Curb Your Enthusiasm - General Discussion

[athousandclowns]

Well said. I’ve loved him for such a long time. Showing old pictures I remember what a crush I had on him….FUNNY and good looking . 

Edited February 29 by athousandclowns

[aghst]

A retrospective of Richard Lewis' career, including some highlights of his interviews on Fresh Air.

https://www.npr.org/2024/03/01/1234862319/remembering-richard-lewis-a-veteran-stand-up-comedian-with-a-caustic-wit

So I'd forgotten that Richard starred in an ABC sitcom with Jamie Lee Curtis called Anything But Love which ran for 4 seasons.  In fact it started in '89, the same year as Seinfeld.

If the timing worked out differently, maybe Lewis and LD would have collaborated on a show.

Richard started doing standup in 1971 and it would be about 8 years before he gained national prominence.

He became a regular on late night talk shows, especially Letterman who had him on often.

He cultivated this neurotic, hypochondriac persona, always wore black.  That is what he played up on his Letterman appearances and his HBO specials were on the same theme such as "I'm Exhausted."

It was a deliberate plan to keep up a national profile, which was great for his standup bookings but probably also angling for regular TV work.

So when LD was finally available, Richard was on the very first episode of CYE or the special which spawned the series, in '99.

Interesting that he really didn't play up his neurotic persona on CYE.  Instead he was more of a foil, a buddy with whom LD would argue all the time.

[DoctorAtomic]

Back in the 80s comedy boom, getting a sitcom was kind of the game plan for stand ups. There's no question Richard Lewis was as nearly as highly successful as a stand up could be from that era. 

5 hours ago, aghst said:

Interesting that he really didn't play up his neurotic persona on CYE.  Instead he was more of a foil, a buddy with whom LD would argue all the time.

I think it worked because Larry and Richard Lewis were probably closest to playing themselves on the show. Jeff is Jeff, but he still has to play Jeff the agent, married to Susie. JB probably is closest to Richard Lewis because he's still playing himself mostly. Larry and Richard Lewis just have way more history to draw on. 

Born three days apart in the same hospital!

[Galileo908]

Aww, Richard Lewis tribute right at the start. And he was in this one! Of course he was doing standup at the AA meeting. I hope he got to record that Drunk As Hell concert. Loved that he opened up the moment Larry said he'd put him in the will.

I knew Larry was totally gonna ruin his chance with the good lawyer over the last name. Zeckleman totally needs a great first name! And of course he was played by Dan Levy. And in true Curb fashion, it ends with his case going to trial, and four more bricks calling him out, including one from Irma. I knew getting rid of her was surprisingly easy, and she runs into the ONE person that exposed the ruse.

"Tinkerbell fine as fuck." I KNEW Freddy's girl worked for Disney to the extent that she worked as a face character. I thought Disneyland, but the Disney Store worked so much better. And she gave great notes! I died at the Minnie Mouse backpack. 

Oh man, that "Disrespectful to Women" brick. Just WHY was Larry going to Cheryl about the brick?! Next to Susie, she's the last person he should be going to! And then he goes to Susie, too!

Edited March 4 by Galileo908

[Galileo908]

My question: Why would Hobie Turner of all people (Rob Riggle's character from last week) buy a brick calling out Larry David being disrespectful to women?

[Arkay]

It was a funny episode, but truly heartbreaking to watch. Particularly as Richard Lewis had a prominent part  in this one, and of course the talk about the wills and all.

.He really looked sickly, too, but I’ve thought that for the last few years. 

Fish stuck=Larry and Freddy. I should have seen that coming, but I didn’t.

 

[Blakeston]

This was the best episode of the season, by far.

I really wish they hadn't given us those close-ups of Richard. It was so painfully clear that he was in horrible condition. In the previous episode, it wasn't nearly so jarring, because the camera wasn't right in his face.

[hoodooznoodooz]

That fish is a very good actor.

[aghst]

It was great, so many elements that worked.

But this season, he's really packing a lot in each episode.  They don't necessary integrate with each other, they're like standalone bits, several of which hit.

Freddie/Vince Vaughn being a snob about what kind of career the woman he dates has seemed uncharacteristic.  Not even sure what his job is suppose to be but he seems to have a lot of free time yet he has a Porsche.

Wasn't crazy about the exchanges with the Chinese waiter though, too much trading on stereotypes but does the fish stuck bit requires the waiter character to have poor command of English?

Again with Larry acting like he doesn't have all kinds of resources to get his way.  For instance, he could hire people to buy bricks and say whatever he wants, though of course, it's better comedically to have Cheryl, Ted and Susie refuse to do his bidding.

Hobie Turner was the husband of the unprofessional psychiatrist who blabbed about all the things her patients told her, so Larry probably called her out on it and Hobie says that's being disrespectful to women.

It takes some doing to antagonize Sean Hayes but OTOH, Daniel Levy is perfect for the character who easily takes offense.

 

[sugarbaker design]

10 hours ago, Galileo908 said:

I died at the Minnie Mouse backpack. 

I died when she put her gloved hand up to her mouth.

10 hours ago, Galileo908 said:

"Tinkerbell fine as fuck."

I was waiting for Leon to bump into Disney store Tinkerbell!

 

[Blakeston]

It's still pretty rare for mainstream TV shows and movies to feature a same-sex couple where both actors are openly LGBT, so bravo to the casting people. Sean Hayes and Daniel Levy both fit into the world of Curb nicely.

I'd say Larry was correct that Mantle is a better last name than Zeckelman, but I think he was wrong when he said that whoever provides the sperm should also pass down their last name. If one father provides the sperm and the other provides the name, that drives home the message that they're both the kid's parents.

Larry gets set off by the smallest things, but he can be pretty understanding about big things. He handled the lawyer's mistake with the filing a lot better than most people would have.

Also, funny how Larry shrugged off the possible death of Susie's dog a couple of episodes ago, but was so concerned for the fish in this episode. I guess the difference was that he related to the fish.

Re: the fish - I thought it was odd that the restaurant employee didn't want to admit that the fish died. He'd been claiming that the fish was sick, so he could just say, "Yeah, he died, I told you he was sick!"

[buttersister]

The fish now swims in another restaurant tank? LOL, and the family dog went to a farm in the country.

[Phishbulb]

1 hour ago, sugarbaker design said:

I was waiting for Leon to bump into Disney store Tinkerbell!

Yes! Not sure why they brought this up and didn't pay it off 😄

[SG429]

I'm sure Ted's pen was nice, but can it write upside down like Jack Klompus's?

[Galileo908]

9 hours ago, Blakeston said:

I'd say Larry was correct that Mantle is a better last name than Zeckelman, but I think he was wrong when he said that whoever provides the sperm should also pass down their last name. If one father provides the sperm and the other provides the name, that drives home the message that they're both the kid's parents.

I loved that he pitched Deegan, after the Major Deegan Expressway. (I guess it's funnier if you're from the NYC area)

9 hours ago, Blakeston said:

Re: the fish - I thought it was odd that the restaurant employee didn't want to admit that the fish died. He'd been claiming that the fish was sick, so he could just say, "Yeah, he died, I told you he was sick!"

"Fish living a good life downtown! Fish thriving!"

[DoctorAtomic]

I'm a little disappointed Sean Hayes was playing a character than himself. 

It looked like Larry and Vince Vaughn were genuinely laughing at JB's rant about Tinkerbell. 

I didn't think there were any more scenes with Richard Lewis. I hope there's more.  

I really enjoy Larry's palpable distaste of Tracey Ullman and her utter cluelessness to it. They must crack each other up irl. She's just yelling at him off screen random things she can't find. I wouldn't have been able to hold it together. I'm disappointed she's gone, but I think their plot ran its course. 

One of the features of the show I always like is how people try to get into Larry's face about whatever he's going on about, and they don't get that he truly doesn't care. Zekelman going on about how Larry can keep his opinion to himself so self-righteously while saying they should have the conversation. 

I have to call out the brick though. No way you can just write whatever you want. Come on. Even Cheryl. I wouldn't expect her to buy the brick, but she couldn't even say he wasn't disrespectful to women? 

22 hours ago, Galileo908 said:

I knew getting rid of her was surprisingly easy, and she runs into the ONE person that exposed the ruse.

She's still gone now. I'll take that brick. 

10 hours ago, Blakeston said:

I'd say Larry was correct that Mantle is a better last name than Zeckelman, but I think he was wrong when he said that whoever provides the sperm should also pass down their last name. If one father provides the sperm and the other provides the name, that drives home the message that they're both the kid's parents.

You could also just mix the sperm up so you never really know. Some guys do that too. 

Larry just riffing the names was hilarious. I wonder if the guys were breaking because they kept the shot on Larry. 

[Simon Boccanegra]

I think that at its core, this is a Susie-and-Jeff problem that requires a Susie-and-Jeff solution. And, who better to do that than...Jeff and Susie! Susie and Jeff!

  

[Galileo908]

This was the dirtiest episode of the season, and I was here for it. Susie's billboard had two dicks! And man, Susie's fits were outrageously awful this week. 

Man, I was on Leon's side about getting banned from that Buffet. Total Curb to cut him off. 

Yeah, I laughed really hard at Sienna Miller eating the pear. And I was wondering how Larry was gonna ruin things with her, and it turns out...she has Alopecia.

Was NOT expecting to see a callback to the dead thriving fish at the Chinese restaurant. And all the plots came together at the end like that, Larry embarassing himself several times over. And now he got arrested. Again. This time for a crime he didn't commit! 

[aghst]

I guess these actresses really want to be on CYE.

Lori Loughlin being depicted as a cheat, especially after Larry had to adopt the Gettysburg Address to get her admitted to his club despite the infamy she acquired for the college admissions scandal involving her daughter.

Siena Miller wearing those ridiculous wigs and stuffing her out with bites of fruit and then the billboard graffiti.

Good to know Larry gets story inspiration from online porn.  Jeff and him were riffing on porn scenario ideas to depict on the billboard.

Each of these subplots all lead to good comic payoffs but they don't really go along with each other.  They're like parallel plots and they each have their own endings.

They could be like different sketches from a sketch-centric show like SNL.  They're not like the best of CYE with episodes like the Palestinian Chicken or or even Pants Tent, where everything converges at the end of the episode on the one punchline.

Still, Pretty Pretty-tay good!

 

 

[hoodooznoodooz]

In real life, Sienna Miller, 41, is dating Oli Green, 27. 

[baldryanr]

7 hours ago, aghst said:

I guess these actresses really want to be on CYE.

Lori Loughlin being depicted as a cheat, especially after Larry had to adopt the Gettysburg Address to get her admitted to his club despite the infamy she acquired for the college admissions scandal involving her daughter.

Well, why wouldn't she?  Lori Loughlin isn't exactly an A-list actor (insert joke about how if she was, she wouldn't have needed to cheat to get her kid into college).

I do wonder if Larry did this because he knows a segment of the audience will blow up with indignation about casting her (I guess Felicity Huffman was busy).

[Blakeston]

Speaking of age, I thought it was funny that no one commented on the absurdity of Ted Danson playing Lincoln, who died at 56.

I expected the Lori Loughlin stuff to go somewhere a lot funnier. Showing her cheating in mundane ways was the most obvious thing they could have done. Also, why would Larry have cared whether she can get into a club? 

I'm curious what the inspiration for the "Sienna Miller needs to eat fruit to act" thing was. I know a lot of people have commented over the years on how often Brad Pitt is shown eating in his movies.

I'm guessing that the "fish sick/fish stuck" thing will lead somewhere later in the season. If not, there was no reason to bring it back.

[Not4Me]

7 hours ago, Blakeston said:

Speaking of age, I thought it was funny that no one commented on the absurdity of Ted Danson playing Lincoln, who died at 56.

I was thinking the same, as Danson, while naturally handsome, is 76 and no amount of makeup could make him look 20 years younger. 

I was happy that at least Susie poked fun at Larry that Sienna Miller would never be interested in him because of his age. Although I could see her going for Ted because he’s aged better.

Speaking of Susie, selling caftans would be surprisingly normal for her fashion.

Edited March 11 by Not4Me

[Arkay]

Great episode.

But how would women fill the tank in a pee-powered car?

Can’t use the method suggested by Leon and approved by Larry, since we don’t have that equipment.

[DoctorAtomic]

Four plates of food doesn't seem excessive to me at a buffet. If JB was wasting it, maybe. He clearly was enjoying the food and having a good time. I'm sure the buffet wasn't cheap. 

I don't like putting my jacket on the back of the chair, but that is where the jacket goes. I don't see that it would be in the guys space as he's sitting in the chair. 

irl, Loughlin did her time, no? Is it the same on the show? It's kind of hypocritical for them if she otherwise qualifies. Larry seemed to be enjoying the scenes with her even though she was ripping on him. 

Jeff's supposed to be laughing at the billboard, but I think Larry got him with "it's grazing your lips". In the next scene in the kitchen after Larry says Susie needed another dick, it looked like a cut to the next shot and Susie was smirking. I wonder if they had to cut because she lost it from the post-penis bump. 

I wouldn't be able to hold up the paper and pee at the same time, but learning something the Gettysburg Address or other famous speeches in the bathroom is a cool idea. 

The whole fruit deal is just the perfect plot for this show. 

Nice callback to the fish. I wouldn't let it go either, Larry. 

16 hours ago, Galileo908 said:

And I was wondering how Larry was gonna ruin things with her, and it turns out...she has Alopecia.

So what though? It's not some life threatening disease is it? She never told him. 

7 hours ago, Blakeston said:

Also, why would Larry have cared whether she can get into a club?

Just as a favor to Jeff. I don't think it's out of character. 

42 minutes ago, Not4Me said:

I was thinking the same, as Danson, while naturally handsome, is 76 and no amount of makeup could make him look 20 years younger. 

Lincoln may have been 56, but he looked way older from the toll of the civil war. I didn't think it was a big deal Ted played him. 

[Arkay]

17 minutes ago, DoctorAtomic said:

Just as a favor to Jeff. I don't think it's out of character. 

Getting Lori into the club was a favor to Ted, though, not to Jeff. Which surprised me that he didn’t instead try to block Lori out of Ted-spite.

Except, of course, that Larry is the “champion of the underdog.” lol 

[DoctorAtomic]

I forgot it was Ted. I still didn't think it was a big deal for Larry.

[aghst]

Again, Larry probably isn't going to an all you can eat buffet in real life.

Looks like he watches his diet so probably has a private chef and goes to expensive restaurants.

At some point, they were talking about someone having $1 billion in wealth.  LD may not be far off from that, unless he was really generous in his divorce.

[Joimiaroxeu]

Still catching up on the episodes:
E4
Pretty, pretty, pretty cute.

Butter is okay but the eggs have to be organic? The butter was probably not organic if Larry didn't specifically ask.

Leon didn't know what a urologist was.

Corn chips on the cob. That'd be like a baked potato stuffed with potato chips.

Guess LD doesn't think much of therapists.
 
BDE now means Big Disgruntled Energy. Good to know.

E5
Only Larry would raid the refreshments at an AA meeting.

Richard Lewis looked so small and frail. Remarkable that he was able to keep working.

OMG, Larry asking the gay guys whose semen they were going to use for the surrogacy.

Not hate speech, just strong dislike speech.

A suede do-rag. How long would that even work if Leon would likely sweat in it? Nice callback to the expensive suede jacket Jerry bought and then got caught in snowfall while wearing it.

Cheryl, meh. I'm surprised LD kept her on the show.

Lol, everybody hates Larry. New on CBS!

[NotMySekrit2Tell]

16 hours ago, Blakeston said:

Speaking of age, I thought it was funny that no one commented on the absurdity of Ted Danson playing Lincoln, who died at 56.

That was realistic to me. In the real world, we just had De Niro and DiCaprio getting acclaim and awards for playing real people decades younger. Not long ago, sixtysomething Gary Oldman played Herman Mankiewicz, who also died in his mid-fifties (and was around 40 when he was writing Citizen Kane). Popular white guys still get a lot of leeway when it comes to casting, and I think even more when it's a stage performance without closeups. 

I am loving this final season. I didn't have high hopes after the season with Maria Sofia, but after a couple of so-so episodes at the start, this has felt like the old days. Jeff pretending to stand up for Susie in the movie line was his funniest minute on the show in years. 

[Cotypubby]

9 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

I don't like putting my jacket on the back of the chair, but that is where the jacket goes. I don't see that it would be in the guys space as he's sitting in the chair. 

Not in theaters. I’ve never seen anyone drape a coat over the back in a theater like that. It would be in the way of the persons legroom. You either sit on it, put it on your lap, or under the seat.

[DoctorAtomic]

In the movie theater, it didn't look to me like it was getting in the way of the legroom. That wasn't really what the guy was arguing about. 

I haven't been to the movies since Revenge of the Sith, so I have no idea what people do now. 

 

[aghst]

51 minutes ago, DoctorAtomic said:

In the movie theater, it didn't look to me like it was getting in the way of the legroom. That wasn't really what the guy was arguing about. 

I haven't been to the movies since Revenge of the Sith, so I have no idea what people do now. 

 

Well some theaters these days would have fancier chairs.  Not that I'd know, I haven't been in at least a decade probably.

But Larry missed a chance to do a callback to the first episode of the season when he lost it cursing Siri out.

In the theaters these days, the issue isn't people encroaching in other people's space with their coats hanging.

It's people looking at their phones all the time, so that you see these bright spots distracting your attention on the main screen.

[DoctorAtomic]

Larry ripping someone being on their phone would have been a better bit. 

[Phishbulb]

On 3/11/2024 at 3:31 PM, DoctorAtomic said:

So what though? It's not some life threatening disease is it? She never told him. 

I think the joke about "I didn't know she had alopecia!" was a reference to Chris Rock making that joke about Jada Pinkett, pre-getting slapped by Will Smith. (These episodes were filmed a while ago).

You also had Jeff in this episode saying "Keep my wife's name out of your mouth!!!" before pretending to slap that guy. 

[DoctorAtomic]

I know it was, but taking it in-show, she never said anything to Larry. So getting all indignant from an offhand comment was out of proportion. Larry usually gets burned for things not his fault though. 

[Galileo908]

Larry on Stu's family's text chain is me in any social situation, really. A bunch of randos expecting me to care about their lives. I loved that it stemmed from Susie bringing over foie gras out of spite of his wife. I was sad that after they showed the full text chain at the end, they revealed Stu pulled though! I was expecting him to die.

Larry and Freddy yelling at each other about how nice the other is was great.

"You must have me confused for a normal person." Boy ain't that a mood.

I would've been mad at someone pulling the string out of my clothes, too.

I liked Renee, and I hope she shows up more. I was so happy to see Gilbert Gottfried and Richard Lewis got paintings, too!

Next week: Conan and Richard!

[kay1864]

I can’t buy the housekeeper being THAT traumatized.
 

And certainly not enough to deface a painting.

[Cotypubby]

That housekeeper was a real psycho bitch. Like literally insane behavior.

I’m nervous they keep on bringing up the storyline of dogs being eaten by coyotes like something will happen in a future episode. 

Edited March 18 by Cotypubby

[Blakeston]

The plan with Jeff's pretend dream was pretty good, I thought (even though his delivery was over the top). However, Stu would have to be the dumbest person in the world to not realize what Freddie was up to.

The argument between Larry and the group text guy (played by Trevor Einhorn, who played Freddie on the original Frasier) wasn't funny to me at all, and it went on way too long.

The artist seemed like the most promising relationship candidate for Larry in a long, long time!

[hoodooznoodooz]

3 hours ago, Galileo908 said:

I would've been mad at someone pulling the string out of my clothes, too.

If this happens to any of you, you can clip the end of the string with a safety pin or straighten a paper clip, leaving a hook on the end. It’s much easier to thread it through the hood with something longer than an aglet on the end. 

[aghst]

Does Larry wear sweats in real life?

He’d probably say of some of the antics on CYE that his character isn’t the same as him in real life, though both are the former creators of Seinfeld and presumably able to afford something better than sweats or buy as many sweats as he wants if that’s his preference.

Also wondered if he was going to make it a big thing that the restaurant was going to charge him for the pie.

Jeff has been shown buying multimillion dollar homes and belonging to a private club.  Yet he’s flying coach, forced to sit in the middle?  Why wouldn’t he upgrade?  That should be a bit, Jeff upgrades himself but not Susie.

Larry has two daughters, who are both adults now.  But Larry on the show apparently never had children and says he hates children — channeling Bill Maher.  Though given the bratty girl who thinks she’s a cat, maybe understandable he’d rather sell the violin.

Another thing, real-life Larry doesn’t seem the type to tolerate calls at 3AM or worried about leaving a message group he never wanted to be in.

Freddy sounding like a creep and bully, well that’s kind of a Vince Vaughn persona.

Dhalia being judgey of Larry, not working and then changing the painting, daring Larry to fire her, not too many real-world Housekeepers would behave in such a manner.

 

[hoodooznoodooz]

2 hours ago, aghst said:

Larry has two daughters, who are both adults now.  But Larry on the show apparently never had children and says he hates children — channeling Bill Maher. 

Interesting. Cazzie David starred in The Umbrella Academy and once dated Pete Davidson, he of BDE. They would wear matching T-shirts. Hers said, DAVID, and she would stand on the left. His said, SON. 

Edited March 18 by hoodooznoodooz

[catsitter]

Stu really didn't seem like someone who had had a serious stroke.

[buttersister]

Quote

Dhalia

I rarely, if ever, side with Larry on anything. But WTF? Fire her already, if for no other reason than I don't need to watch her anymore.

[rmontro]

22 hours ago, Galileo908 said:

I was sad that after they showed the full text chain at the end, they revealed Stu pulled though! I was expecting him to die.

You were sad that he pulled through?  Tough crowd.  Off the text chain for you!

Funny thing is, during the credits I read that entire text chain, except the very last message, which was kind of long, because it was fading out.  I guess that was where they revealed that he pulled through.  I missed the key message!

Edited March 19 by rmontro

[DoctorAtomic]

I think JB got Larry good with the laser pointer Ted talk. 

I don't think I could deal with a housekeeper OR a text chain. And we got a callback to the coyotes! I know the emojis too and no way I'm using them. 

Freddie gets to sell a violin, and I get stuck with catwoman! I don't know how I would have held it together. 

You don't really see Vince Vaughn get to go off. The scene was brilliant when they were going at each other at how nice they are. I'd like to know how many takes they did on Freddy's dream. 

I can't imagine Jeff doesn't fly first class. 

Nice picture of Richard Lewis. 

12 hours ago, aghst said:

Dhalia being judgey of Larry, not working and then changing the painting, daring Larry to fire her, not too many real-world Housekeepers would behave in such a manner.

Larry said he didn't want to fire her because of any possible bad pr for the trial, so at least there was some excuse. 

[Irlandesa]

3 hours ago, catsitter said:

Stu really didn't seem like someone who had had a serious stroke.

I think that's part of the joke surrounding "taking care" of his daughter and selling the violin.  It's not that he couldn't suddenly die but he stood a pretty good chance of not only pulling through this medical crisis but retaining much/all of his cognitive function.

[DoctorAtomic]

He's probably going to have another stroke when he sees they broke the violin. 

[Mannahatta]

20 hours ago, kay1864 said:

I can’t buy the housekeeper being THAT traumatized.

I can - because I was traumatized! I don't know what the housekeeper did next as I was able to watch only the first 10 minutes of last night's show. Good Lord! The sight of Larry engaging in oral sex just about wiped out whatever is left of my  libido. No, no and just no. That was not a sight I needed to see....However, when I am fully recovered I will go back to watch the rest of the episode.