Welcome to a new Sitcom Tuesday! This week, we’re continuing our coverage of Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000-2011; 2017-2024, HBO), which is currently available on DVD and MAX.
Curb Your Enthusiasm stars LARRY DAVID as Larry David. With CHERYL HINES as Cheryl David, JEFF GARLIN as Jeff Greene, and SUSIE ESSMAN as Susie Greene.
Although Curb has a period of excellence that lasts beyond one ten-episode season, I think this is the peak of the peak. Like Three, this year operates under the most favorable conditions with regard to the show’s ability to project its identity in performance, as episodes maintain the finest balance of focused spontaneity, neither feeling too written (as later years will be) nor, as in earlier seasons, too much like an improvisational exercise. This means that Larry David’s complicated storytelling, where many comedic ideas are woven together in cohesive narratives built for connected crescendos, plays with intended ease, supported by a cushioning and situation-corroborating sense of veritas. But what vaults Four even above the otherwise impressive Three is that this year’s chosen arc is an even better representation of the series’ situation — it’s a show business setup with exactly the kind of metatheatricality Curb was conceived and designed to offer, as people like Mel Brooks and David Schwimmer play themselves when Larry David rehearses for a production of The Producers musical. As in the best of Curb’s arcs, this notion provides a focusing agent for plot that helps little ideas intersect and earn payoffs — which, again, is ideal for the storytelling — and it’s a good showcase for Larry especially, as the pressure of a new career venture (live theatre!) creates more tangible emotional stakes that elevate the comedic tension of his typical social conflicts. And, what’s more, it’s — I reiterate — showbiz related, intrinsically reinforcing the series’ situation via its lead’s definition and the unique world he inhabits, along with the single-cam behind-the-fourth-wall ethos that is also a major part of its identity. Accordingly, given this confluence of ideal conditions and the right type of seasonal storyline, this is Curb’s best collection — with the highest baseline of quality relative to the rest of the run, and the greatest number of episodes that I wish I could highlight here. That is, I’m only spotlighting four (and honorably mentioning a few), but this is one of those years — and, heck, the only year quite frankly — where I think all ten are strong. And it’s no surprise that these entries — numbers 31-40 — fall sequentially during a time when many 22-episode sitcoms are at (or near) peak form. It’s the same old story — the series’ ideas are still fresh but now it knows how to best apply them in narrative, with support from the elements of its situation.
01) Episode 36: “The Car Pool Lane” (Aired: 02/08/04)
Larry drives around with a hooker he picks up to take advantage of the car pool lane.
Directed by Robert B. Weide
My choice for this season’s Most Valuable Episode (MVE), “The Car Pool Lane” is not the best representation of this series or its situation. That is, it doesn’t really offer ideas that inherently address the fourth-wall-down meta of a sitcom set around the world of show business and with people who are playing versions of their real-life selves (beyond the fact that Larry, of course, is always playing “himself” — a version of George Costanza from the sitcom to which Curb is always defining itself in relation). And yet, it’s still a great showcase for Larry and the series’ identity because of both its sheer hilarity and for how exemplary its storytelling manages to be, excellently weaving together a handful of comedic beats for a single half-hour narrative that is effortlessly played, validating Curb’s aesthetically implied veritas in the process. In terms of humor, the very thought of Larry driving around a hooker so he can take advantage of L.A.’s car pool lane invites guffaws, particularly when said hooker is portrayed by the divine Kym Whitley, whose work as Monena makes for maybe one of the best guest appearances of the entire run. At every turn, she is surprising Larry in their interplay, making him uncomfortable in the classic Curb way and pushing forward the story, as we follow Larry to a baseball game and later to his father’s, where the three of them (including Shelley Berman as Larry’s dad) get high on the marijuana that Larry and Monena have brought to alleviate the old man’s glaucoma. It’s absolutely riotous — certainly among the funniest scenes of the whole series, and on a sitcom like this that prioritizes comedy as its raison d’être (even more than the cleverness of its storytelling or premised meta), big laughs have to be rewarded as such. A top-of-the-line gem.
02) Episode 37: “The Surrogate” (Aired: 02/22/04)
Larry is forced to wear a heart monitor after getting a physical for The Producers.
Directed by Larry Charles
As noted above, there are many premier offerings to choose from in Season Four — Curb Your Enthusiasm’s apex. But “The Surrogate” ultimately wins a spot here because its smart storytelling manages to mix together a blend of great ideas that all involve some key aspect of the series’ identity. For instance, not only is there a little runner that references Larry’s history with Seinfeld (around which Curb defines so much of its existence), but there’s also a delightful story in the seasonal arc about Larry appearing with Friends’ David Schwimmer in a production of The Producers — a sharp showbiz angle that allows the year to occasionally become a “backstager,” inherently utilizing the metatheatricality that’s baked into its premise. Meanwhile, other notions feature relatable annoyances — like Larry having to wear a heart monitor after getting excited by an attractive woman — a setup that’s attached to The Producers and then becomes a terrific display of character, as he uses the monitor to avoid social confrontation. Additionally, there are fun moments as Larry goes up against Wanda (Sykes) — for more racial discomfort (a frequent subject on the series) — and unknowingly commits a faux pas with a woman serving as a surrogate. It’s all classic Larry — in evidence of Curb at its peak. (Garcelle Beauvais guests, Muggsy Bogues plays himself, and watch out for a young Melissa McCarthy.)
03) Episode 39: “The Survivor” (Aired: 03/07/04)
Larry watches as a Holocaust survivor and a contestant from the TV show Survivor clash.
Directed by Larry Charles
In tandem with the year’s arc about Larry’s work on The Producers, Season Four also sets up that Cheryl has granted Larry one “hall pass” — as long as it occurs before their tenth anniversary deadline. Now, this is not as character-specific or amusing as the showbiz storyline, but it opens the door for scenarios where Larry can be awkward in pursuit of a tryst, like here with a Hasidic dry cleaner played by Gina Gershon. The highlight of this outing, however, is its titular comic set piece — a debate between a Holocaust survivor and a contestant from the TV show Survivor as they argue about their individual suffering. It’s a rhetorical clash that speaks to the aggrieved egotism that drives Larry, and so many of the other casually awful people in his orbit, so even though it doesn’t necessarily involve its lead explicitly, it feels totally in the spirit of the show. And, again, as a series built for comedic ideas, I would be remiss for not spotlighting one of its most comedic — it’s too memorable, and this entry’s storytelling, in particular, is a showcase for a dozen outrageous bits that corroborate this aspect of Curb’s identity. (Barry Gordon guests, along with the rest of Cheryl’s family, including Kaitlin Olson and Paul Dooley.)
04) Episode 40: “Opening Night” (Aired: 03/14/04)
Larry prepares for opening night of his run in The Producers.
Directed by Robert B. Weide
Season Four ends with an extended episode that, frankly, could have been shorter — we’re shown a lot of Larry and Schwimmer on stage in The Producers that’s not essential to the storytelling and really just a bonus for having followed the arc all year. However, it’s fun and in support of the climactic comic idea that Mel Brooks (and wife Anne Bancroft) only cast Larry in the musical so it can fail and they can rest. That well-planned jokey payoff is an homage to The Producers itself — yielding the kind of meta-textual media literacy that isn’t fourth wall-breaking but achieves the same level of self-awareness. And it’s an example of what this show likes and will continue to do (particularly with Seinfeld). Additionally, there’s much hilarity in the lead up to opening night, with Larry and Schwimmer repeatedly clashing, as petty and trivial Larry gets into several social disputes with the equally prickly Schwimmer, an embodiment of Curb’s constant reminder that Larry’s misanthropy exists in response to the world. So, this is a revealing sample of the series and an ambassador for Curb’s best season, honoring the primary storyline that gives it shape. (It’s also a guest-star heavy show — Cady Huffman, Nathan Lane, and Susan Stroman appear as themselves, Zachary Levi and Yvette Nicole Brown have small roles, Stephen Colbert plays a vengeful tourist, and Jerry Seinfeld pops in as well.)
The entry most in consideration for the above list was “The 5 Wood,” a strong showing that features Larry vs. Oscar the dog, along with a bonkers scene where Larry tries to switch out a golf club from a dead man’s casket — a broad but nevertheless memorable centerpiece (which is partially set up by the prior offering, introducing Marty Funkhouser). I like everything else here in Season Four also, including the early part of The Producers arc with Ben Stiller as himself, a mini two-episode storyline with Patrick Kerr as Larry’s blind friend, and an outing called “Wandering Bear,” which is just another venue for several outrageous comic ideas.
*** The MVE Award for the Best Episode from Season Four of Curb Your Enthusiasm goes to…
“The Car Pool Lane”
Come back next week for Season Five! And stay tuned for a new Wildcard Wednesday!