Rochelle, Rochelle

From Wikisein

Rochelle, Rochelle is a fictional film from the television show Seinfeld. While the show introduced many fictional films (notably Prognosis Negative), Rochelle took on a life of its own. The film is never shown, but characters are portrayed watching it; the dialogue indicates it is a cheesy erotic romance that aspires to be artsy and European, as also evinced by the movie's tagline "A young girl's strange, erotic journey from Milan to Minsk"; it can also be seen as a parody of The Unbearable Lightness of Being.

One famous episode of Seinfeld featured a Broadway musical adaptation of Rochelle starring Bette Midler, who appeared in the episode. The plot is inspired by the Nancy Kerrigan beating. Jerry is dating Midler's understudy; in a softball game between his favorite comedy club's team and the team of Rochelle cast members, Midler is injured, and people accuse Jerry of masterminding the event so his girlfriend can go on. In typical Seinfeld fashion, the episode has about five separate plot lines that converge at the end, in which we see the understudy perform the title number (sample lyric: "Oh, it's been a long journey from Milan to Minsk, Rochelle, Rochelle!"). In another bit inspired by the Kerrigan attack, the episode ends as the understudy stops the show when she realizes her boot is untied, à la Tonya Harding.