Curb Your Enthusiasm, Season 1

The first season of Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000) picks up thematically where Seinfeld left off 2 years before with the end of its impressive run. Of course, this isn’t surprising, as Enthusiasm’s creator and main star, Larry David, co-created Seinfeld and is the inspiration for George Costanza. So, in effect, Enthusiasm is a Seinfeld spin-off focused on Costanza. Except it’s not really George Costanza, and it’s definitely not Jason Alexander.

The show follows the quasi-real exploits of Larry David as he navigates his way through high-society and the sometimes murky and quirky ins and outs of the Hollywood scene. Larry is practically drowning in royalty money from Seinfeld and other projects, and he apparently has very little actual work to do, as he mostly lounges around Los Angeles, engaging in long lunches with his rascal agent, jogging, and generally making an ass of himself in various outrageously complicated situations.

While Enthusiasm’s themes of social obligations, annoyances, and awkwardness mirror those explored throughout Seinfeld, the structure of the show is substantially different. While Seinfeld was written, rehearsed, and scripted to perfection, Enthusiasm is created and filmed mostly in improv. Scripts include rough outlines of major scenes in an episode, but most of the dialogue is improvised. The show is filled out with a cavalcade of celebrities playing themselves, including Ted Danson, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, and a recurring role for comedian Richard Lewis.

Here’s the thing about Curb Your Enthusiasm: if Seinfeld had never existed, Enthusiasm would be much funnier, edgier, and original. As it is, many episodes of Enthusiasm feel very Seinfeldian, and other episodes are practically verbatim retreads of Seinfeld episodes. It leaves the viewer feeling a little cheated. What Enthusiasm boils down to is a Seinfeld spin-off with harsher language and more adult themes (owing to its home on HBO).

Additionally, Larry David represents somewhat of a paradox. He is, after all, the real-life inspiration for Seinfeld’s George Costanza, but the bitch of it is, Jason Alexander is a much stronger comedic actor than David. As a result, Larry David’s portrayal of Larry David ends up being a weak echo of Jason Alexander’s portrayal of George Costanza (based on Larry David). George Costanza was a hero to every slacker around the globe. His convoluted attempts to work less, earn more, and basically get by in life on as little effort as humanly possible are both inspirational and comedic gold. Larry David, on the other hand, comes across as a whining, bumbling fool who continually makes poor jokes and firmly wedges himself into every socially awkward situation in the greater Los Angeles area.

I personally feel that improvisational dialogue is a poor fit for this show. I appreciate the attempt to keep the characters’ interactions fresh and surprising, but all too often, you end up with two characters batting the same line back and forth, trying to remember where the hell the scene is eventually supposed to end up. This is especially true for scenes with Larry and his wife Cheryl (played by Cheryl Hines). There is no chemistry between these two. They don’t feel like a married couple. They feel like two actors playing their separate parts and saying their separate lines and not once building any interactive chemistry.

Having said all this, Enthusiasm is not a bad show. In fact, I’d venture to say it’s at least an entertaining show, and it might possibly be a good show. This is, after all, just the first season, and I’m hopeful that the weak elements will get some attention and the actors’ chemistry with each other and with the improv style will coalesce with future seasons.

Highlights of season one include any scene featuring Larry’s agent Jeff Greene, played spot-on by comedian Jeff Garlin. He is a perfect Hollywood agent, equal parts skeaze, charm, and obsequiousness. He somehow manages to squeeze favors out of David, who is technically his boss, including stashing Greene’s cache of pornography and buying a birthday present for his terrifyingly up-tight mother.

David’s comedic timing is highlighted in the best (and funniest) episode of season one, in which he finds himself attending an incest survivors anonymous session with his ex-girlfriend as her moral support. When group members mistakenly think that he too is an incest survivor, instead of politely correcting them, he launches into a rambling and deadpan story of sexual exploits with his uncle.

For all its faults, Curb Your Enthusiasm is not a bad show. However, it must live in the shadow of its big brother Seinfeld, and sometimes the comparisons are unfavorable. But the show is funny its own way, and it’s at least worth a viewing.

Storyline and plot: 6/10

Cinematography and effects: 6/10

Music and mood: 5/10

Performances: 6/10

The Reverend says: 6/10