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Jeff Garlin has just launched his brand new website. Have a look around and make sure you watch Larry’s special welcome video!

In the Season Seven finale, a returned favor costs Larry quality time with Cheryl.

So we come to the end of another season. This site is now almost two and a half years old and I’ve blogged reviews for the last two seasons of Curb. Time really does fly when you write about something you love. I’m not saying I’m in love with Larry. Having said that, I kinda am.

This episode was great. It probably wasn’t as strong as last weeks but it was above average for what was a great season. In terms of a finale, it’s not up there with season three’s “The Grand Opening”, but funnier than season four’s “Opening Night”. As a season, I really did enjoy number seven. More so than season 6. Is it up to the standards of two and three? Maybe not, but for my mind it really is the funniest thing on TV. Seeing Larry’s mind tick and the situations he gets into among his cast of nutjobs, whilst it may less often elicit that “rolling on the floor, side-splitting” kind of laughter, is always a delight.

I’ve really liked Jerry this season. He always does seem to be holding back the laughs, just like he did in Seinfeld but it never really hinders the humour. In fact when I see him grin, I can’t help but start to smile as well. He does have contagious kind of chuckle like that friend that we love to love laugh with. Really hope to see him back next season though I wouldn’t count on it. Him, Marty Funkhouser, Richard Lewis and Leon in a room boggle the mind with comic possibilities.

One of this episode’s highlights is watching Larry try to play George, a character based on him. A character that has had so much of Larry worked into him, but then made his own by Jason Alexander. The result is hysterical – “No! No! No!”. Was also great to see Susie have one last explosion at Larry. I loved how she motioned her hands like she was carrying a nice big log of wood.

George and Jerry’s exchanges in the coffee shop weren’t perfect. There was a bit of that self-consciousness that was really in the Seinfeld finale. I felt that with Kramer and Elaine as well. It was something that I felt they managed to avoid in last weeks “The Table Read”. Perhaps it was the added pressure of knowing that this will almost definitely be their last times in those characters?

Spoiler: So it seems Cheryl and Larry are back together. For a season 8, we’d all hope. I welcome it, I think the single Larry thing has lasted a good couple of seasons now and its worked well.

So has Larry changed? Has he learnt anything in his time without Cheryl?

You can guess what I’m betting on.

What did you think?

Highlights:

• “I’ll read it with dinner.”
• “And yet it’s all acting”
  “Mostly.”
• “I revere wood!”
• “E for effort!”
  “F for favour!”
  “C for coffee.”
• Susie being Susie, “I respect wood so much that if I had a piece of wood in my hand right now, I’d beat the shit out of you with it okay! Get the fuck out of here alright!”
• “You’re busying me with your beans!”
• “So you discriminate against wood?”
• “I see you! Laughing and lying!” – reusing a classic Costanza line to great effect!
• “Nobody liked that second Darren”
• “George is getting upset!”
• “Strangers have a bad reputation.”
  “A few bad strangers… have ruined it for the rest of us!”
• “None of your business Elaine!”

Stay tuned guys, I’ll have a review of Whatever Works coming soon. Also as soon as DVD details surface I’ll be posting it here especially for those yet to see this season.

Let’s not wait another two years to talk again, I am committed to get the forum going for ongoing Larry and Curb discussion so please come back soon!

Larry gets frustrated by a nine-year-old’s emails; Leon poses as a dead man; Jerry befriends Funkhauser.

Wow. What an episode! When I heard that Larry was going to a Seinfeld reunion on Curb, this is exactly the kind of show I was hoping for. Everyone was brilliant in this episode. The whole Seinfeld crew, Leon, Marty. This was enjoyable as purely another episode of Curb and as a way of seeing that classic cast interact again.

The opening exchange with Stacy (anyone recognise her as George’s secretary when he worked at the Yankees?) sets up the mayhem from the beginning. I loved the nonchalant delivery of, “Yeah she just has a rash on her pussy” and Larry’s subsequent facial expression. Watching Marty enthusiastically tell Jerry that dirty joke was a riot. The actual table read scene was a lot of fun for Seinfeld fans like myself. They really did just slip back into those characters and the exchanges felt as natural and as funny as they’d always been (apart from the Seinfeld finale but let’s not go there!). Larry’s disgusted face as Jason cleaned out his ears with Larry’s pen was priceless.

We all wondered if he’d go there, and Larry delivered. Only Larry could manage to make Michael Richard’s horrible racial outburst 3 years ago into something funny. To his credit Michael Richards went with it and the result was great. With some help from Leon – Danny Duberstein was comic gold. When he uttered, “Tasted like peaches!” I lost my shit. JB Smoove has got to stay, this was his best episode to date. Great ending to boot, I saw Kramer return in that scene and it was just like old times. And if you weren’t uncomfortable yet, Larry saved a wonderfully politically incorrect pedophilia gag for the final scene.

This season hasn’t been perfect, but this episode was close. Season seven has had controversy and a couple average episodes. But in the end, Larry always finds a way to deliver. And that’s why we”re perpetually “tuning in next week”.

What did you think?

Highlights:

• Jerry on Marty, “I like that guy. He’s crazy” – Agreed!
• Jerry and Larry’s discussion of “barbercide” and hairdresser’s offing themselves.
• “How’s her pussy by the way?”
• “You know about the crystals?”
• Newman. That is a character that deserves to live on, Wayne Knight was hilarious.
• “Bah Misfit!”
• “Oh my God. Look I made mistake, it’s been 3 years. Don’t hurt me!”
• “How many times per week am I fucking?”
• “Danny Duberstein’s good at two things. That’s math, and fucking.”
• “Who is this little, fat bastard?”

Jeff’s indiscretion forces Larry to embrace his feminine side; one of Jeff’s clients competes with Cheryl for a Seinfeld role; a local law officer shares an unusual name.

Another enjoyable episode, that I think was on par with last week’s The Black Swan. I loved watching Susie and Larry in this one – the way she looks him up and down as he tries to walk like he’s wearing women’s underwear was classic. The argument with the Banana Republic salesman was also quiet funny. I did feel there was a bit of filler in the early to middle part of the episode, but there were quite  few memorable scenes/lines. I did like the bit where Larry and Jeff go to check the car for damage and Jeff trip’s over the kid’s toy – “What are you an idiot!”  The real humour lay in the plot and the final denouement, which was one of this season’s best. I got a genuine surprise seeing him in those red panties. Jeff’s last line was great as well. That guy sure is getting laid a lot these days!

What did you think?

Highlights:

• “A little more at ease.. maybe a little kinder..”
• “I think they deserve an adult critique”
• “I’m good for buds… May I be excused?”
• “You’re Larry David and you like the comfort of women’s panties!”
• “Nothing at all. Cheryl!”
  “Cunnilingus!”
• “I never saw Michelangelo in a brace!”
• “You gotta tell Susie I was in a car accident.”

Larry twice encounters bad luck on the same golf hole.

Not a bad ep with some funny scenes and bits of dialogue. It saw the return of some Curb regulars including Richard Kind as Larry’s cousin Andy and Shelley Berman as Larry’s father. It was great seeing them back and Larry fall into those inane yet amusing family quarrels. The lunch scene was a classic. I guess you could say this episode is a little subdued compared to last week’s controversial show, though Larry does manage manage to commit “involuntary manslaughter” with a swan. Not much movement on the Seinfeld arc although Larry does mention that “next week” the read-through would take place.

Highlights:

• The “unnecessary social convention of introductions”. Agreed, and frankly I don’t want to be introduced to everyone I happen to bump into. It’s just another name I’m now obliged to remember.
• “Will you please finishing shoveling that shit into your face?” – One of Marty’s best lines to date!
• “How’s your wife?”
  “Fuck you Norm!”
• “You killed a swan”
  “Keep your fucking voice down!”
• “Why did I order turkey?”
• “They have non-acidic fruit, you got papaya, mango and banana!”
• “So I’m hoisted by my own petard?”
• Larry’s wasted cash in the fictional “shakedown” – “I don’t think he knew what the fuck you were talking about”.
• “LARRY, an asshole and swan killer”

What did you think?

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.

Larry deliberately tries to annoy Loretta, against the advice of a renowned doctor. Plus, with Larry around is Richard Lewis’ new relationship doomed?

First off, a huge apology from me for the site being down a couple days. I had a huge surge of traffic last week and exceeded my bandwidth. I then had some issues with my hosting provider which have now been solved. However I am looking at a new host and will probably be moving/upgrading sometime next month. This will come at some extra cost but the site has really been gaining in popularity lately and the extra grunt is needed. I’ve been intending to post this interview with J.B. Smoove (Leon) from Vibe. Sorry it’s a little late.

On to this week’s ep, and wasn’t it a classic! This is one episode where the title is perfectly accurate in describing the principle storyline. The way this certain “activity” continued to pop-up throughout the episode was brilliant and more evidence that Larry hasn’t lost any of his ability to almost magically weave plots around certain events or behaviours. The first two episodes have seen the show take a decidedly less restrained approach when it comes to sexual humour when compared to the very early seasons, but so far it has proved very funnyand I wouldn’t say it’s been overdone. Curb has always been a show for adults and Larry keeps the dialogue witty and fresh despite the healthy dose expletives (see my highlights below!). Absolutely cannot wait until next week’s episode, the first to feature the Seinfeld cast. It’s aptly titled, The Reunion.

Highlights (Spoilers):

• “There might be some people with cancer” (Larry on why Loretta might want to join him at a dinner with no black people).
• “Any kind of job is dangerous”
• Leon to Larry, “Ass is ass Larry”. To which Larry replies “Do you have to tap every ass? Do you?”
• Overcompensating with a super-strong hug.
• Richard explaining to Larry about “second hand semen”: “You can’t be a homosexual by proxy”.

What did you think?

Larry attempts a preemptive breakup with an ailing Loretta, and learns (with Jeff) that you can’t make an “empty gesture” to a Funkhouser.

He’s back! It’s been 2 long years but Curb has returned and Larry has kicked it off with a bang. Larry doesn’t hold back in this premiere as fans are treated to some of the craziest and disturbing scenarios so far. What I really liked about this episode was the balance between absurd situations and “observations” on social interactions/etiquette as only Larry can make. Overall, it’s a very funny episode that I think was quite a bit better than the opening episode of season 6. I think a new season of Curb can often take a couple episodes to get going so its great to see it start strongly. The Seinfeld plot arc does not begin in this episode but you will be treated to seeing regulars: Jeff, Susie, Marty Funkhouser, Loretta, Leon, Auntie Ray, Cheryl and in a very welcome return, Wanda! My highlights (spoiler warning):

• Leon on room temperature, “You bring a honey to the hotel and shit, get up in that motherfucking bed and its all cold and shit? You gotta heat that ass up.”
• Larry on Apricots, “One in 30 is a good one. Its such a low percentage fruit.
• “Don’t condescend me with your tiny pear”.
• The “empty gesture”.
• Sleeping vs. resting.

What did you think?

Also, the title of episode 7 has been clarified, The Bare Midriff (thanks Jim).

Here are the episode titles for episodes 1-7, except for 6:

1. Funkhouser’s Crazy Sister
2. Vehicular Fellatio
3. The Reunion
4. The Hot Towel
5. Denise Handicapped
7. The Black Swan

Big thanks to Jim who emailed these through. You can check them out on the HBO schedule. Interestingly at 10pm on the 8th September (date corrected, thanks Jim) HBO will air a Curb special titled It’s not a reunion show but it’s the closest you’ll get, a “Behind the scenes of the ‘Seinfeld’ cast reunion on HBO’s hit comedy series ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm.’ ”

HBO have also updated their Curb website with some new clips from season 6, and a page about “The Seinfeld Thing”.