal for another time because he was not that hungry. Quite evidently, Jerry hadn’t stopped Bania from ordering what he wanted, he just didn’t want to see him again. But Bania went ahead with the soup order, saying “Soup is not a meal,” which raises the question, when did Jerry say it was?

2 George Should Have Been The Lead

A George Costanza fan isn’t prepared to let go of the fact that Jerry Seinfeld retained the main character role for nine straight seasons of the show. According to them, George should have been the lead character. Whilst they do not provide reasons in support of their opinion, they implore Seinfeld loyalists to think in that direction.

User TwinPeaksFan16 simply says, “George should have been the main character… Just imagine, Costanza show. Wow.” While they are entitled to their opinion, it would have been rather difficult for a character as neurotic as Costanza to lead the sitcom in the TV landscape of the late ’80s. There’s no denying Jerry premised his stand-ups on George’s misadventures. That said, the latter wouldn’t have been as zany if he didn’t have a strong support system (Jerry) to fall back on.

1 Seinfeld Was Never Really About Jerry

In one Reddit post titled, “Seinfeld was never really about Jerry, but instead George.” user 10pumpsclassic says the show “…was always about George and his troubles, not Jerry, and how he finds his material.” They further state, “… George is the true star here. Without George, there is no Jerry.”

While it’s true that George was the most influential person in Jerry’s life, but saying he was the “true star” of the show would be a classic piece of an overstatement. It’s a well-known fact that Jerry was the lead of the series with the ability to turn various absurdities of life into hilarious jokes. Keeping that in view, George’s antics were comedic gold, which in turn, helped Jerry to write better observational material. As a standup comic, Jerry liked to delve into a wide array of topics, ranging from soup to the old-fashioned barbershops around NYC. Jerry and George’s opposite inner qualities complemented each other well, George just was the loudest and therefore easily noticeable.