Review: 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' - 'The Hero': Coach-y and Mrs. Coach-y?
Larry feuds with Ricky Gervais as the series moves to New York
Ricky Gervais feuds with Larry David on "Curb Your Enthusiasm."
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A quick review of last night's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" coming up just as soon as I admire the view from Renny Harlin's apartment...
As a whole, I don't think "The Hero" was one of this season's strongest efforts. It felt like there were a lot of half-formed ideas colliding with each other, some working (Larry basking in his phony heroism), some not (Larry's out-of-the-blue plan to elevate small talk to medium talk), some funny but then immediately forgotten (Larry arguing with the coach-y woman). I think, for instance, you could have built an entire episode around the fallout from Larry, as Jeff said, revolutionizing the way restaurants work(*), but here it was just a brief gag to set up why the eavesdropping waiter would betray them to Ricky Gervais.
(*) On the other hand, a story like that would only invite even more "Seinfeld" comparisons, at a time when the show has just moved onto "Seinfeld" turf.
And yet... I could watch TV Larry and TV Gervais try to out-smug each other from now until the end of time. As with Larry's ongoing beef with Jason Alexander, it's a reminder that sometimes Larry's most entertaining conflicts come against people who are exactly like him. Their debate over the funniest show in TV history was marvelous. (Gervais re: "Seinfeld": "I love the laughtrack on it. Reminds you of when to laugh!") Hopefully this won't be a one-shot deal for Gervais.
What did everybody else think?
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Login or create a HitFix account Login SignupFuzzy Dunlop
August 15, 2011 at 9:26AM EST Reply to CommentIt was a little strange that Chris Parnell wasn't playing himself. Raises the issue again, at what point is an actor so well known that they can get away with not playing them self?
He might not be as famous as some others, but especially since he currently has a recurring role on 30-Rock, seemed a little weird.
sepinwall When I brought this up re: Harry Hamlin a few weeks ago, someone passed along an interview quote from Larry about how it's not about relative fame, but about whether he thinks it would be funnier for the guest star to play him/herself or a character.
August 15, 2011 at 9:28AM ESTDougMac As great as having Gervais was, Parnell always makes everything better.
August 15, 2011 at 10:33AM ESTRickA So, at what level celebrity do you have to be in order to play yourself on that show?
August 15, 2011 at 10:37AM ESTFuzzy Dunlop I understand the logic, but it can be a little distracting from the overall sometimes... when I saw Parnell eating lunch with Gervais, I had to think to myself "hmm, is he playing himself, or a character." Since he was it was one sitcom actor eating with another sitcom actor, I kind of assumed both were playing themselves.
August 15, 2011 at 2:52PM ESTFuzzy Dunlop *distracting from the overall comedy...
August 15, 2011 at 2:53PM ESTdownbound
August 15, 2011 at 9:35AM EST Reply to CommentI thought the episode was great and appreciated that Larry David almost got a rare moment to not be Larry David at the end. I can see a benefit of being on the East Coast is going to be getting people like Chris Parnell.
This season reminds me of the first in that, unless there is some emotional arc brewing about Larry returning to his roots in New York yada yada, there is basically no arc. The fact that Larry David doesn't need a grand idea, like the Seinfeld reunion, to get back to work on Curb should mean something positive for the future of the show.
Ken Raining
August 15, 2011 at 10:19AM EST Reply to CommentI HATEHATEHATE that this show's airing opposite Breaking Bad at 10. Wasn't it on at 8 or 8:30 in previous years? Please, HBO, swap time slots with True Blood!
So I only saw a few minutes, during BB's commercial breaks, but I did laugh out loud at Chris Parnell's "I took you for a Spaniard" line. I thought LD said, when first talking about doing this season, that working with Gervais was a big reason to come back, so I expect/hope to see more of him.
berkowit28 Get a DVR (TiVo if your cable really doesn;t often you a package with a DVR which I find hard to believe). Then you can watch the 35-minute Curb secure in the knowledge that when it finishes you can move straight to BB, fast-forwarding through all the AMC commercials you don't have to sit through, and still end up finishing BB less than 10 minutes later than if you were watching it live, and get straight on to Alan's reviews with a few comments already there. Perfect.
August 15, 2011 at 12:10PM ESTpete wilson doesn't AMC air BB repeats for the rest of the night? At least where I am, I watch curb and then catch the 11:00 encore of BB.
August 15, 2011 at 12:14PM ESTjan Both HBO and AMC repeat the episode. I'm not sure how many times or how often during the week, but even if you can't DVR one or the other, you should be able to watch them both--if not on the same night, on a couple of different days.
August 15, 2011 at 3:26PM ESTBen Kabak its 2011. get DVR
August 25, 2011 at 11:47AM ESTcurbyourentropy
August 15, 2011 at 11:07AM EST Reply to CommentThe funniest moment for me was "I don't even know how to write cursive anymore." I'm cracking up just thinking about it.
zebra same here.
August 15, 2011 at 11:55AM ESTCharles
August 15, 2011 at 12:10PM EST Reply to CommentWhen Larry plays a shmuck you're pretty sure that he's only acting.
When Ricky Gervais plays a shmuck, you're not so sure you aren't seeing the real thing.
No more Ricky $@#£%*!$ Gervais, *please*. And especially no more Ricky Gervais trying to make out he's a big star. Who do you think you're kidding Ricky?
brettb3 Apparently you. Ricky Gervais is a big star, whether you like it or not.
August 15, 2011 at 12:14PM ESTJoe You're nuts. Ricky is a star, but regardless of that the guy is friggin' hilarious and everything he touches is comic gold. Put him and Louis CK in front of a camera for 30 minutes with no script and you will have the funniest show on TV every single week.
August 16, 2011 at 3:07PM ESTLJA
August 15, 2011 at 12:16PM EST Reply to CommentMeh, underwhelmed. I didn't think it was very funny (except when Gervais called Seinfeld "broad humor," the look on LD's face was priceless.) Overall, disappointing.
ltracte i thought that was the best like as well. "i love broad comedy"
August 16, 2011 at 1:18AM ESTTeklanika
August 15, 2011 at 12:24PM EST Reply to CommentAgree about the issues Alan with teh episode, but I also agree that watching Gervais and Larry banter back & forth was awesome!
Rolf
August 15, 2011 at 12:40PM EST Reply to CommentPlenty of laughs. Not EVERYTHING worked, but I still thought it was far better than last weeks episode.
Mulderism
August 15, 2011 at 1:33PM EST Reply to CommentA few laughs but nothing great. I'm still finding this a particularly weak season so far. No real season arc has emerged either unless you consider going to NY the arc. I miss Cheryl and Leon.
Gervais is actually a big Seinfeld fan from the interviews I've seen him do with LD and Seinfeld himself.
Strange ending. Did Larry get dragged behind the subway or did somebody help him?
Lee Leon will show up next week. Hope I'm not spoiling anything.
August 15, 2011 at 1:40PM ESTLee
August 15, 2011 at 1:52PM EST Reply to CommentIt's getting to the point where Larry has been repeating a number of SEINFELD tropes on CURB, not that there's anything wrong with that. The gang talking in the theatre while Ricky was performing was reminiscent of Elaine laughing when Jerry put the Pez dispenser on her leg during Geroge's girlfriend's piano recital (as was the subsequent cover-up and inconvenient reveal of same); and the bread put me in mind of "The Marble Rye."
DT I thought the same thing. Even the previous episode with LD's girlfriend (at the time) and her texting and ending with a :) reminded me of the Seinfeld when Jerry was challenged by his girlfriend (at the time) for not adding more exlamation points to a note he left about the birth of her friend's baby. Deja vu! (or !!!)
August 15, 2011 at 2:18PM ESTDT *exclamation points!!!
August 15, 2011 at 2:28PM EST
August 15, 2011 at 6:52PM ESTMEO The Chat-n-Cut from last week was eerily similar to the bit from the finale (also from mind of LD) about the cell phone Walk-n-Talk.
August 16, 2011 at 9:42PM ESTRazorback
August 15, 2011 at 2:22PM EST Reply to CommentThe banter between them was great and I think that is the only thing that really matters in this episode. So, I loved it.
Ben
August 15, 2011 at 4:55PM EST Reply to CommentJust the image of Larry beating up a guy with a breadstick, cracked me up!
Bob
August 15, 2011 at 6:20PM EST Reply to CommentCurb needs to lose the "people yelling at Larry for stupid stuff" thing. Especially from the extras. The scene with the lady in coach made me want to change the channel. Same with the drunk guy yelling at the flight attendant, although there was at least a point to that. I've also grown tired of Susie's character......she's just not funny in ~90% of her scenes. Wish the show would stick to the lives & interactions of Larry, Richard, Jeff, Funk, & Leon and ignore all the pointless arguments.
Bob Come to think of it.....are any women funny on this show?
August 15, 2011 at 6:25PM ESTJoe @Bob - are any women funny on any show?
August 16, 2011 at 3:10PM ESTEOTW
August 16, 2011 at 1:47AM EST Reply to CommentMan, Gervais' schtick got real old, real fast.
gfhjgfh
August 16, 2011 at 5:55AM EST Reply to CommentRicky Gervais only plays one character. Very overrated in the comedy world
Justin Gervais cannot be considered overrated in the comedy world in that he discovered Karl Pilkington. Not to mention that Gervais on Curb couldn't have been more different than David Brent.
August 16, 2011 at 8:25AM ESTMaggie Q
August 16, 2011 at 6:47AM EST Reply to CommentUnfortunately this episode made me think too much of "Louie" and how much more I enjoyed his recent subway hero fantasy. That scene was so brilliant and fresh that this one just felt like a letdown. Everything was so predictable, from the Chekhov bread to Ricky not bothering to pick up his wad of $500 from the floor. Maybe it would have worked better without having ever seen Louis fantasize about wiping the puddle off a subway seat, but now I'll never know.
And then, of cousre, there was the use of Ricky Gervais. I love Ricky, but thought he came across as an uptight a-hole in this. It made me wonder what he ever did to Larry to deserve that (other than creating 2 successful sitcoms without laughtracks.)
Compare the way Larry presented Ricky Gervais here to the way Louis C.K. recently gave us Dane Cook. I would not have expected Cook to get the better treatment of the two, but after that episode I thought maybe he's not such a bad guy after all and that Louis seems to have come to terms with their "history" even while the scene was awkward, uncomfortable, and painfully funny. Yet all I could think of at the end of this week's "Curb" was, wow, Larry must really hate this guy to make him such a prick.
The other comparison with "Louie" of course is Gervais's role in season 1 as Louie's doctor, which still makes me laugh when I even think about it.
Rob I don't know if it's Larry, Did you see Gervais host the Golden Globes? He does insult humor pretty well.
August 16, 2011 at 10:36AM ESTJoe Maggie, are you saying that Larry cast him this way to try to put him down? He cast him this way to let him be as funny as possible. Gervais does the best prick in the business today. It was like the way Gervais cast Stiller in Extras, probably the best role the guy has ever played.
August 16, 2011 at 3:14PM ESTDavid
August 18, 2011 at 10:11AM EST Reply to CommentThis episode was about as funny as a bowl of cold oatmeal.
Huell Goodman
October 13, 2011 at 12:45AM EST Reply to CommentThis was a pretty funny episode in itself, yet I expected more from Gervais' appearance. I hoped to see Larry up against a fellow a-hole, equally stubborn and committed to some irrational social crusade. Sure, Ricky was a prick, but not much more of one then the typical slightly more reasonable jerk that Larry confronts all the time.