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Prognosis Negative is a fictional movie referenced in the popular Seinfeld television series. In several episodes it was mentioned in the dialogue and in at least one episode a movie poster for it was visible.
- Sayings
Prognosis Negative; R Re-gifting; S Serenity Now; T The...
- Fictional Films
All pages in this category contain fictional films.
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- The Dog
"The Dog" is the fourth episode of Season Three of Seinfeld...
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- Larry David
Larry David is an American actor and comedian who is...
- Seinfeld
Seinfeld is a situation comedy which ran from July 5, 1989...
- Sayings
- Overview
- Rochelle, Rochelle
- Prognosis Negative
- Sack Lunch
- Chunnel
- Blimp
- CheckMate
- Films referred to by Kramer in "The Pool Guy"
- Films bootlegged in "The Little Kicks"
- Vincent's Picks
The series Seinfeld mentions many fictional films, sometimes as major plot elements, sometimes minor plot elements and often as running gags.
is a film referenced many times during the series. It is most likely based on the 1974 erotic film Emmanuelle. Like other films referenced by the show, it is never shown, but characters are portrayed watching it. The theatrical trailer indicates it is an erotic romance "about life, love, and becoming a woman", and says The Village Voice called the film "a masterpiece." The tagline is "A young girl's strange, erotic journey from Milan to Minsk." Susan Ross notes that it contains "a lot of nudity."
The film is first referenced in "The Movie," when George goes to see Rochelle, Rochelle instead of watching Checkmate. Jerry and Elaine end up in the same theater. After watching the film for only a few minutes, the trio discover each other after hearing one another's disgust. Indifferent to the audience, they yell out how bad the movie is and then all three walk out. During this scene several bits of dialogue are heard from the movie (with Larry David voicing the role of a man convincing Rochelle to undress). It is learned that Rochelle resides in Milan and is visiting relatives in Minsk.
The movie is mentioned again in "The Smelly Car," when George tries to hide from Susan the fact that he rented the movie, embarrassed to let her know that he watches movies for the nudity (though he asserts that it's not frontal, but "sidal" nudity). The rented video costs George $98 when it is stolen from Jerry's car because the window was left open to air out the body odor left behind by a parking valet.
In the sixth-season episode "The Understudy," Rochelle, Rochelle is adapted into a Broadway musical starring Bette Midler, who appears in the episode as herself and sings the title song (sample lyric: "Well, you've made a long journey from Milan to Minsk, Rochelle, Rochelle!").
was referenced again as a motion picture in Larry David's show Curb Your Enthusiasm.
David further referenced Rochelle, Rochelle in a print advertisement for American Express, where he lists the movie, including the tagline "a young girl's strange, erotic journey from Milan to Minsk," as his "favorite in-flight movie."
is another film mentioned in several episodes, and in at least one episode a movie poster for it is visible. Prognosis Negative had its roots in an actual screenplay written by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David in the 1980s. It was never produced. However, where the real-life screenplay is a comedy about a man who receives a negative result on a medical test, which he mistakenly believes to be bad, the fictional film is implied to be a thriller.
In "The Dog", Elaine wants to see Prognosis Negative with Jerry, and thus refuses to see it with George when Jerry cannot go because of the dog he is petsitting. Jerry eventually sees it with George while Elaine watches the dog, only to find out that the movie is terrible. Jerry does not tell Elaine that he saw the movie without her and is forced to go see it again with her. Later, in the episode "The Junior Mint", Elaine states that her friend is "prognosis negative" after surgery.
is a film discussed in the episode "The English Patient". It is being shown on the same day as The English Patient, a movie for which Elaine develops an intense dislike. Elaine's desire to see Sack Lunch is frustrated by its being sold out, so at her boyfriend's suggestion, they see The English Patient. Elaine later goes to see Sack Lunch alone, but is spotted and scoffed at by her boyfriend. Afterward, Elaine is delighted to hear Sack Lunch announced as the in-flight movie on her trip to Tunisia. However, a group of disaffected Dominican Marxist crêpe rollers hijack the plane in an attempt to redirect it to Cuba, and demand that the captain turn off the in-flight movie much to Elaine's dismay. One of the burning questions that bothers Elaine is whether the people on the theatrical release poster for the movie got shrunk down or are in a giant sack.
The film is apparently supposed to be a reference to light, escapist comedies that have large commercial appeal despite critical responses that are muted at best (as opposed to movies like The English Patient, which earn much critical acclaim and Oscar nominations, but find little popularity among the general populace).
is a film mentioned in the episode "The Pool Guy". Elaine and Jerry go to see the film with Susan, with whom they are now spending a lot of time (much to George's chagrin). However, Jerry and Elaine's noisy discussion about the plot during the film irritates Susan, who shushes them and ultimately breaks off their newfound friendship.
From what little is heard of the movie's content, the plot appears to involve an explosion in the Channel Tunnel which causes its evacuation. Larry David can be heard saying the line, "Everybody out of the Chunnel! Everybody out!" according to the DVD Commentary on the Seinfeld Season 7 episode "The Pool Guy".
Writer David Mandel states that the plot of Chunnel involves the President's daughter being trapped in the 'Chunnel' between England and France. An exchange between a fictional President of the United States and a presidential advisor can additionally be heard: "Mr. President, your daughter is in the Chunnel." The tagline of the film was "Chunnel: 32 Miles of Hell". The portions of the movie that are seen in "The Pool Guy" are from The American President, another Castle Rock production.
The film is mentioned later in the same season in "The Cadillac, Part 1", when Kramer remarks that it is airing on HBO that evening.
George sees Blimp: The Hindenburg Story ("The Puerto Rican Day") and gets a laugh by shouting out "That's gotta hurt!" as the Hindenburg explodes. Later, while his car is stuck in traffic, he decides to go see it again with hope of more laughter; however, his plan is thwarted by a fellow moviegoer who uses a laser pointer to make fun of the film. A...
is a film at the center of the plot of "The Movie", ostensibly about chess and intrigue. Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer all try to meet up to see the movie together, but because of a series of problems, three of the four, independently, find themselves watching Rochelle, Rochelle instead. The movie poster for the film is visible in the episode.
Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld voice roles in the film, parts of which are overheard when the characters are in the movie theater:
Larry David: I didn't know you enjoyed chess, your majesty.
King (Voiced by Jerry Seinfeld): Why wouldn't I?
Larry David: Because the king is always in jeopardy.
King (Jerry): Yes, but it's only a game!
In the episode "The Pool Guy", Kramer gets a new phone number that differs by a single digit from the number for Moviefone. He begins answering the wrong numbers intended for Moviefone and looking up movies for people. Among the films he references:
•Agent Zero: This film was also referred to in another NBC sitcom of the time, NewsRadio, where Andy Dick's character describes it to a co-worker played by Phil Hartman through a series of sound effects. Agent Zero derives its name from a screenplay that Seinfeld writer David Mandel always wanted to write.
•Brown-Eyed Girl (a reference to the song Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison)
•Chow Fun: Elaine calls to find out what time it will be showing.
••Firestorm (also mentioned in "The Rye" and "The Engagement"): Jerry happily discusses the movie with a friend, commenting that at one point, Harrison Ford "jumped out of the plane and was shooting back up at them while he was falling." His friend references an "underwater escape." According to Henry Ross, in one scene of the movie, a helicopter lands on top of a car. He calls the film "a hell of a picture". Immediately after Mr. Ross speaks about this scene, an angry Frank Costanza loudly admonishes Mr. Ross for 'spoiling it for me'. (Note: There was later a real action movie with this title starring Howie Long.) This movie was also mentioned in an episode of the Irish sitcom Father Ted.
•Mountain High: An R-rated film starring Kevin Bacon and Susan Sarandon. Kramer reads its tagline from the newspaper ("There's no higher place than... Mountain High!"), and also recites some (possibly fake) dialogue from the film: "You've gotta get me over that mountain!" This was followed by a fake explosion and exaggerated scream.
In "The Little Kicks," Jerry is roped into a bootlegging venture for Brody, a friend of Kramer.
•Death Blow: When Jerry realizes that Brody is bootlegging the movie, he asks to talk to Kramer outside of the theater. While outside, Jerry and Kramer hear a loud explosion, which prompts Kramer to exclaim, "Ah, man, we're missin' the death blow!" Jerry bootlegs this movie and becomes a bootlegging legend for his excellent work in recording it. According to overheard dialogue, there is a character in the film named "Death Blow." An offhand comment by Kramer reveals that there is a Hawaiian man who may have received "the final Death Blow" because Kramer believed "he really had it comin'." Kramer delivers the tagline in this episode: "When someone tries to blow you up, not because of who you are, but because of different reasons altogether!" Apparently, it also contains a scene in which an unnamed antagonist and the titular character "meet again." Some other viewers mention a scene in which the main character falls out of the plane but continues to fire up.
In "The Comeback", Elaine rents several movies, fictitious and otherwise, recommended by the adolescent video store employee, Vincent. Vincent's choices include:
•The Pain and the Yearning: A 192-minute fictitious film, whose plot is simply "An old woman experiences pain and yearning." Elaine passes over this film to see Weekend at Bernie's II (a Gene pick), prompting Vincent to recommend Betrayed.
Sep 3, 2019 · The movie that Jerry tries and fails to see throughout the whole of the infamous season 3 episode “The Dog” is called Prognosis Negative. In the show, it seems to be framed as a medical thriller, but the title is, in fact, taken from a screenplay for a comedy that series co-creator Larry David wrote in the 1980s.
- Streaming Movies/TV Features Editor
- Flaming Globes of Sigmund. In Seinfeld’s season 2 episode “The Heart Attack,” Jerry falls asleep while watching a sci-fi B-movie on television. The movie is called Flaming Globes of Sigmund and features a space-related premise in which showrunner Larry David cameos as an Austrian-accented character wearing an aluminum suit and goggles.
- Prognosis Negative. Prognosis Negative first appears in the Seinfeld season 3 episode “The Dog” when Elaine asks Jerry to see it with her and refuses to go with only George.
- Ponce De Leon. Instead of seeing Prognosis Negative in “The Dog,” Seinfeld's Elaine and Jerry go to see the fictional Ponce de Leon. Later on in the episode “The Movie,” the gang discusses whether they liked the movie, with Elaine loathing it.
- Checkmate. In season 3’s “The Movie,” Checkmate is the film that Seinfeld’s characters all actually wanted to see, but a series of misfortunes led them to separately see Rochelle, Rochelle.
- Sack Lunch — Episode “The English Patient” I could explain why Sack Lunch is the greatest fictional Seinfeld film, but if you have to ask why I chose it as number one, you’ll probably never understand anyway.
- Firestorm — Episode “The Rye” I 100% think this could be the greatest action film of all time. Harrison Ford shooting up at a plane he has just fallen out of.
- Rochelle, Rochelle — Episode “The Movie” Even though this movie is said to be unbearable, Elaine’s pretty much right, men will stick around for any movie that promises nudity.
- Death Blow — Episode “The Little Kicks” I’m sold on the tagline alone: “When someone tries to blow you up, not because of who you are, but for different reasons altogether.”
Sep 30, 2021 · Prognosis Negative was an old dark comedy screenplay of Larry David’s, and its plot — a man won’t commit to dating a woman until he finds out she’s dying— sounds more like something that would happen on a Curb Your Enthusiasm episode than anything in a real-life movie.
Prognosis Negative might be the most overhyped fictional film in Seinfeld history. As mentioned several times throughout the show's run, this film, which Elaine does not want to see without...
