Curb Your Enthusiasm - General Discussion

[Thrifty]

6 hours ago, hoodooznoodooz said:

Does Larry not wear underwear when he's in pajamas?

Well, he has to be careful.  He has abnormally long testicles.  "Long Ball Larry", that's what they call him.

[howiveaddict]

As soon as I saw the "pastry chef made cookies", I thought they are trying to pass off Pepridge Farm as home made cookies.  Then I realized it was the joke.  I was truly loling this episode.  

[ganesh]

Between the cookies and the pickle jar I was dying. 

[ganesh]

On 10/9/2017 at 6:28 AM, Thrifty said:

Who goes into a hotel lobby and just asks for help opening a jar of pickles? 

Leon needed a fake name to pull it off too. But no one from the White Sox. But I mean, that was just dumb. There's been a little too much wacky.

On 10/9/2017 at 9:20 AM, Laurie4H said:

Larry’s reaction to the tongs falling on the floor and her putting them back on the table was so predictable but still hilarious.

I was hoping he'd be proven right about the cookies, but I like stuff like this more on the show than the wackiness. I mean, they were throwing him out for handling a cookie and then they just wipe the tongs off. I also liked the closure with the hooker, but again, the end with them running out went back to wacky.

[Former Nun]

After waiting SO LONG for one of my favorite comedies (and they're getting fewer and fewer), I was disappointed in Episode One...and now, Episode Two!    Am I now the curmudgeoness?

[halkatla]

When I was leaving work today I saw a man walking along the street looking at me and I waved at him ( I´m terrible with names and faces) and he said "hi how´s everything going?" and I just replied "great", as you do, without really knowing who he was. I started walking home and then he turned around and came over to me, a bit too near me, and started asking me how old my little girl was and stuff like that, and I finally figured out who he was ( a really nice guy who worked at my school when I was little), but when I was walking away again I thought "well he was kind of a close talker". Then I watched this show a few hours later and the reference "close talker" makes so much sense :) And this was a great synchro-mystic moment. I didn´t even think of Seinfeld when it happened, it was just something in my unconscious almost.

Edited October 12, 2017 by halkatla

[hoodooznoodooz]

On 10/12/2017 at 2:54 PM, Former Nun said:

After waiting SO LONG for one of my favorite comedies (and they're getting fewer and fewer), I was disappointed in Episode One...and now, Episode Two!    Am I now the curmudgeoness?

I like the show, but I would prefer that they not recycle jokes from Seinfeld. They do tweak them, but I think it would be easy for them to come up with completely fresh ideas. 

[Milburn Stone]

I need to see a spinoff starring the restaurant manager.

[hoodooznoodooz]

"We're too disturbed to eat right now."

[hoodooznoodooz]

Love Swat in oven mitts. 

[scrb]

34 minutes ago, hoodooznoodooz said:

Love Swat in oven mitts. 

Did he say he was making chicken spaghetti?

Larry has already gotten some fatwa sex, from the Palestinian Chicken woman.

Even with the initial attraction by Elizabeth Banks, you'd think Larry's mannerisms would repel her.

Quite the contrast from Jason Alexander or Hugh Jackman to play Salman Rushdie in Larry's play.

[Joimiaroxeu]

That restaurant maitre d' was hilarious with his vague doublespeak. He should run for political office.

Took me a minute to realize that cop was Damon Wayans Jr. and not his father with some amazing CGI.

Salmon Rushdie was a nice get given Larry's fatwa storyline. I had wondered whether Rushdie might've taken offense since Larry is pretty much making a mockery of his plight. Apparently Rushdie doesn't take it all that seriously any more either.

Edited October 16, 2017 by Joimiaroxeu

[Blakeston]

I thought the police storyline would end with Larry getting away because the restaurant manager's evasiveness would prevent the cop from finding him. I'm glad we got Elizabeth Banks' disastrous attempt at lying, though.

Please tell me that honking your horn at a police officer isn't, in itself, something you can get ticketed for.

[Pallas]

4 hours ago, Blakeston said:

Please tell me that honking your horn at a police officer isn't, in itself, something you can get ticketed for.

All television is educational: apparently, "misuse of a car horn" is a thing. Horns are to be used in self-defense, not as self-expression. I'd guess that the odds of being ticketed for honking in frustration or admonishment are tiered, rising exponentially if you are (1) beeping a cop, (2) driving a red Tesla, and (3) a prophet without honor in his country.

[hoodooznoodooz]

I liked Susie glaring at Jeff when he asked wistfully about how Elizabeth Banks' cat used to sleep on her chest. 

[jonesingjay]

On October 12, 2017 at 2:54 PM, Former Nun said:

After waiting SO LONG for one of my favorite comedies (and they're getting fewer and fewer), I was disappointed in Episode One...and now, Episode Two!    Am I now the curmudgeoness?

I'm right there with you. I've enjoyed a couple of bits in each episode. Overall I find this season less funny than previous ones.

Also, someone mentioned this upthread, but Larry really does seem to be enjoying himself this season. It appears that he'll 'break' character at any moment. 

Edited October 16, 2017 by jonesingjay

[hoodooznoodooz]

8 hours ago, scrb said:

Did he say he was making chicken spaghetti?

Larry has already gotten some fatwa sex, from the Palestinian Chicken woman.

Even with the initial attraction by Elizabeth Banks, you'd think Larry's mannerisms would repel her.

Quite the contrast from Jason Alexander or Hugh Jackman to play Salman Rushdie in Larry's play.

He might have even said, "chicken 'paghetti"!

So many mannerisms, plus Rushdie told him to stop being a wuss, but as soon as he dented the hood of the police car, he reverted to his typical wussiness. 

[Milburn Stone]

10 hours ago, Pallas said:

Hold Your Inquiries.

@Pallas, I thought maybe this was the name of another show (BBC?) that the actor who played the manager (Rich Fulcher) stars in, but a Google search on the term came up empty. As did a search on the term on the PTV website, and a search on Fulcher himself on the imdb. Enquiring minds want to know.

Meanwhile, it gives me an opportunity to say how impressed I was by Fulcher's performance. Larry's always writing these small character parts, and whoever he gets to play them usually does what's required to make the conception work, but usually the character remains very much a part of the LD universe rather than taking on a life of his or her own. You might say that once Larry leaves the room, the character ceases to exist. This portrayal was an exception. Fulcher knocked it out of the park. The character actually took on a sense of life, such that you could believe that even once Larry left the restaurant, the character still existed. Kudos to Fulcher.

[cpcathy]

I was trying to determine where I'd seen Rich Fulcher before, I had to IMDB him, and he had narrated a story on Drunk History!

[Thrifty]

At this point, it seems like everyone just hates Susie, but nobody can get rid of her, so they all just kind of let all the animosity and contempt out in the open and hope that she'll get angry enough that she has a fatal heart attack.

 

That waiter was great.  Especially when he couldn't even answer a simple, objective, non-controversial question.  I wish that his evasiveness had saved Larry.  It would have been a much more satisfying payoff.

[Pallas]

9 hours ago, Milburn Stone said:

I thought maybe this was the name of another show (BBC?) that the actor who played the manager (Rich Fulcher) stars in, but a Google search on the term came up empty. As did a search on the term on the PTV website, and a search on Fulcher himself on the imdb. Enquiring minds want to know.

 

A mediocre joke, badly made.  Rewind!

21 hours ago, Milburn Stone said:

I need to see a spinoff starring the restaurant manager.

Maybe, Hold Your Inquiries? 

[gingerella]

So far, epi 1 sucked, too much YELLING and it felt like a gratuitous parade of all the celebrities that had ever been on CYE in the past. Epi 2 was very good and felt like old school CYE. And epi 3 was disappointing again, with a few bright spots here and there. When Larry and whomever start YELLING at each other it makes me want to never watch again. It's just not funny. And the schtick gets old with the "pretty, pretty, pretty good" stuff. It's time for some new schtick LD. Bring it!

All that aside, I will never ever tire of Susie saying "You fat fuck" to Jeff, the way she says it always cracks me up.

[Milburn Stone]

3 hours ago, Pallas said:

Maybe, Hold Your Inquiries? 

I get it now. :) I might suggest: Minor Disturbances

[ganesh]

On 10/16/2017 at 3:02 AM, Blakeston said:

Please tell me that honking your horn at a police officer isn't, in itself, something you can get ticketed for.

If Larry wasn't acting like an idiot in the courtroom, I'd say it could get thrown out. There was a line of cars. Plus, the cop said he was doing "important police business" while at the stop light, so that should have been enough right there. I did like how Ted was derisive of the beep and then it came back on him.

I tend to think Larry is right most of the time (pig parker), but just can't get out of his own way so it always looks like he's the one starting trouble. 

[hoodooznoodooz]

23 hours ago, gingerella said:

And the schtick gets old with the "pretty, pretty, pretty good" stuff. It's time for some new schtick LD. Bring it!

 

Yeah, I am tired of "pretty, pretty, pretty good." 

I was surprised that Elvid kept going back to the same restaurant. If that chef knew he was in the dining room, he might tamper with Elvid's meal. I have known waiters who do that. 

[opus]

Another Seinfeld callback tonight with the "funeral hello"

And a Tim Whatly sighting....

[hoodooznoodooz]

Penises dangling in the toilet water, open house sex with cookies and naps. This is all incredibly insane but very funny. 

[scrb]

Larry would be insufferable to be around, the way he butts in on everyone, trying to meet the therapist's wife, offering his opinions when they were never solicited, etc.

On top of that he's stinking rich

At least George Costanza's personality problems were easier to tolerate because they could dismiss him as a loser living with his elderly parents.  

 

Of course LD's behavior is hilarious to watch but he's got to be wearing out his friends' patience.  Cheryl checked out after she had enough.  Only reason Leon and Jeff put up with him is that Leon gets to stay with Larry and Jeff depends on him for his living.

[Thrifty]

3 hours ago, scrb said:

Of course LD's behavior is hilarious to watch but he's got to be wearing out his friends' patience.  Cheryl checked out after she had enough.  Only reason Leon and Jeff put up with him is that Leon gets to stay with Larry and Jeff depends on him for his living.

That doesn't explain Funkhauser though.  Or Ted Danson.  Leon never seems particularly annoyed with Larry though, and Larry seems to treat Leon differently.  There's a different dynamic between the two of them than between Larry and anyone else.

 

The discussion of the quality of the therapist's greeting was tiresome.  Everybody already saw that episode of Seinfeld.

 

Richard Lewis is a miserable jerk.

[Blakeston]

Maybe I'm just dense, but I didn't understand the ending of the Jeff/Susie plotline. It seemed to me like Susie figured out that he was cheating, and effectively said to him, "You're buying us this beautiful house as punishment."

But did she figure it out? And if so, how? Did she realize that he never would have seriously looked at such an expensive house, and so he must have had an ulterior motive?

[Thrifty]

15 minutes ago, Blakeston said:

Maybe I'm just dense, but I didn't understand the ending of the Jeff/Susie plotline. It seemed to me like Susie figured out that he was cheating, and effectively said to him, "You're buying us this beautiful house as punishment."

But did she figure it out? And if so, how? Did she realize that he never would have seriously looked at such an expensive house, and so he must have had an ulterior motive?

I think she fell for Jeff's lie, and decided to go looking at houses with him.  Then she decided to buy the house because she liked it.

 

Maybe Jeff should just admit the truth and get a divorce.  It might be cheaper...

[bilgistic]

Susie's friend saw Jeff in a car with the realtor. Susie confronted Jeff, who lied about looking to buy a house as a surprise. Then when Jeff went to Barney's warehouse sale (offscreen) on Larry's recommendation and bought a new suit (and told Susie about it onscreen), she was sure Jeff and Larry were both hiding something, because Larry wouldn't normally give that advice (like, perhaps a woman would...).

She asked Larry at the funeral who told him about Barney's, and he wouldn't tell her. It was his doctor who told him and also told him not to share things outside of "patient-doctor confidentiality".

I guess she surmised from that (she likely thought Larry was covering for Jeff) that Jeff was lying about the realtor and looking for houses.

I was confused as to why he was seemingly all of the sudden shamelessly having an affair and boasting to Larry about it. I don't remember him doing it before, but I don't have great TV memory past a current season. I know Susie is played as a shrill hag, and she and Jeff have been off and on over the years.

Edited October 24, 2017 by bilgistic

[hoodooznoodooz]

I don't remember Jeff cheating on Susie before either. 

[Irlandesa]

Jeff always reminded me of Harvey Weinstein so seeing him talk about faking house shopping so he could put the moves on his real estate agent skeeved me out in this episode.  I know it was played as mutual in this episode so I don't want anyone to think I'm arguing otherwise but still, the similarity made me think of all the real estate agents who have to play nice only to have clients hit on them. 

I think Susie telling Jeff that they were buying it was her calling his bluff.  You want me to buy that you've been house shopping as a surprise for me?  Then buy this one.

[Mannahatta]

18 minutes ago, hoodooznoodooz said:

I don't remember Jeff cheating on Susie before either. 

Jeff has cheated on Susie in the past. There was the Officer Krupke episode where Susie finds a pair of women's underpants in Jeff's possession. Jeff then asks Larry to lie for him and say that they belong to Larry which leads Larry to practice saying "I'm Larry David and I like wearing women's underpants". There was also another episode where Jeff had sex with the mentally unhinged sister of Funkhauser, and later there's a dinner scene where she's coming on to him while Susie is sitting at the table. In my recent marathon watching I think I saw a few other times where it's implied that he's cheating. Now that I think about it - Jeff is actually quite the creep.

[bilgistic]

1 minute ago, Mannahatta said:

Jeff has cheated on Susie in the past. There was the Officer Krupke episode where Susie finds a pair of women's underpants in Jeff's possession. Jeff then asks Larry to lie for him and say that they belong to Larry which leads Larry to practice saying "I'm Larry David and I like wearing women's underpants". There was also another episode where Jeff had sex with the mentally unhinged sister of Funkhauser, and later there's a dinner scene where she's coming on to him while Susie is sitting at the table. In my recent marathon watching I think I saw a few other times where it's implied that he's cheating. Now that I think about it - Jeff is actually quite the creep.

Thanks! See--I have short-term TV memory! I can remember characters and general storylines, but not distinct details.

[scrb]

Can you blame Jeff?

Susie always has the sour puss and is cussing him out.

That has to have the opposite effect of Viagra.

[Blakeston]

13 hours ago, bilgistic said:

Susie's friend saw Jeff in a car with the realtor. Susie confronted Jeff, who lied about looking to buy a house as a surprise. Then when Jeff went to Barney's warehouse sale (offscreen) on Larry's recommendation and bought a new suit (and told Susie about it onscreen), she was sure Jeff and Larry were both hiding something, because Larry wouldn't normally give that advice (like, perhaps a woman would...).

She asked Larry at the funeral who told him about Barney's, and he wouldn't tell her. It was his doctor who told him and also told him not to share things outside of "patient-doctor confidentiality".

I guess she surmised from that (she likely thought Larry was covering for Jeff) that Jeff was lying about the realtor and looking for houses.

I was confused as to why he was seemingly all of the sudden shamelessly having an affair and boasting to Larry about it. I don't remember him doing it before, but I don't have great TV memory past a current season. I know Susie is played as a shrill hag, and she and Jeff have been off and on over the years.

I got the same vibe that she knew about the affair, mostly because of the way she said, "Do you like the bed, Jeff?"

I think Susie Essman's limited ability to move her face (thanks to whatever surgery/botox she's had done) made her motivations harder to scrutinize than they should have been.

Re: Jeff's previous affairs - in addition to the ones described above, there was also the time Jeff had a neckbrace after what was presumably an oral sex-related injury, and he told Larry to lie and say they'd been in a car accident.

[Racj82]

12 hours ago, scrb said:

Can you blame Jeff?

Susie always has the sour puss and is cussing him out.

That has to have the opposite effect of Viagra.

Yes I can blame him because there is no excuse for cheating. Getting a divorce? There are many. It's cheaper to keep her type thoughts Jeff might have notwithstanding.

[Janc]

13 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Jeff always reminded me of Harvey Weinstein so seeing him talk about faking house shopping so he could put the moves on his real estate agent skeeved me out in this episode. 

YES yes me too, HW is all I can see when I see Jeff ... :( 

[howiveaddict]

10 hours ago, Janc said:

YES yes me too, HW is all I can see when I see Jeff ... :( 

Maybe he can play in in the Lifetime Channel biopic.

[ganesh]

On 10/23/2017 at 4:56 AM, Thrifty said:

The discussion of the quality of the therapist's greeting was tiresome.  Everybody already saw that episode of Seinfeld.

I'm the one person that didn't. I watched Seinfeld rarely. 

I liked that the fatwa is still a continuing plot. The whole resolution of the nephew plot was ridiculous and hilarious too. 

I'm on the fence whether Susie actually knew what was going on. I know she asked if he liked the bed, but she's never let on that she knew before, and she couldn't have known that it was the realtor. I thought Susie said she only saw Jeff in the car with a woman. She did think something was going on between Larry and Jeff, so maybe she thought the house had something to do with it anyway. Of course I'm not defending Jeff, but his "and what am I explaining to you?" to Susie's "you want to explain yourself?" was slick. Unless they're going with the idea that Susie's always known and that's why she is so hostile all the time. 

I know it's for plot, but Larry could have said "I just heard someone talking about it when I was walking up to meet Richard Lewis for lunch." On the other hand, the whole "2 and 2" conversation was brilliant. It's not even 1 and 1. 

I actually like how Larry and Richard Lewis bicker all the time. They still hang out together. Richard was sitting below his "self-portrait" at the restaurant too. 

Leon kills me. "You told me to leave. Didn't say I couldn't come back." I think his remark to Larry about sitting on the toilet actually broke Larry David up. Has Leon been eating something or carrying food in every scene he's been in? 

[scrb]

I agree with Larry.  It shouldn't be obligatory to thank troops for their service.

They chose to go into the military and avail themselves of the many benefits.  It's also a career path for a lot of people.

[Irlandesa]

12 minutes ago, scrb said:

They chose to go into the military and avail themselves of the many benefits.  It's also a career path for a lot of people.

And it's not something every veteran wants to hear either. (That's just one article but if you can easily find others.) 

It was good to see Joe Regalbuto from Murphy Brown as the security guard.  I thought the baby storyline was the funniest of the episode.  I remember seeing pictures of babies who I felt looked different ethnically than their parents for whatever reason--mainly because I think all babies look the same and so having slightly darker hair, for instance, can seem like a huge change.  To see her making out with the owner/manager of the golf course was kind of fun.  I thought they were just going to have Larry be his normal insensitive self.

Otherwise, the window roll down, the mail lady and PTSD stories didn't quite grab me.

[hoodooznoodooz]

Seinfeld callbacks:

Larry resenting talking to the golf club gatekeeper: Elaine resenting talking to her driver

Larry needing to prepare before seeing Jean six days a week: George needing time to prepare for a phone conversation 

The Asian baby/Takahashi plot was pretty predictable.

I liked Richard Lewis finally admitting that he only read the book jacket. 

I liked Larry thanking Susie for serving the hors d'œuvres and the other guests for coming out in this brisk weather.

I liked the chef pointing out that the exhaling and slight movement of the eyes barely communicated anything. And Larry apologizing to the chef for having him broil the dover after the horse whinny/eyeroll reaction to the request.

But I wanted to yell at Susie, "Why do you want Larry at the wedding? You hate him. Jeff won't care. Larry doesn't care if he's not invited."

And Larry, how lazy are you that you can't walk down the street to return the book?

[scrb]

1 hour ago, hoodooznoodooz said:

Larry needing to prepare before seeing Jean six days a week: George needing time to prepare for a phone conversation 

Didn't Larry sour on her when she dumped candies into the popcorn?

Then he talked about how he can't date her because he has to see her all the time.  Well strictly not true.  He can arrange not to be home when she comes around with the mail or just keep the doors closed and stay away from wherever his mail box is, let Leon collect the mail.

[Thrifty]

6 hours ago, scrb said:

I agree with Larry.  It shouldn't be obligatory to thank troops for their service.

They chose to go into the military and avail themselves of the many benefits.  It's also a career path for a lot of people.

I loved that scene.  I'm absolutely with Larry on this issue.  If you want to thank a veteran, that's fine.  It's custom, but it should never be obligatory.  I went to a commuter college, so the a lot of the student were adults older than the typical college.  For one of my classes, during the introductions, one of the guys mentioned that he had been in the military.  After he was done, another student (who I always found annoying in a way I can't articulate), said to the military guy "thank you for your service" and went to shake his hand.  Then the teacher and a few other students said the same thing.  The military guy squirmed a little and said "uh.... thanks".  The situation clearly made him uncomfortable.

 

Nowadays, I work with the U.S. Marines.  I'm a civilian, never served a day in any branch of the military.  There are many retired Marines and a few active duty ones working as well.  Nobody ever says "thank you for your service" because in this context it would be super weird.

[hoodooznoodooz]

6 hours ago, scrb said:

Didn't Larry sour on her when she dumped candies into the popcorn?

Then he talked about how he can't date her because he has to see her all the time.  Well strictly not true.  He can arrange not to be home when she comes around with the mail or just keep the doors closed and stay away from wherever his mail box is, let Leon collect the mail.

Oh, yes. I totally agree that Larry was hoping that they could just return to the typical   mail recipient/postal carrier relationship. But when he was listing reasons why that was better for him, I could totally believe that he is the kind if person who would need mental and physical preparation time if he knew he was going to be talking to a woman he was trying to woo.  

And, yes, it would be so easy for Larry to not have contact with her when she delivered his mail.

Edited October 30, 2017 by hoodooznoodooz

[Ina123]

On ‎10‎/‎2‎/‎2017 at 0:51 PM, Thrifty said:

I liked the scene with the door holding.   I have been thinking about that scenario for a very long time and how it would work well in an episode of Curb.  It didn't play out the way I'd hoped though.  My conception doesn't really consider the genders of the people involved.  I just hate the entire practice of holding doors open for people who have two functioning, empty arms.  And I hate when people hold the door open for me, because then I'm obligated to thank them even though they didn't do anything for me.  It's even worse when they open the door and I'm so far away that I have to pick up my pace for them.  I've made a practice of lingering about 50 feet away from any door that has people walking through it.

 

I can so identify with this.

I work in a building with two elevators and the lobby has a very wide all-seeing window. I arrive very early and as it happens, almost exactly at the same time every morning as another woman. Sometimes she has entered the elevator and can see me outside walking to the door. She knows I can also see her and she will hold the elevator door making me feel obligated to hurry. I have a very casual walk and I just don't appreciate being hurried. I also don't appreciate the feeling of having to return the favor. I have tried waving her off but she just stands there with her hand on the button waiting. I mean, gee whiz, there is another elevator and the building is only 5 floors. After a few times of this happening, if we happen to arrive at the same time now, I just sit in my car and give it a few minutes. Honestly, I agree with character Larry on many social "rules".

I also never, ever, push my perfectly wrist-fitting long sleeves up.

[Ina123]

On ‎10‎/‎10‎/‎2017 at 2:12 PM, hoodooznoodooz said:

I do agree with Larry that the "velvety" towels may seem soft and silky, but the original terry cloth towels are more absorbent. Plus the velvety towels leave lint all over my skin.

I have become a 70-year-old male curmudgeon!

Velour towels just suck. I'm a 66 year old curmudgeon-ess.