CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM Season 8 DVD Review

★★★★☆

If you haven’t seen it (and if so, where have you been?) Curb Your Enthusiasm is the brainchild of Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, in which he plays a misanthropic version of himself. The show follows David in his semi-retired life around Los Angeles, often having Larry meet (and inevitably insult) various members of the public and celebrities alike. What’s fantastic about Curb is the fact that nearly all the dialogue is improvised, with just a basic outline serving as an episode guide. Some people have criticised Curb for being too formulaic, with its trademark callback jokes and ironic twists visible from the outset, but I think that’s missing the point somewhat. The rapid fire dialogue and skewering of social conventions is what keeps the show fresh and incredibly watchable.

Season Eight, possibly as a response to the show being formulaic, does its best to change things up somewhat. Larry finalises his divorce with his wife Cheryl (Cheryl Hines) and ends up living in New York for a few months- another city where he can’t keep his damn mouth shut. I like the way the show has started to play on the expectation that Larry is going to be unable to not speak his mind. In episode three, “Palestinian Chicken”, Larry becomes a “social assassin” for his friends as he will say things everyone else is too afraid or too polite to say. For instance, his friend Ron has a problem with the way his wife (guest star Maggie Wheeler aka Janice from Friends) says “LOL” instead of laughing. As a writer, David consistently finds annoying new social trends, which always makes the show a worthy watch. I love the fact that fast-talking Leon (J.B. Smoove) returns later on in the season too, with some of his lines making me laugh so hard I had to pause and rewind so I didn’t miss what the other characters were saying.

Curb isn’t your standard sitcom, however. It often deals with quite taboo subjects and could potentially offend some people, not to mention that David and the cast regularly turn the air blue (this being an HBO production, they don’t have to adhere to basic US cable rules and regulations on language and content). Probably one of the more controversial episodes is episode two,“The Safe House” where Larry “helps out” (I can’t put enough inverted commas around that, so I’m not even going to try) a shelter for women who have been in abusive relationships. Thing is, Curb isn’t mean spirited about these things and will often have you hating Larry for his insensitivity. The important point is that the show isn’t just including these things for shock value.

Celebrity cameos are other Curb hallmark, but unlike other shows these days it actually gives the guest stars the opportunity to lampoon themselves. Whilst not as celeb heavy as previous seasons, season 8 has Ricky Gervais, Rosie O’Donnell, Cheyenne Jackson and Michael J. Fox. Being a huge fan of the man himself and of Back to the Future, my personal favourite episode of the season was the finale, aptly titled “Larry vs. Michael J. Fox”. In it, Larry has a feud with Fox, but isn’t entirely sure whether Fox is being a jerk or whether it’s down to his Parkinson’s. This is exemplified when Larry irritates Fox who later hands him a bottle of Coke, only to have it fizz all over David because it’s been shaken up. This leaves Larry in the dilemma whether the incident was down to “pissed or Parkinson’s”.The episode also features the immortal Leon line: “Michael J. Fox ’bout to be Michael J. fucked up in a minute.”

Taking all of the series into account, I’d say Season Eight is a strong one, but not the best. It still has some classic episodes and exchanges and is still very funny. For fans of the show, it’s more of the same (which is a good thing) and for newcomers, it’s a great introduction to the series and there are no real overarching story elements to catch up with or be confused by. Highly recommended.

Ben Browne

Rating: 15
UK DVD/BD Release Date: 11 June 2012
Creator:Larry David
Cast:Larry David, Jeff Garlin, Cheryl Hines, Susie Essman
Buy Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 8: On DVD

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