The Seinfeld Scene Julia Louis-Dreyfus Wishes She Could Reshoot

In the "Seinfeld" episode "The Busboy" (June 26, 1991), Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) had invited her Seattle-based boyfriend Eddie (Doug Ballard) to stay with her in her New York apartment for a few days. Elaine realizes almost right away that she actually hates him and becomes incredibly eager to get him out of her place. Eddie doesn't know what's going on, however, and seems wholly comfortable at Elaine's place, in no hurry to get back to Seattle. 

On the morning Eddie is set to leave, he and Elaine oversleep, potentially missing his flight out of town. Elaine frantically begins stuffing his suitcases and even dressing him against his will, insisting that he leave as soon as possible. The scene is full of frantic, chaotic energy, and Elaine has to bundle about the apartment in her nightgown, screaming that they need to move quickly. She's openly ignoring her boyfriend's comments, needing — needing — him to leave. 

Unfortunately, their trip to the airport is stymied by a car wreck en route. Then, after a trip to Jerry's apartment, Eddie gets in a brawl in a hallway (!), and he trips down a staircase. The twist ending sees Eddie injured and bedridden ... back at Elaine's apartment. He is unable to travel for several more days. Her frantic hurrying only exacerbated the issue, and she is still too cowardly to kick Eddie out.

Louis-Dreyfus wasn't happy with the frantic scene wherein she had to dress Eddie against his will, feeling that it was an exhausting shoot, and she was never on her "A" game. On the specials features on the "Seinfeld" DVDs, Louis-Dreyfus watched the scene again, and gave herself a middling score, feeling she wishes she could have another take.

Louis-Dreyfus felt that there might have been a better way to handle the "panic" scene. She didn't have a specific criticism about her performance, other than to say it could have been much better. In her words: 

"In 'The Busboy' episode, there was a scene in which we're running around trying to get the boyfriend out of my apartment. That was an exhausting scene to do for all sorts of reasons. First of all, physically it was exhausting, but it was certainly emotionally exhausting. And now, as I watch it again, I can see why. If I were going to grade that, I'd give myself about a B-minus, to tell you the truth. I'd like to go back a reshoot that, if we have a chance." 

It should be worth noting that "The Busboy," which came in the middle of the second season of "Seinfeld," was one of the first episodes to sideline Jerry, the title character. The plot revolved around George (Jason Alexander) and Elaine accidentally getting a busboy (David Labiosa) fired, and their disastrous attempts to fix the scenario. Everything ends badly for everyone, with Elaine's cosmic punishment being that she has to keep living with Eddie, long after she wanted to. It was the episode that proved "Seinfeld" had four lead characters, and not one. /Film once wrote that the episode was one of the show's most underrated. 

This shift could, of course, be credited to the writers, but Louis-Dreyfus, Alexander, and co-star Michael Richards should be given their due as well, as they personified fascinatingly awful (and wholly hilarious) people. Louis-Dreyfus may not have been pleased with her performance, but she still left an impression. At last count, the actress has won 11 Emmys. She may rest assured that she has done impressive work since "The Busboy." Her favorite movies are pretty good, too.