The Lip Reader
Encyclopedia
"The Lip Reader" is the seventieth episode of the sitcom Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...

. It is the sixth episode of the fifth season, and first aired on October 28, 1993. The episode brought in a 20.4 rating and 31 share.

Plot

Jerry
Jerry Seinfeld (character)
Jerome "Jerry" Seinfeld is the main protagonist of the American television sitcom Seinfeld . The straight man among his group of friends, this semi-fictionalized version of comedian Jerry Seinfeld was named after, co-created by, based on, and played by Seinfeld himself.The series revolves around...

 and George
George Costanza
George Louis Costanza is a character in the American television sitcom Seinfeld , played by Jason Alexander. He has variously been described as a "short, stocky, slow-witted, bald man" , "Lord of the Idiots" , and as "the greatest sitcom character of all time"...

 are at the U.S. Open where George mentions that he had invited his girlfriend Gwen to a party. Jerry says this is a bad idea, as he cannot socialize with others when he is with his girlfriend. George buys an ice cream sundae at the match and eats it, getting the chocolate all over his face, which is caught by the cameras and broadcast on television. Jerry becomes smitten with the lineswoman, and when he tries to get her attention it appears as if she is ignoring him. Only after she turns around does Jerry realize that she is deaf.

Elaine
Elaine Benes
Elaine Marie Benes is a fictional character on the American television sitcom Seinfeld , played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Elaine's best friend is her ex-boyfriend Jerry Seinfeld; she is also good friends with George Costanza and Cosmo Kramer...

, who is using the company car service to travel, is tired of all the chatty drivers - so to avoid talking to one she pretends to be deaf. However her plan fails when she "hears" the radio message to the driver to pick up Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...

. To make it up to the driver, who was disgusted with her feigned deafness, she gets him tickets to a rock concert.

Jerry tells Kramer
Cosmo Kramer
Cosmo Kramer, usually referred to as simply "Kramer", is a fictional character on the American television sitcom Seinfeld , played by Michael Richards...

 about the deaf lineswoman, Laura (Marlee Matlin
Marlee Matlin
Marlee Bethany Matlin is an American actress. She is the only deaf actress to win the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, which she won for Children of a Lesser God. Her work in film and television has resulted in a Golden Globe award, with two additional nominations, and four Emmy...

). Kramer claims to know sign language
Sign language
A sign language is a language which, instead of acoustically conveyed sound patterns, uses visually transmitted sign patterns to convey meaning—simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speaker's...

 because a deaf cousin lived with him for a year. He then gets an idea to become a ball-man (corrected from ball boy) and asks Jerry to find out from Laura how to get the job.

Gwen breaks up with George, saying "it's not you; it's me"; George is offended, as he considers this to be his signature break-up line. Kramer tells George about seeing him on TV with the pudding on his face, which George believes to be the reason for Gwen breaking up with him. Jerry takes George as the third wheel on a date with Laura, and they find out that Laura can eavesdrop on people by lip reading. George then gets the idea to take Laura to a party to read his girlfriend's lips to see what she is saying about him. After the date Jerry asks if he can pick up Laura at six for the party ("How about six?"), which she misinterprets as 'sex' ("How about sex?") and leaves him in a huff.

Kramer goes for the ball boy tryouts and aces it, getting the job. Jerry tells George about the 'six/sex' misunderstanding and that he straightened it out with Laura. Newman enters and asks to 'borrow' Laura to spy on his supervisor, and, not surprisingly, Jerry refuses. Later, in the limo, they find out that the driver has gone slightly deaf from sitting near the speakers at a Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...

 concert: the same concert for which Elaine had given him tickets. When he recognizes Elaine, the driver throws everyone out of his cab.

They arrive late to the party and meet Laura who has a brief and nonsensical sign language conversation with Kramer. When Gwen arrives, Laura watches her conversation with Todd and signs to Kramer who voices it out loud. The conversation is surprisingly mundane - about peas, pea soup, carrots and carrot soup (a subtle joke; "silent" extras often mouth the phrase "peas and carrots" to give the illusion of conversation). However, when Todd asks Gwen if she wants to sweep with him after the party, it is misinterpreted as 'sleep' with him. George becomes hysterical. He runs up to them and rants about the disloyalty. When Gwen corrects him, he starts shouting at Laura and Kramer. When Laura and Kramer start arguing and signing furiously, she accidentally hits George in the eye. He topples over a table and crashes the party.

Later, the group are seen at a tennis match where Kramer is the ball man. Kramer rushes at the ball and accidentally knocks down and knocks out Monica Seles
Monica Seles
Monica Seles is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player and a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame. She was born in Novi Sad, Serbia, former Yugoslavia to Hungarian parents. She became a naturalized United States citizen in 1994 and also received Hungarian citizenship in June 2007...

. After the match, Laura gets into the limo with the same chatty driver. When he starts talking to her, she explains to him, "I'm deaf." He turns back with a slightly agitated and dubious expression before the credits roll.

Guest cast

  • Wayne Knight
    Wayne Knight
    Wayne Eliot Knight is an American actor, comedian, and voice actor perhaps best known for his role as Newman in the TV sitcom Seinfeld...

     - Newman
    Newman (Seinfeld)
    Newman is a recurring character on the television show Seinfeld, played by Wayne Knight from 1991 until the show's finale in 1998.-Background:...

  • Marlee Matlin
    Marlee Matlin
    Marlee Bethany Matlin is an American actress. She is the only deaf actress to win the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, which she won for Children of a Lesser God. Her work in film and television has resulted in a Golden Globe award, with two additional nominations, and four Emmy...

     - Laura (Matlin was nominated for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for this role)
  • Christopher Darga - Limousine Driver
  • Veralyn Jones - Renee
  • Linda Kash
    Linda Kash
    Linda Kash is a Canadian actress.An alumna of Second City, she played Trudy Weissman in the 1998 Jean Smart sit-com, Style & Substance...

     - Gwen
  • Jerry Sroka - Todd
  • Dylan Haggerty - Young Man
  • Bret Anthony
    Bret Anthony
    Bret Anthony is an American television actor, and comic, best known for physical comedy and emotional range in his role of the late actor John Ritter in the Joyce DeWitt produced NBC-TV docudrama-comedy film Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Three's Company .-Early life and...

    - Teen
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