Curb Your Enthusiasm Season Premiere Review
Larry David’s life is far from perfect. Although he is wealthy and retired, he has so many social hang-ups and quirks that his basic interactions with friends almost always put him into hilariously bad situations. The show rarely disappoints and luckily for all fans, David decided to bring the show back for a seventh season after a brief hiatus.
The HBO comedy’s season premiere was my most anticipated of the fall. There was hype surrounding the season unseen in previous years. After watching the first episode of the season, I believe that this season is shaping up to be very promising, largely because Larry’s life is constantly getting more absurd.
Larry is no longer with his wife. Instead he is dating Loretta, a black refugee from the Hurricane Katrina. Unfortunately, she is also sick and waiting to hear the results of a biopsy. Larry is time pressed at the moment because he really wants to end the relationship with Loretta, but has to do it before she becomes a cancer patient.
Hosting a refugee family from New Orleans was entertaining for a while, but they have overstayed their welcome and Larry is longing for change. He has feelings for his ex-wife Cheryl (as evidenced by last season’s plot to win her back through the manipulation of her therapist) but doesn’t currently have a plan to win her back. In the meantime, Larry spends most of his time with his manager and best friend Jeff and doing the odd task for others (but in regular Larry fashion, not by his own will).
Such is the case when Larry gives an empty gesture to Marty Funkhouser saying that he will do “anything” to help his mentally ill sister Bam-Bam. Funkhouser asks him to go visit her and Larry is guilt-tripped into doing so but can’t believe his friend would act on an empty gesture.
Jeff travels with Larry to the Funkhouser residence and sits with Bam-Bam and talks about Hollywood’s most versatile actresses (who Larry believes is Hannah Montana). The conversation gets more uncomfortable until Larry makes an excuse to go to the bathroom and make a sandwich. Upon returning, he hears noises from the upstairs, including the “Fuck me fat boy!” coming from the slightly impeded speech of Bam-Bam.
Needless to say Jeff slept with a mentally ill woman. What’s worse is that they all get together at Jeff’s house that results in further drama.
I have come to expect ridiculous plots from Curb Your Enthusiasm and the season premiere did not disappoint. The show keeps the basic elements that has made it a success in the past but its still very difficult to see the plot twists coming even if you are a longtime viewer. “Funkhouser’s Crazy Sister” is one of the funnier episodes in recent memory and starts the new season off on a great note.
Curb Your Enthusiasm airs on Sunday nights at 9:00 PM on HBO.
