SHTICKED TO THE ‘CURB’
Funnyman David too fond of formula
AT least there was no Girl Scout having her first period in Larry David’s TV home.
The 9th season premiere of HBO’s
“Curb Your Enthusiasm” was a mixed bag of provocative jokes and celebrity cameos, as the eternally jaundiced David, in his first “Curb” outing in six years, pushed his ornery envelope without veering into the outright tastelessness we saw in last season’s premiere. The season opener cleverly revolved around the “foist’ of an inept personal assistant on several unsuspecting employers. Larry is disappointed when Mara (Carrie Brownstein of “Portlandia”) takes some sick time for a rather delicate medical problem. As she explains what’s been bothering her, he can’t believe her nerve. “You took two days off because you’re constipated? I got married constipated.” Looking as if her bowel has constricted even further, Mara says, “Luckily, it was only two [days].”
Seventeen constipation jokes later, we learn Mara has been foisted onto Larry by none other ABC late-night talk-show host Jimmy Kimmel. The two comics’ paths later cross when, in the episode’s other running gag, Larry promotes his latest project — a Broadway musical named “Fatwa!” where the Ayatollah is a character — on Kimmel’s show. Larry’s on-air imitation of the Ayatollah is so offensive, the Muslim cleric orders a fatwa on his head. As Larry’s faux pas makes headlines on CNN, he dons a ridiculously bad wig and attempts to hide out on the west side of LA.
Good luck with that. As usual, a few people are looking to kick’s his butt. One is the girlfriend of the woman who cuts his hair. She’s annoyed because Larry doesn’t think she should be the “groom” at their wedding because she’s too feminine while her partner is clearly the butch member of the pair. (David’s discomfort around homosexuality cropped up last season when the son of a woman he dated turned out to be a fan of “Project oject Runway.”)
His other nemesis iss the only person he seems to fearar —— Susie Greene (Susie Essman),n), the foul-foul- mouthed wife of his manager (Jeff Karlin). When she discovers that Larry has foisted Mara onto her to help her launch her own business, she hits the roof and pays Larry a surprise visit while he’s in the shower stall. In an unusually restrained move for HBO, Larry has no nude scenes.
While longtime fans will take Larry any way they can get him, other viewers may notice a formulaic quality to the shtick. After eight seasons, there can’t be that many people in the human race he hasn’t pissed off; each episode begins with Larry annoying some innocent person, rather than just finding himself in awkward situations that escalate out of control because of his cluelessness and general obstinacy.
The “Curb” company, including Richard Lewis and J. B. Smoove, continue to get laughs from staying loose and showing proper deference to the grouchin-chief. This season of “Curb” may not set the world on fire, but there will always be that one unbelievable thing Larry says thatthat will make you shake your head as you laugh, really hard.