The Rye

"**The Rye**"
"The Rye"
Seinfeld episode
Episode no.	Season 7; Episode 11
Directed by	Andy Ackerman
Written by	Carol Leifer
Production code	711
Original air date	January 4, 1996
Guest appearances
	Jerry Stiller as Frank Costanza; Estelle Harris as Estelle Costanza; Heidi Swedberg as Susan Ross; Grace Zabriskie as Mrs. Ross; Warren Frost as Mr. Ross; Frances Bay as Mabel; Jeff Yagher as John; Leonard Lightfoot as Clyde; Don Amendolia as Dennis; Kathryn Kates as Counter Woman; Steve Ireland as Music Guy; Dean Fortunato as Manager; Eugene Lew as Man in Hansom Cab (uncredited);
Episode chronology
← Previous; "The Gum"	Next →; "The Caddy"
	Seinfeld (season 7)
	List of episodes

"The Rye" is the 121st episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. It was the 11th episode of the seventh season, originally airing on January 4, 1996. It was written by American comedian Carol Leifer. In this episode, Elaine's relationship with her saxophonist boyfriend is complicated by the issue of oral sex, George tries to avert a feud between his parents and his fiance Susan's parents over a marble rye bread, and Kramer takes on a temporary job as a hansom cab driver.

Plot

Elaine dates a jazz saxophonist named John Jermaine, but tells Jerry that John doesn't give her oral sex. Jerry meets Clyde, one of Jermaine's bandmates, and describes the relationship to him as "hot and heavy". When Elaine hears of this, she is upset with Jerry as this line makes her seem more into the relationship than John might be comfortable with.

George's and his fiancé's Susan Ross's parents meet for the first time at Susan's parents' house. George's father Frank brings a marble rye bread. After an uncomfortable dinner, Frank takes it back because they didn't serve it at dinner. George wants to sneak an identical rye bread into the Rosses', creating the illusion that the bread was simply misplaced and thus averting a long-running family feud over the bread. Kramer is picking up a hansom cab driver's mail for the week, in exchange for which he is allowing him the use of his cab. George plots to send them on a hansom cab ride as a wedding anniversary present, while he and Jerry sneak in the rye. An old lady in front of Jerry at the bakery gets the last marble rye. After trying unsuccessfully to get it from her with bribery and appeals to sympathy, Jerry steals it from her.

Kramer, having overbought cheap food items, feeds the horse some "Beef-A-Reeno" (a fictional beef and pasta concoction). This makes the horse flatulent to the point the Rosses cannot bear it, though Kramer claims it was "oats and hay", and they cut their trip short, preventing Jerry from delivering the stolen rye bread. The Rosses and George head inside. After trying unsuccessfully to throw the bread up to George at the third floor window, Jerry hooks it to a fishing pole George found in the room. George reels the rye bread up but is caught by the Rosses.

Elaine explains to John about the "hot and heavy" line. John tells her he was happy Clyde told him that and offers to give her oral sex. After "trying so hard" to perform cunnilingus on Elaine, his lips became so numb that he can't make a note during a showcase for record producers, making a series of off-key whistles instead. Elaine leaves the show in embarrassment.

Production

Writer Carol Leifer got the story of visitors bringing a rye bread and then taking it back after the guests forgot to serve it from a high school friend.^[1] The plot point of Jerry having to steal a marble rye bread from the woman ahead of him in line at the bakery was contributed by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David.^[1]

Elaine's voice-over in the opening scene was recorded by actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus beforehand and played back during filming of the scene so that she could synchronize her facial expression and movements with the narration.^[2] Many of the outdoor scenes were filmed at Paramount Studio, where Jerry Seinfeld started a massive snowball fight with the entire cast and crew using the fake snow.^[1]

Critical reception

Sara Lewis Dunne, in the book Seinfeld: Master of Its Domain, comments on possible reasons why the Costanzas and the Rosses clash:

Dinner party "rules" seem to baffle all the regular characters on Seinfeld... [I]n this episode we see a peculiarly New York culture clash between the schlubby Costanzas and the ritzy Rosses. Much has been written about whether the Costanzas, whose name "sounds" Italian, are really Jewish, with George, according to both Carla Johnson and Jon Stratton (in this volume), as the ultimate schlemiel. A food called Schnitzel's Marble Rye certainly would seem to fit into the ethnic tradition that would offer it as a dinner-party gift, and its rejection by the Rosses seems an affront, which could easily be read as an ethnic affront, to Frank Costanza. When I first saw this episode, I (and probably many other viewers as well) was reminded of Jackie Mason's summation of the difference between Jews and Gentiles: Jews eat and Gentiles drink, and the Rosses are usually seen with a drink in their hands.^[3]

David Sims of The A.V. Club "was in general disappointed with the return of the Ross family here, especially with the juicy setup of them meeting the equally bonkers Costanzas." He thought that the episode The Cheever Letters was stronger: "the whole thing feels more like your classic in-law dinner from Hell rather than the special kind of crazy we might come to expect. But The Rye redeems itself somewhat with the much wackier sight of Jerry stealing a marble rye from an old lady and trying to toss it to George on a second-floor [sic; it was third-floor] window..."^[4]

Linda S. Ghent, Professor in the Department of Economics at Eastern Illinois University, discusses this episode in view of its economic themes, specifically willingness to pay and willingness to sell.^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Seinfeld Season 7: Inside Look - "The Rye" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. 2006.
^ Seinfeld Season 7: Notes about Nothing - "The Rye" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. 2006.
^ Dunne, Sara Lewis (2006). "Seinfood: Purity, Danger, and Food Codes on Seinfeld". Seinfeld, Master of Its Domain: Revisiting Television's Greatest Sitcom. New York: Continuum. p. 154. ISBN 9780826418036.
^ Sims, David (September 8, 2011). "The Rye/The Caddy". The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
^ Ghent, Linda S. (2010). "Seinfeld Economics: The Rye". Critical Commons. Retrieved July 13, 2012.

External links

[InsLook-1] Seinfeld Season 7: Inside Look - "The Rye" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. 2006.

[2] Seinfeld Season 7: Notes about Nothing - "The Rye" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. 2006.

[3] Dunne, Sara Lewis (2006). "Seinfood: Purity, Danger, and Food Codes on Seinfeld". Seinfeld, Master of Its Domain: Revisiting Television's Greatest Sitcom. New York: Continuum. p. 154. ISBN 9780826418036.

[4] Sims, David (September 8, 2011). "The Rye/The Caddy". The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 18, 2012.

[5] Ghent, Linda S. (2010). "Seinfeld Economics: The Rye". Critical Commons. Retrieved July 13, 2012.

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v t e Seinfeld episodes
Season 1	"The Seinfeld Chronicles" "The Stake Out" "The Robbery" "Male Unbonding" "The Stock Tip"
Season 2	"The Ex-Girlfriend" "The Pony Remark" "The Jacket" "The Phone Message" "The Apartment" "The Statue" "The Revenge" "The Heart Attack" "The Deal" "The Baby Shower" "The Chinese Restaurant" "The Busboy"
Season 3	"The Note" "The Truth" "The Pen" "The Dog" "The Library" "The Parking Garage" "The Cafe" "The Tape" "The Nose Job" "The Stranded" "The Alternate Side" "The Red Dot" "The Subway" "The Pez Dispenser" "The Suicide" "The Fix-Up" "The Boyfriend"† "The Limo" "The Good Samaritan" "The Letter" "The Parking Space" "The Keys"
Season 4	"The Trip"† "The Pitch" "The Ticket" "The Wallet" "The Watch" "The Bubble Boy" "The Cheever Letters" "The Opera" "The Virgin" "The Contest" "The Airport" "The Pick" "The Movie" "The Visa" "The Shoes" "The Outing" "The Old Man" "The Implant" "The Junior Mint" "The Smelly Car" "The Handicap Spot" "The Pilot"†
Season 5	"The Mango" "The Puffy Shirt" "The Glasses" "The Sniffing Accountant" "The Bris" "The Lip Reader" "The Non-Fat Yogurt" "The Barber" "The Masseuse" "The Cigar Store Indian" "The Conversion" "The Stall" "The Dinner Party" "The Marine Biologist" "The Pie" "The Stand In" "The Wife" "The Raincoats"† "The Fire" "The Hamptons" "The Opposite"
Season 6	"The Chaperone" "The Big Salad" "The Pledge Drive" "The Chinese Woman" "The Couch" "The Gymnast" "The Soup" "The Mom & Pop Store" "The Secretary" "The Race" "The Switch" "The Label Maker" "The Scofflaw" "The Highlights of 100"† "The Beard" "The Kiss Hello" "The Doorman" "The Jimmy" "The Doodle" "The Fusilli Jerry" "The Diplomat's Club" "The Face Painter" "The Understudy"
Season 7	"The Engagement" "The Postponement" "The Maestro" "The Wink" "The Hot Tub" "The Soup Nazi" "The Secret Code" "The Pool Guy" "The Sponge" "The Gum" "The Rye" "The Caddy" "The Seven" "The Cadillac"† "The Shower Head" "The Doll" "The Friar's Club" "The Wig Master" "The Calzone" "The Bottle Deposit"† "The Wait Out" "The Invitations"
Season 8	"The Foundation" "The Soul Mate" "The Bizarro Jerry" "The Little Kicks" "The Package" "The Fatigues" "The Checks" "The Chicken Roaster" "The Abstinence" "The Andrea Doria" "The Little Jerry" "The Money" "The Comeback" "The Van Buren Boys" "The Susie" "The Pothole" "The English Patient" "The Nap" "The Yada Yada" "The Millennium" "The Muffin Tops" "The Summer of George"
Season 9	"The Butter Shave" "The Voice" "The Serenity Now" "The Blood" "The Junk Mail" "The Merv Griffin Show" "The Slicer" "The Betrayal" "The Apology" "The Strike" "The Dealership" "The Reverse Peephole" "The Cartoon" "The Strongbox" "The Wizard" "The Burning" "The Bookstore" "The Frogger" "The Maid" "The Puerto Rican Day" "The Chronicle"† "The Finale"†
† Indicates two-part episode