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Larry and Jerry Seinfeld consider incorporating Larry’s latest real-life experience–involving a bare-midriff assistant and a crying Jesus–into the reunion show.

I found this to be another solid episode. I didn’t enjoy it as much as the previous couple, but found it had some really great moments. Like others, I really liked seeing the interactions between Larry and Jerry. I felt that it started really strongly with the whole midriff thing and the lunch with Richard, but faltered a little after this, as it ventured a little further into the absurd than I like from Curb. The violent ending to the already strange fantasy sequence seemed misplaced, and as others have mentioned the arrest for stealing napkins was a little too unrealistic. Occasionally Larry does seem to “crowbar” plotlines so that all different elements come together. This did feel a little contrived compared to usual. I enjoyed the latter part of the episode with Richard and Larry acting out the scene from the fantasy, and seeing Larry hanging on from Maureen’s stomach was absolutely hysterical. One of the great all-time endings for me.

Now for the issue that has seen over 30 comments this week. I can see how some Christians may have found the urine on the picture offensive. But for Curb fans, I can’t see how this crosses any boundaries that Larry hasn’t already crossed. Firstly, he did not intentionallry urinate on the picture. Secondly, I don’t believe it was intended as a criticism of Christianity. It was more about making light of that small group of people who are likely to purport to see effigies of Christ in their donuts and subsequently auction them on Ebay. Lastly, who could forget Season 3, Episode 9: Mary, Joseph and Larry? In that classic ep Larry not only commented on the “great bod” of a woman playing the virgin Mary but also ate Cheryl and her family’s Jesus cookie because he looked like a monkey! I don’t think this episode breaks new PC territory for Larry, and I found it really quite amusing. However I understand that others may have other opinions and its their right to express it on my blog. That said, some comments have seemed to be heading into a dierction that is outside the context of this site. I haven’t removed any comments yet but if things do get out of hand, I will have to moderate it.

Highlights:

• “Mayonaise is not personal”
• Jerry and Larry re-enacting the “choose” scene from Seinfeld - “You got odds. I got evens.”
• “You gotta flaunt for 24hours? Why not take a break in the flaunt?”
• The language of the gentle honk.
• “The swinging, sexy LA scene” where women expose their midriff at work.
• Drop off calls and official phone goodbye with guys. 100% agreement with Larry on this one. Its a big issue for me too, I have a friend that responds just like Richard did. Calling up just to confirm the official goodbye is a waste of time and money. Really need to establish an unwritten rule among guys for this. Thanks Larry for bringing it to society’s attention!

Again sorry this week’s review is late. Hope to be back on schedule next week. Until then, please keep discussing the season so far!

Larry learns to embrace the upside of disability without actually being disabled, and looks to disprove the rumor that Rosie O’Donnell can kick his ass.

First off, apologies for my review being a day late. However the delay has given me a chance to reflect on a couple of great comments from other fans. I really enjoyed this episode. Unlike last week’s episode I felt it was perfectly paced. Each scene had something, be it a funny observation about Chinese babies or another hysterical argument with Ted Danson. The What makes this episode special is how Larry approaches the whole “handicap” issue. Like Galahad mentioned in his comment below, Larry has a real knack for exposing prejudices and the social absurdities the rest of us take for granted. I have to quote Galahad here because I really like this:

Larry represents, the neurotic, who translates his fears and annoyances, outwardly in an exaggerated way.

Spot on. This episode best exemplifies the way Larry points out social stupidities. eg. The absurdity of arguing over paying for a meal. The phoniness in the way people act towards disabled people.

But at the same time you still have the simple yet hilarious slapstick physical comedy of a man trying to have sex with a woman in a wheelchair. That’s something that Seinfeld and now Curb has always been able to combine. I do also have to somewhat agree with John Frum, who commented below that “Larry is portraying himself as a bit too much of an a-hol”. I think anyone who would honestly compare season 1-3 Larry with this season’s Larry would be able to see the difference. Is it an evolution of the character? I know I discussed this last week but it does seem to come up each week in the comments. Has Larry steered too far from the “loveable, well-meaning, but somewhat sociopathic purveyor of shenanigan” John described him as? Myself, I wouldn’t go as far as to say that. I’d say he is a little more inconsistent in his behaviour. The one thing that did stick out in my mind in this episode was Larry asking his friends about the possibility of their adopted child being a schizophrenic. It just seemed out of place and out of context. I can’t see Larry saying something like that in season one.

Also, great to see Leon in this episode. He was hilarious this week (see below). His interactions with Larry seem to get funnier each time, despite usually consisting mostly of the words, “ass” and “fuck”. I think Larry has more or less decided to keep Leon around for these kind of scenes, though I hope that doesn’t mean we’ll see less and less of Richard Lewis. Getting all three of them in a room would almost guarantee to have me in stitches, they are both wonderful improvisers. Their relationship and interactions are so natural it’s clear that they’ve been real life friends for years. On the whole, a very funny and clever half hour. Can’t wait til next week.

Highlights (spoilers follow):

• Rosie O’Donnell’s face as she tells Larry that grabbing the check from her hand is “absurdly rude”.
• Are Chinese people born with a proclivity for chopsticks?
• “Bring the fucking ruckus to that ass Larry!”
• “Put that fucking pie down!”
• “Nancy Bigtits. I know Nancy got big-ass tits.”
• “This shit is too clean, you can’t tell where the fuck you at!”
• Intelligent use of closet space.

What do you think?

Larry rats out Christian Slater at Ted and Mary’s anniversary party, but later gets his payback at a restaurant rendezvous with an old flame; Larry’s doctor regrets ever giving him his personal number.

I loved it. I think a lot of fans were divided about last week’s reunion episode but one thing it did do was get a lot of Seinfeld fans to finally watch Curb. And this was a perfect follow-up for those new fans to get a real feel for the show. I agree with some that Larry has become a little more aggressive than in the past, but I don’t think that’s made him unlikeable. He’s evolved? Devolved perhaps? Regardless I still find myself agreeing with Larry’s take on almost every social convention. Whilst no one can really condone his behaviour, have we really ever been able to? To me he is the same old Larry, just a little more passionate! And as he gets older doesn’t that make sense?

This episode was classic Larry. He was rude, he was obnoxious, he was insensitive, he was unlucky and his general misbehaviour bit him in the ass. My dad and I watched this together and we had some serious fits of laughter (a welcome change from last week).

Highlights (spoilers)

• “If they were hairy”.
• Larry on women, “It’s a lot easier to work with their desperation than mine.”
• “I’m a lefty unhooker.”
• The unwritten rule of food “allotments” at a party. I completely agree, you’ve gotta “see what kind of action there is” when it comes to a plate of caviar.
• The longest wrong number phone call in history.
• The nerve of Ted and Mary inviting Jeff and Susie to dinner on Larry’s coin. I think Larry was being polite by calling it “odd”! Especially after that “bullshit” gift.
• And finally the scene that had me in hysterics. Larry to the singing daughter of his close friends that put him up for the night, “SHUT THE FUCK UP!” To be fair, she was fucking terrible.

What did you think?

Larry resists Jeff’s suggestion to do a Seinfeld reunion special–until he figures out a compelling personal reason to do so.

They’re back. But are they still funny? Spoilers ahead.

I’ve been looking forward to this episode for a while. I regretfully have to say that I found this episode really disappointing. It just wasn’t funny. The first two episodes of this season (particularly the second) were really quite hilarious but this first of several revolving around the Seinfeld reunion fell completely flat for me. Jerry, Jason, Julia and Michael seemed self-conscious. The story and writing felt forced. The scenes with Cheryl were not only unfunny but just plain annoying, as were the fantasy sequences. Curb is a show that I can rely on to give me a few good belly laughs if not have me on the floor in a lot of cases. I barely chuckled watching this episode. The situations just didn’t work. For example, I did not understand the point of the part where Michael Richards was unaware of  what Larry was saying to him. What was funny about it? I can only hope this episode was a necessary evil to set up the whole reunion arc. I also really missed Leon, Loretta and Richard who were so funny last week. Let’s hope that Larry can save this reunion idea (at least for me) in the rest of the season because at the moment it seems to have been a mistake. I’ve read some reviews in the blogosphere where people have said it’s nice to see the cast together again. Well yeah, it is nice and all that. But if it’s not funny, then it’s not Curb.

What did you think?

Here are the titles for episodes 8, 9 and 10 of season seven:

Episode 8: Office Krupke

Episode 9: The Table Read

Episode 10: Mocha Joe

Full HBO schedule here.

Thanks again to Jim for the heads up.