Curb Your Enthusiasm: Season 1 [DVD] [2004]

Larry David has a tendency to speak too much, blow things out of proportion, and, most often, fail in the end (and often liking it that way). David's new show is also like its predecessor: it's about "nothing" except following the day-to-day ramblings of a sometime writer and comic (this time in L.A.). Eternal questions stemming from universal daily dilemmas are honed to perfect comedic absurdity. A notable exception is the show is only scripted by plot; much of the action is improvised. The first season starts with a one-hour mockumentary following David's return to stand-up for the first time in years; the other 10 episodes follow a more traditional sit-com setup.Well, Larry David, creator of the over-rated SEINFELD, plays himself in a Los Angeles version of Seinfeld with bad language and strange situations. Partners in crime include Larry's agent and best friend, Jeff Greene, and comedian-friend Richard Lewis. Other celeb's, such as Ted Danson, make an appearance. With every episode, Larry runs afoul of almost everyone he encounters, not to mention his wife, Cheryl, and Jeff's shrewish wife, Susie. In Season 1 included are many classic moments, among the best might be the disastrous "porn dinner party," where Larry is forced to do an embarrassing "double goodbye." None of the shows, however, are weak.Having watched CYE recently, and when factoring in Larry's seven seasons on Seinfeld, I now subscribe to the Tao of Larry. What is it, you ask? Perhaps it's that people are functionally insane; that no good deed goes unpunished (or bad deed for that matter); and that we are creatures of passion and habit, not our environment. Some might find Larry the world's most obnoxious man. Others (and I'm one) might find him the funniest. If there is a "Seinfeld Curse" it certainly does not apply to Larry. While at times too confrontational, Larry is more often than not, I think, right. Some people wonder, "What Would Jesus Do?" I often wonder, "What Would Larry David do?" Spread the word.Understandably, people have made comparisons of CYE and Seinfeld, which Larry David had a major hand in. However, in my opinion it's much better than Seinfeld. Fans of The Office will easily take to CYE, (and will be able to see where Ricky Gervais stole some of his ideas from!).It's not a show for minors due to some of the language as well as some of the situations and themes, which are not particularly suitable for kids. However I think that this is one of the rare occasions where adult themes and strong language work well in a TV show and somewhat surprisingly, demonstrates how frequent swearing can be made to be very funny indeed!Larry David's life, as presented in this HBO series, is one long excruciating faux pas. The plot twists in this first season sometimes come across as a bit too forced and coincidental, an aspect that was greatly improved upon in the second season, but the most important question is: Are the laughs there? They certainly are. The criticism of some reviewers that a little Larry David goes a long way is well taken--your enjoyment of this series will depend on how you feel about him. I think he's funny. The episodes guest-starring Richard Lewis are doubly funny. They should make greater use of him as a foil for Larry. They have great chemistry with natural, unforced repartee.

Larry David has always been a mysterious character - from his days on Seinfeld, he was usually a background guy, like the man in the cape, or the guy at the news stand. People didn't really know him, he was an obscure comic trying to make his way in life, until he met Jerry, and started writing Seinfeld.So what is this all about? Curb Your Enthusiasm is all about Larry's life as a writer after Seinfeld, married to the beautiful Cheryl (Cheryl Hines) and hangs around with Jeff Green (Jeff Garlin) and his buddy Richard Lewis. He usually has a very strange sense of humour, and this mainly shows you what problems he sees every day. Everything from misunderstandings with Ted Danson to arguments with Jeff's wife Suzie who's rather coarse at times.The best episodes has to be the one where he's trying to race Richard to a jewellery store - and they end up helping a blind man; a misunderstanding at the printers means an obituary is horribly rude and of course the final episode where Larry tells lies at a group help meeting.I really enjoyed this season, it's funny and has some smashing moments. Yes, Larry does get carried away, he takes very sensitive moments and really tries to be very clever with them, but sometimes he's just like a bulldozer - ignoring the signs to stop where he is. I can see why this doesn't appeal to everyone, some of it is rather close to the edit, but if you see the lighter side you can see Larry's not intentional and you can see the faux pas from miles away.Both Jeff and Richard are excellent in this, especially Richard with his depressive view on life, and of course Cheryl who's rather good as this woman who's trying to just get by and hopes Larry won't totally make a mockery of her. There's some funny cameos in this which makes it more fun.These DVDs are pretty good, 3 disks with all ten episodes, plus the piolot "HBO Special: Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm" which is an hour long, to showcase Larry's new show. There's also a great interview on here which made me laugh, though you do get spoilers of other seasons, so beware to watch that after the other 3 seasons. The quality is high from HBO, with a decent bitrate and sound - though the audio is low on the interviews.Well worth a look, if you're not convinced the latest series is on TV now - so check it out before you buy.

Larry David is a successful TV producer. Rich, with a beautiful wife and co creator of hit TV series Seinfeld. You would think he has it all but Larry is constantly screwing up the simplest situations both personal and professional. He allows a film crew to follow him wherever he goes. This is a completely fictional version of Larry David and his friends and family. Larry comes across as a kind of American swearier version of Victor Meldrew from British sitcom One Foot In The Grave moaning and complaining about very small and petty things that most people would just ignore. Like classic 90's American comedy Seinfeld it is basically a show about nothing with no plot and no life lessons and Larry constantly screws up and never learns from his mistakes and backed by his long suffering wife Cheryl, and manager Jeff who constantly try to apologise and cover for him. Very funny once it gets past the pilot episode anyway and is now ranked as one of the greatest comedies of all time though if you are a bit prudish especially about bad language then maybe this show isn't for you. Watch for a stream of celebrity appearances, mostly playing fictional versions of themselves.