Curb Your Enthusiasm (S1)
DVD 
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Director:
Various Actors: Larry David Cheryl Hines Jeff Garlin Rating:
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WHAT'S IT ABOUT?
This half-hour HBO comedy follows comedy writer and co-creator of SEINFELD, Larry David, through the regular day hell that is his life. That's not to say that he doesn’t have a great life: he’s rich, he’s got a beautiful, loving wife and a successful career, but what makes this show funny (which is the same thing that made SEINFELD funny) is the endless series of uncomfortable situations and hilarious misunderstandings that Larry constantly finds himself in.
IS IT A GOOD MOVIE?
This is one of the most inventive, addictive and laugh-out-loud comedies that I’ve ever seen. The genius of this show is that these non-stop awkward circumstances in which Larry constantly seems to find himself in, are in a weird way, very easy to relate to. We’ve all had those moments in our lives where an inappropriate or badly timed comment have gotten us in some hot water or a simple misunderstanding has forced us to try and explain ourselves out of a bad predicament. This is the same thing, except funnier because you see some other sucker living it out. Most of the show is improvised, which just adds to the genuine feel of Larry’s dilemmas. What dilemmas? Here is a little taste:
Larry makes an inappropriate joke and is accused of being racist
Larry is accused of groping his friend’s mom
Larry is accused of getting inappropriately aroused from his wife’s best friend
Larry regrets his politeness after arriving at the doctor’s office
Larry has to apologize and gets into a heated confrontation with someone (every single show)
Larry’s attempt to bribe someone goes terribly wrong
Larry is accused of staring at a woman’s breasts
And on and on and on, you’re treated to ten episodes of this hilarity. The great thing about Larry is that he doesn’t always take this shit laying down. He often stands up for himself and let’s loose on a lot of the assholes that are out of line, and usually ends up with you on his side. Larry David is a brilliant comedian and a very natural actor and this show would be nothing if it were any other person in the role. It’s funny because it all feels so wonderfully real. Granted, the situations may be made up, but it’s definitely the real Larry David on the screen and there is no one better to see squirm and then wonderfully explode!
Larry has also surrounded himself with a wonderful couple of supporting characters, his wife Cheryl (actress Cheryl Hines) and manager/friend Jeff Garlin (Jeff Greene). Jeff, in particular, is amazing, always being that understanding shoulder for Larry to lean on whenever he finds himself in another tough spot. Garlin’s calm demeanor and their common sense of humor make their on-screen partnership all the more enjoyable. Expect many guest stars playing themselves, most notably, Julia-Louis Dreyfus, Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen and most importantly, Richard Lewis who is, in a word, "brilliant" on this show. Luckily, Richard appears in more than one episode and every single time he’s on screen, is a complete joy to watch.
Larry makes an inappropriate joke and is accused of being racist
Larry is accused of groping his friend’s mom
Larry is accused of getting inappropriately aroused from his wife’s best friend
Larry regrets his politeness after arriving at the doctor’s office
Larry has to apologize and gets into a heated confrontation with someone (every single show)
Larry’s attempt to bribe someone goes terribly wrong
Larry is accused of staring at a woman’s breasts
And on and on and on, you’re treated to ten episodes of this hilarity. The great thing about Larry is that he doesn’t always take this shit laying down. He often stands up for himself and let’s loose on a lot of the assholes that are out of line, and usually ends up with you on his side. Larry David is a brilliant comedian and a very natural actor and this show would be nothing if it were any other person in the role. It’s funny because it all feels so wonderfully real. Granted, the situations may be made up, but it’s definitely the real Larry David on the screen and there is no one better to see squirm and then wonderfully explode!
Larry has also surrounded himself with a wonderful couple of supporting characters, his wife Cheryl (actress Cheryl Hines) and manager/friend Jeff Garlin (Jeff Greene). Jeff, in particular, is amazing, always being that understanding shoulder for Larry to lean on whenever he finds himself in another tough spot. Garlin’s calm demeanor and their common sense of humor make their on-screen partnership all the more enjoyable. Expect many guest stars playing themselves, most notably, Julia-Louis Dreyfus, Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen and most importantly, Richard Lewis who is, in a word, "brilliant" on this show. Luckily, Richard appears in more than one episode and every single time he’s on screen, is a complete joy to watch.
THE EXTRAS
Audio Commentary: The pilot episode “the pants tent” has a commentary track with Larry, Sheryl, Jeff and supervising producer Robert Weide. This is fun. All four laugh and get along famously and still manage to drop a few interesting nuggets about the show. They’ve already done a few seasons of the show so they all have a great rapport with one another. It’s a shame that there weren’t more commentary tracks.
HBO Comedy Special – Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm: This is the hour-long, award winning special that inspired the show. The show’s plot involves Larry heading to the L.A. headquarters of HBO to pitch them a show that will feature a documentary crew following Larry around as he prepares to make a comeback with a stand-up comedy special on their network. This is gold! A truly wonderful addition to this DVD set, it’s basically another hour-long version of the TV show complete with Larry apologizing needlessly and getting into more awkward situations. One of the best parts of this special were the stand-up bits Larry does in various clubs to prepare for his big show. I’d never seen his stand-up routine before, so it was a nice treat to see the man up on stage and kicking ass. Funny, funny stuff. Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, Larry Charles and several other real-life show biz types also contribute via some taped interviews spread throughout the show.
Bob Costas Interview with Larry David: I love Bob Costas. I love Larry David. I loved all 29 minutes of this sit down, in-depth and truly incredible interview. A kickass feature to these extras.
HBO Comedy Special – Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm: This is the hour-long, award winning special that inspired the show. The show’s plot involves Larry heading to the L.A. headquarters of HBO to pitch them a show that will feature a documentary crew following Larry around as he prepares to make a comeback with a stand-up comedy special on their network. This is gold! A truly wonderful addition to this DVD set, it’s basically another hour-long version of the TV show complete with Larry apologizing needlessly and getting into more awkward situations. One of the best parts of this special were the stand-up bits Larry does in various clubs to prepare for his big show. I’d never seen his stand-up routine before, so it was a nice treat to see the man up on stage and kicking ass. Funny, funny stuff. Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, Larry Charles and several other real-life show biz types also contribute via some taped interviews spread throughout the show.
Bob Costas Interview with Larry David: I love Bob Costas. I love Larry David. I loved all 29 minutes of this sit down, in-depth and truly incredible interview. A kickass feature to these extras.
FINAL DIAGNOSIS
This set is the very definition of “worth buying”. Mind you, it is for certain tastes, but if you were a fan of Seinfeld, it’s safe to say that you’ll absolutely love this show. I would’ve been satisfied with just the shows themselves, but the extra features were the perfect icing on the cake. I bow to you Larry David - you are my hero.
