Larry David: a worthwhile addiction
Larry David is the funniest man on TV. His HBO show
”
Curb Your Enthusiasm
”
just may be the funniest show in the history of television.
Larry David: a worthwhile addiction
Larry David is the funniest man on TV. His HBO show “Curb Your Enthusiasm” just may be the funniest show in the history of television.
This is one of the few shows that make me laugh so hard that it hurts. Every episode has at least one good laugh. Sometimes when I am watching it I just sit there and giggle like a schoolgirl.
David is a former standup comedian and the co-creator with Jerry Seinfeld of the TV show “Seinfeld.” While “Seinfeld” may have been a comedy about nothing, this is a comedy about something. It’s about religion, race relations, marriage, friendship, and death. It’s about the little things in life that annoy David and how he isn’t afraid to point them out. It’s about David being upset because he’s bald and wears glasses.
In “Curb Your Enthusiasm” he plays a thinly disguised version of himself as he manages to get into trouble no matter where he goes. He’s semi-retired and living off of the money that he earned from “Seinfeld.” He gets up and goes to work at his office everyday, but his real job is getting himself into trouble. He can’t even attend a funeral without causing some kind of disruption. You may get mad at a person at the ice cream shop for holding up the line by trying too many samples and not say anything. In “Curb Your Enthusiasm” David will say something. He gets mad and calls the lady “a sample abuser.”
He says and does the exact opposite of what any normal person would do. He confronts people he thinks are breaking life’s little rules. The constant question asked by his wife Cheryl is, “Why would you say that?” David always has an explanation and to him it makes sense. His wife has to tell him that not every one lives by his little rules.
David was the inspiration for the George Costanza character played by Jason Alexander in “Seinfeld,” but he is really a combination of Jerry, George and Kramer. He has the same funny observations of life that Seinfeld makes, the physical grace of Kramer and the same ability to make people instantly dislike him that George had.
Besides David there is his long-suffering wife, Cheryl, played by Cheryl Hines. All of the main actors have the same first names as their characters. His manager and best friend is Jeff Greene and Greene’s foulmouthed wife, Susie, is played by Susie Essman.
His neighbors Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen play themselves. David is always fighting with Danson over something. They opened up a restaurant together and David gets mad when they both donate a building wing for charity and Danson gets more publicity even though he did his anonymously. In another episode David is upset because they both get sandwiches named after them at the local deli and Danson’s is more popular.
Comedian Richard Lewis, who has been friends with David since they were teenagers at summer camp, also plays himself. In the first episode David gets into a fight with Lewis’ girlfriend at the movies. Whenever Lewis gets a new girlfriend they instantly hate David. In the fifth season Lewis needs a new kidney and asks David to donate one for him. Cheryl asks him if he feels good about doing something nice for his friend. David says no, then replies, “I need healthier friends.”
The most impressive thing about the show is that it is unscripted. The actors improvise all of their dialogue. David writes an outline of what he wants the scene to be and they go from there. Most of the actors don’t get the outline until right before they shoot the scene so that way the dialogue and their reactions are fresh and natural.
In an interview David said that he just started showing the outlines to Hines, who plays his wife. She reported that most of her reactions on the show are real because she never knows what he is going to say.
The fact that David wrote or co-wrote more than 170 episodes of “Seinfeld” and works on the story ideas for “Curb Your Enthusiasm” by himself shows what a comic genius he is. His mind must be constantly working on new episodes.
One of the funniest scenes is when David and his wife decide to renew their wedding vows. Her vow says that they will love each other in this life and through eternity. David gets a pained look on his face and she asks him if he has a problem with eternity. He tells her, “Didn’t we say ’til death do us part? I had other plans for eternity. I figured I’d be single again.”
In another episode David is trying to get to a Dodgers baseball game, but there is too much traffic so he hires a hooker to ride with him in the carpool lane. In yet another David drops his psychiatrist after seeing him wearing a thong at the beach. In Season 2 David gets courtside seats at a Laker game and accidentally trips Shaqille O’Neal, hurting him for the rest of the season.
This show is hard to describe. It’s something you must watch for yourself. The episodes are never dull or predictable. Just try and watch one episode without becoming addicted. I dare you.
