MovieChat Forums > Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm (1999) Discussion > new to Curb, so far prefer pilot over se...

new to Curb, so far prefer pilot over season 1

posted 13 years ago by inkybrown
1 reply | jump to latest

Longtime Seinfeld fan. I really enjoy Larry David's humor. I've finally started watching Curb Your Enthusiasm. So far I have only watched season 1 (except for the Seinfeld reunion episodes, I did watch those at the time!). Seeing as how Seinfeld is my favorite show of all time, I expected to like Curb more than I do. It's funny at times, but I rarely laugh. Most of the episode I sit in disbelief that anyone anywhere (let alone everyone Larry encounters) would behave so absurdly. Are people really like that in LA? :D At least on Seinfeld when the characters behaved unreasonably, there was a good setup for it. I guess I will have to work harder on suspending my disbelief...

But then I watched the pilot episode special feature on the DVD and I enjoyed it a lot more; I think I laughed more in the pilot special than in all of season 1! I think the standup is the funniest part! Does Larry David ever do standup on other seasons of Curb Your Enthusiasm?

(Regarding season 1, I like that there are so many Seinfeld guest stars, but it gets confusing when sometimes they play themselves - i.e. someone who knew Larry from when they worked on Seinfeld - but sometimes they play another person or even another actor. When I recognize someone from Seinfeld, I get distracted waiting to see if they are the Sein-person or a new person!)

[–] paul_tachian 12 years ago

Seinfeld was a very different kind of show for NBC syndication, PG classification and viewing timeslot.

Curb, being an HBO show is darker; more conflict based where the central character is always the pariah. Where Newman was Jerry's nemesis, it seems the whole world is against poor Larry.

Does Larry David ever do standup on other seasons of Curb Your Enthusiasm?
No, quite often he'll use an observational standup style as he quizzes other characters in the show. There's usually no laughing in response!
That's one absurdity that works for the show -- he sometimes treats friends, acquaintances and complete strangers as a virtual comedy club audience, or a sounding board. It's almost always inappropriate for one reason or another.

But then, that's a core pillar of the whole thing. Larry is a classic "fish out of water" living as he does in LA, having grown up in New York. He tries hard to fit in (eg always driving a hybrid car). The contrast between Larry and Richard Lewis is interesting because despite Lewis' problems, he seems to have settled into west coast life easier than Larry.

I know it's hard for some to watch and I get frustrated too, but usually in empathy with Larry. If you go into it thinking Larry David is cursed and remember that, every episode is like watching a train wreck where you know the only victim will be poor old Larry.