Welcome to a new Sitcom Tuesday! This week, we’re concluding our coverage of Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000-2011; 2017-2024, HBO), which is currently available on MAX.
Curb Your Enthusiasm stars LARRY DAVID as Larry David. With JEFF GARLIN as Jeff Greene, SUSIE ESSMAN as Susie Greene, and JB SMOOVE as Leon Black.
This was the hardest Curb to list to make — perhaps because I have the least amount of distance from it, but also, well, I just think there’s nothing great here. The episodic ideas are uninspired retreads of stuff we’ve seen before (both on this series and Seinfeld), poorly attached to elements of the situation, lacking the seeming spontaneity of early years, and seldom believably motivated by the Larry characterization (even in his broadened, fight-picking, catch-all form). In brief, the storytelling is tired, and even when it looks alive, it’s basically just doing “greatest hits” (like Larry vs. Susie), with slightly more weight only because of our mutual awareness of the show’s finality. Now, a lot of final seasons operate like this, but this description essentially fits the entire final trimester of Curb, following its long 2011-2017 hiatus, after which the series has had to more self-consciously play into its identity, rather than merely embodying it. It’s just gotten worse over time, and indeed, this year’s central arc is probably the series’ weakest, for while Larry running afoul of ridiculous bureaucracy might be funny, the whole process of getting him into a position where he can brush against Georgia’s recent Election Integrity Act feels contrived, with plot contortions that don’t serve the show’s sitcommery, for the idea itself is not backed by enough support from other elements within the series’ situation to offset concerns. For instance, it’s not showbiz themed, and it’s not even a prime display of Larry’s character. Oh, maybe if the season focused more on the prospect of Larry becoming a faux martyr for a cause towards which he’s actually apathetic, we might have had some amusing character fare. But the show never goes there with him, and only the absurdity of the scenario is mocked. I suppose in an idea-driven series, I shouldn’t be surprised at this, but the more assistance from the situation there is — from Larry himself — the better this would play, and right now, it doesn’t play great. Well, until the finale… which confirms that this entire arc only exists for the one-joke notion of recreating the Seinfeld closer, proposing that Larry David hasn’t learned his lesson and is going to wrap up this show the same way (which, naturally, at the final moment, he doesn’t). On paper, that’s funny, and since we’ve also seen this series craft plots for the purpose of a single gag that climaxes at the end, it’s congruous with Curb’s sensibility.
In fact, I like it more than I don’t — it doesn’t make the lame lead-up in Twelve worth it, but as a specific conclusion to Curb, with clips and guest appearances from all the people Larry has wronged over the course of the run, it honors him. Also, it’s deliberately metatheatrical, viewing Larry David as both a character and a TV creator while linking together Seinfeld and Curb for a summation of the latter that, given its inherent Seinfeld DNA, is thus self-referential and thesis-corroborating, as Larry’s affiliation to Seinfeld has defined both his world and his depiction… And yet, the consequence of this ending is that it inevitably affirms Seinfeld’s legacy more than Curb’s, for Seinfeld is not only the series that gave Larry his characterization and Curb its circumstance, it’s also the subject that David needs to be his last word — thereby framing Curb’s inception, situation, and ultimately its final purpose as a reaction, continuation, and result of Seinfeld. In that regard, it’s almost as if this show is standing on Seinfeld’s shoulders and saying that its legacy depends on it. This is an accurate assessment, for although Curb was a single-cam effort from HBO that also evidenced a bunch of 21st century trends, its leading character, its prioritizing sense of humor, and its idea-driven style of intertwined storytelling were all from Seinfeld’s direct influence. And now its farewell — the moment where the series sums itself up — is also built around Seinfeld: an improvement of that show’s finale that’s really just a do-over with tweaks. It’s correctly self-defining but perhaps self-subjugating at the same time, ensuring that we always think of this program as a descendant of Seinfeld, which is so powerful that Curb opts to construct its entire final season (and several others before it) in relation. So, as I finish my coverage of Curb, studying 120 episodes from 12 seasons over 24 years, I end up appreciating its great entries and relatively high baseline (despite the post-hiatus decline), while also walking away even more convinced of Seinfeld’s excellence and its maintenance as the most influential sitcom of the past 40 years — proven by Curb Your Enthusiasm, which bows to it. Of course, both are a testament to Larry David, so more than anything, this final season, even with its shortcomings, cements his legacy too, and that’s pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty good.
01) Episode 113: “Vertical Drop, Horizontal Tug” (Aired: 02/18/24)
Larry thinks he has a new trick to get out of conflict: showing his testicles.
Directed by Jeff Schaffer | Story by Larry David & Jeff Schaffer & Justin Hurwitz
This installment comes closer than most to replicating the rhythm and overall narrative sensibility of earlier seasons, when the series was in better shape. Some of this is because, like so much of Twelve’s output, it recycles previous ideas guaranteed to get laughs — the most obvious being Larry’s delay in rushing to the side of someone who may be injured/dying (here, it’s Susie’s new dog, before it was Cheryl’s sister, and before that, Elaine didn’t hurry to her beau on Seinfeld). Sometimes these appear to be deliberate callbacks, but often they’re unintended proof of the show’s diminished imagination and its inability to come up with new ideas well-supported by elements of the situation. To that point, some of these main stories are not believable either — Leon impregnating a married woman looking to conceive is a stretch, and the whole “balls out” trick to avoid conflict is more contrived than clever — but what saves this entry, beyond just its tempo and structure, is its many little running gags that harken back to the show’s more trivial origins, which were an extension of Larry David’s comic ethos, and the Seinfeld DNA for which he was also responsible. Accordingly, this feels like a better sample of Curb than most on this list, even though it reveals a Curb that’s not in top form. (Sienna Miller and Troy Kotsur appear as themselves, and Dana Lee guests as the recurring Mr. Takahashi.)
02) Episode 115: “Fish Stuck” (Aired: 03/03/24)
Larry insults his lawyer and tries to get out of his relationship with Irma.
Directed by Jeff Schaffer | Story by Larry David & Jeff Schaffer & Carol Leifer
Again, there’s nothing on this list that I can truly call great according to the series’ prior standards. But I’m picking out this offering because of its strong central idea, in which Larry fights against negative personal reviews that are published on sponsored bricks at his temple, for this refers to Larry’s reputation in social settings as a difficult person. And, of course, that jibes perfectly with where the season is heading in its arc… Speaking of which, Sean Hayes guests as Larry’s lawyer and he’s used here for a somewhat forced but nevertheless amusing subplot where Larry insults him and his husband (Dan Levy) over their choice for the last name of their forthcoming child — a fresh display of the central character’s poor social grace. Also, Larry and Freddy Funkhouser (Vince Vaughn) faking Groat’s Disease to get away from their women — including Tracey Ullman’s Irma — is maybe a gimmicky, overused notion, but it’s rooted in Curb’s continuity and flatters our familiarity with its lore without feeling unimaginative. And I like that there’s an industry-related bit — “can someone read this script?” — woven in as well.
03) Episode 117: “The Dream Scheme” (Aired: 03/17/24)
Larry is uncomfortable when an acquaintance depends on him during a medical emergency.
Directed by Jeff Schaffer | Story by Larry David & Jeff Schaffer & Nathaniel Stein
One of the main ideas from this excursion — where Larry is looped in on a text chain for someone in a precarious medical state to whom he doesn’t consider himself very close, thereby making him uncomfortable and subjecting him to a specific kind of social pressure — is a great, mostly new avenue in which the show can comedically explore Larry’s characterization. It’s both fresh for the series and utilizes contemporary conventions unique to this updated post-hiatus era. And even though it broadens out later into some big moments that don’t feel quite so earned or original, the kernel of the idea plays like something that could indeed happen to the real Larry David, so it sits well with his character and the show’s lately downplayed but foundational sense of mimetic meta. Additionally, I enjoy Larry’s “dream scheme” as a manipulation tactic — naturally, it backfires, just like the “accidental text on purpose” and all his other crafty social maneuvers, but with several right ideas (not all, but several), this is a solid Larry showcase. (Look for Frasier’s young Freddy Crane, Trevor Einhorn, in a supporting role.)
04) Episode 120: “No Lessons Learned” (Aired: 04/07/24)
Larry is put on trial for violating the Election Integrity Act.
Directed by Jeff Schaffer | Story by Larry David & Jeff Schaffer
As discussed above, Curb’s finale is a fitting end to the series, winkingly recreating Seinfeld’s last outing as Larry is put on trial for violating the Election Integrity Act and finds his character questioned publicly by a parade of returning guests from throughout the show’s 12-season run (with clips in support). It’s a tribute to his iconic personality, and it actually works better for Larry David than it did the leads on Seinfeld, because unlike them, Larry was immediately defined in a more specific context, as a guy with heightened social dysfunction (a.k.a. “the real George Costanza”) who’s now a Hollywood success, so even though said dysfunction has certainly aggrandized, there’s no discrepancy between his depiction and this condemnation of it, for he’s always had less of the “everyman” relatability that came packaged to Seinfeld’s regulars when that lower-concept series erroneously labeled itself a “show about nothing.” In that regard, this kind of ending feels more consistent for Larry David and Curb. It’s also delightfully metatheatrical, framing Larry as a character and as the writer/producer of both this show and Seinfeld… the classic series whose DNA reverberates through Curb’s identity and therefore has its legacy affirmed in tandem with Curb’s. In fact, as noted, I think it ultimately validates Seinfeld more than Curb, for although this is essentially a parody with a tweak at the end — where Larry David proves that he does learn lessons — it’s basing so much of its humor on our awareness of Seinfeld. And this entire arc — which has been forced and comedically limp outside of this moment — was evidently crafted solely to earn this one long Seinfeld callback that’s serving as Curb’s finale. That speaks to the seminality of Seinfeld for Larry David and Curb, and accordingly, while I believe this is an appropriate way to conclude Curb, I do find it partially self-subjugating via its chosen interest in something this series didn’t create… That said, it’s the only halfway good episode from this final season that I’ll remember in a few months, and since it represents both this collection and the series at large so well, I have no choice but to select it as my MVE. (Note: there are too many guests to mention, but Jerry Seinfeld appears as himself.)
Other notable episodes include: “Disgruntled,” a decent showing where everything feels like a variation of things we’ve already seen, even though I appreciate how Larry’s reputation as a curmudgeon is vital to the plot, and “The Gettysburg Address,” which has some memorably funny moments despite inartfulness in its comic storytelling and the application of its ideas. Lastly, I’ll also cite “Ken/Kendra,” mostly for the Bruce Springsteen cameo and the nostalgia-inducing fight between Larry and Susie — a bit of fan service that’s nevertheless fun.
*** The MVE Award for the Best Episode from Season Twelve of Curb Your Enthusiasm goes to…
“No Lessons Learned”
Come back next week for more sitcom fun! And stay tuned tomorrow for a new Wildcard!