Hmmm- funny yes, but also disturbing. IN fact, Shapiro and Seinfeld have more in common than you think. First of all, neither plays a character at all, this is really who they are, which separates them from the likes of Sarah Silverman and Sacha Baron Cohen. Seinfeld really is just a snooty smart-aleck who made it acting like he did in high school, making fun of the less fortunate, powerful and their quirks they develop often to cope. And Shaprio really is an angry, washed-up, former addict who is angry at all those who have so much, and yet waste it away in this work, and adding nothing of value to the planet. The reason they are opposite each other is because literally, these guys, had they been in study-hall together, would have been at the opposite side of the room, each making fun of the other: One out of arrogance and one out of envy.

Now – from a pure intelligence standpoint, Shapiro tried to open up people’s minds to the fact that so many of us are vapid, consumeristic hedonists who use labels (such as his riff on “crazygirl” and women who try to sound more deep than they actually are) to try to add a level of depth to our lives that just is not there. But face it, most of us lack depth because we slave away at pointless jobs all with the reward of buying that flat screen television and Direct TV football package. So when we need depth to our lives, we need to search, and search hard.

However, lets leave aside the Seinfeld and Shapiro comparison, since that is not really a fair match. Shapiro needs instead to be compared to in my opinion was and still has been the greatest comedian ever: Bill Hicks. And here is where Shapiro fails – he never takes the joke or the concept to that next level, to that next spot in the thought process that leaves just merely making fun of a group of people (trendy 20-somethings for example) into a higher level of social commentary. This is where Hicks beauty was. He realized that the greatest tragedy of them all was that all of our problems and faults are the result of our own failure to pay attention and think outside the box society has formed around us. And once he took you outside that box, it not only was humorous in realizing the preposterousness / hypocrisy of why we think in a certain way, but woke you up to it.

Shapiro on the other hand, by failing to take it to that level, comes across as someone who just is angry the beautiful girl at the bar denied his advances. And this is where Shapiro becomes disturbing, which, actually is in a way, beautiful and repulsive. It is beautiful to witness someone so willing, so open to communicating the demons in his head (which face it, are all in our head at some point to), and to openly discuss it with us. Perhaps it is therapy for him, which helps him deal with them. And hey, if you are going to have psychological issues, at least profit from them, no? But the other side of the coin is that you really feel that this man will never truly be happy. His loathing of others is nothing compared to the self-loathing that seethes within him. This is partly why most comics are usually deep down, depressed and self-conscious. It is the ability to see themselves for what they are, that also allowed them to see everyone else for who they are. It is also likely why Shapiro will never catch on. Most people have never been able to see themselves for who they are, and because of that, the sight of someone with such a crystal clear ability to cut through our own self-delusions usually upsets them. Seinfeld on the other hand, succeeded as Rosenbaum said, because it allowed all of us not to ever look inward, but always point the finger.