The tagline for Curb Your Enthusiasm is: “Deep inside, you know you’re him.” And let’s be honest—we all have a little bit of Larry David in us. I know quite a few people who would definitely see pieces of themselves in him (and no, I’m not naming names).
I loved Seinfeld, so when Curb premiered in 2000, I was thrilled to see Larry David’s uniquely awkward, brilliantly cringeworthy humor back in action. Seinfeld was famously pitched as a “show about nothing,” and in many ways, Curb follows suit—chronicling the seemingly mundane world of Larry David, his wife Cheryl, and his manager/friend Jeff. As HBO puts it:
“… this series proves how seemingly trivial details of one’s day-to-day life—a trip to the movies, a phone call, a visit from some trick-or-treaters—can precipitate a ‘Murphy’s Law’ chain of misfortune to hilarious effect.”
Yep, Murphy’s Law—didn’t I just mention that in my last post?
One of the show’s standout elements is its unscripted nature, with Larry David and several other cast members playing exaggerated versions of themselves. The Curb version of Larry doesn’t care about social conventions. His life is a series of minor (and often self-inflicted) disasters, thanks to his brutal honesty, obsessive tendencies, and complete disregard for politeness. So what could we possibly have in common with this… well, jerk?
At first, I thought it was his unfiltered candor—the way he unintentionally offends people, even when he means well. But then, last month, a friend sent me an article from The New Yorker by David Roberts, a clinical psychology student at UNC Chapel Hill. In it, Roberts suggests that Larry David is “the perfect proxy for a schizophrenic person.” Ouch. Does that mean Curb fans should start signing up for therapy?
Thankfully, the title of the article was reassuring: “We Are All Larry David.” Now that’s more like it.
At the end of the day, Curb Your Enthusiasm is a comedy, and its genius lies in how it makes us laugh at the lines we wish we could cross but don’t—out of social decorum, fear of judgment, or simple politeness. Larry David, on the other hand? He crosses them all, fearlessly and hilariously.
Some might call him mashugga (crazy), but I, for one, am very… enthusiastic about it. ^_^
