Curb Your Enthusiasm - WTF?

Ok, I'm supposed to identify with some shmuck who doesn't get along with Richard Belzer or his hot girlfriend? WTF? Is this the most elitist, posturing, stupidest show there ever was, or what?

This is pure, elitist garbage, is it not?

I'm drunk, but I thought Areested Development was pretty funny even though Michael is obviously a Bush-boy.

nt.

What's wrong with you people?

Is this the most elitist, posturing, stupidest show there ever was, or what?

What.

This is pure, elitist garbage, is it not?

Not.

Simple enough.

especially the episode where Larry David refuses to sleep with a woman because she likes Bush.

You won't find any other television show willing to make such a statement.....

n/t

It is the best comedy on TV today. Did you see the episode where Larry and Cheryl posed as Republicans in order to join a country club?

There's enough unrepentent, unapologetic a-holes in the world that I don't need to waste my time watching them on tv.

I find that Larry David has perfected the neurotic, self-absorbed, insecure Hollywood insider stereotype, and the cult of the LA Elite. I see so many 'real' producers emulated in his on-screen character, it's scary.

He's hilarious, and the show is extremely well-written.

And I'm speaking as someone who didn't like Seinfeld.

The basic premise is pure "Lucy Show" or "Dick Van Dyke Show", but taken to such extremes. I don't think I've ever laughed as hard as I did when he want to the incest survivors' group. And you know there's nothing funny about incest... but he makes the situation hysterical, in an "I can't believe I'm laughing at this" kind of way.

Of course, we Canadians know that CYE is extremely derivitive of our own docu-comedy, "The Newsroom", created by Ken Finkleman.

And it's Richard Lewis. Nobody is scared of Richard Belzer.

But for the other 99.9999999999999999999999% of us who aren't, WTF?

Yep. I'm a cool one.

I'm just saying that it's a clever satire, based on some very astute observation.

I suppose the other 99.9999999% "of us" aren't watching it, which explains why it's in it's third season and selling well as DVD.

No need to get testy. As momma always said, "if you can't say something nice...go watch a 'Full House' rerun".

and I was drunk and then I posted here and then I passed out. I think the Beltzer/Lewis guy irritated me. I'll probably try to watch it again tonight. But I'll probably also be drunk again.

That Richard Beltzer is one funny guy. It's good he's a recovering alcoholic because he's irritating as hell when I'm drunk.

...then you'll understand that lots of Canadians, such as myself, "know" that "The Newsroom" is a complete ripoff of "The Larry Sanders Show". (substitute a talk show for a news room, fill it with exactly the same characters as the LSS, and there you have it.)

By the way, I think all three shows are brilliant, if that matters...

Well we Canadians also "The Larry Sanders Show" is a complete ripoff of the episode of The Flintstones where Fred gets a job as a stunt double in "The Monster from the Tar-Pits".

on edit: did you see the Newsroom spinoff where Jim runs for office, or "Escape from the Newsroom" with Atom Egoyan?

All those shows are great. I even sat through "Foolish Heart".

The "No More Tears" episode with Jesus' publicists was a side-splitter.

elitist garbage?

is that your code for things you don't understand?

n/t

your appreciation of fine television is matched only by your razor-sharp wit.

:bounce:

CYU is a little bit hit and miss, but when it hits, it is damn funny.

Maybe you should just go back to watching those hilarious Fox sitcoms.

:eyes:

...it's not as if he's some sort of 'everyman'. He's a creep, and he usually burns himself because he's such a creep. That's the point. He's hardly painting himself with a kind brush. He's spoofing and taking the piss out of probably everyone he's met since 'making it'. You don't have to be in the business to understand that. He could be some asshole banker or bus driver character and it would still work.

... and all I got in return was a snide remark.

One thing is for sure... CYU is a hell of a lot funnier than cartoons about guys with really big eyes.

on edit: not that there's anything wrong with that.

:(

The episode when he sees his new brother-in-law being baptized in a river and thinks he's being drowned.... and ends up screwing the whole thing up... Classic!

The episode where he wants to go to a baseball game so badly he hires a hooker to sit in his car so he can use the carpool lane had me in stitches...

The episode where his wife's aunt dies and Larry puts the obituary in the paper and instead of saying "beloved aunt" it says "beloved c**t"... was one of the funniest shows I ever saw...

Call me elitist and make me watch this "garbage" ANY time!

:evilgrin:

is the one where Larry and Richard try to give Benzedrine to Richard's girlfriend who is a Christian Scientist. Hilarious.

these days are generally people like Joe Scarborough.

Supposedly I'm an "elitist" because I dwell on the coasts. Shit, I drink Green Tea, too. I've even been spotted drinking the dreaded latte from time to time.

Yeah. And I've worked more shit minimum wage jobs with no health insurance than you can shake a big hollywood stick at.

Funny, too, that Ken Lay (who, for some odd reason, isn't in jail) doesn't get labeled as an "elitist".

Ahh, but I'm getting hung up on the word. I think Curb Your Enthusiasm is a f*cking riot. I didn't "get" it the first time I watched it, mostly because I hadn't gotten used to the pacing and tone. It's very, very funny, I think. I'm not sure why it bugs you so much, or why you feel you have to "identify" with someone who can't get along with Richard Lewis... (Who, by the way, should be glad to be having any work whatsoever. THAT guy's just not very funny, and his neverending 12 step shtick, while undoubtedly helpful to folks with problems, gets old for me after about a half hour.)

But that's why the lord created 112 channels of crap, man- if you don't like it, change the damn channel.

It's a DVD.

both for and against CYE.

How is it "elitist"?

And yes, clearly you're drunk. Watch the show sober, it'll make more sense to you comedy-wise.

It's pretty hard to take someone seriously who can't tell the difference between Richard Belzer and Richard Lewis.

Go back to Three's Company reruns. That's probably more your speed.

Just kidding.
Well, I do like TC, but my faux aggression was supposed to be parody.

And I think Larry David is as brilliant as they come. I loved the epidsode that ended season two (I think it was 2) Larry and his partners open the restaurant and he accidentally breaks the thumbs of the restaurant critic? And the chef has tourettes? Brilliant. I constantly find myself wanting to mimic Michael York: "Balls!"

I didn't know that was a standard criterion for whether somebody should be taken seriously. I'll study up.

and I love Arrested Development too.

I just re-watched the first two seasons on DVD this week, and there are relatively few instances where he acts like an asshole. More often than not, it's an honest mistake or misunderstanding or an attempt to do a favor that goes horribly wrong, usually compounded by white lies told to spare feelings or avoid unpleasantness. There's a lot of "no good deed goes unpunished" stuff, and how participating in society is frequently more trouble than it's worth.

The Shaq episode is a good example. He goes to dinner with friends of his wife, and gets two assignments -- one to write a letter of reference, one to do a page for a keepsake album for guys he hardly knows. His wife's parents are visiting and being very inconsiderate, but act like HE is the inconsiderate one. Then, he gets courtside Lakers tickets, and accidentally trips Shaq, causing a potential season-ending injury. Suddenly, he's a pariah, but his life starts getting better and better, as these impositions remove themselves because they don't want to be associated with him. Tripping Shaq was the best thing he ever did. But at the end, it turns out Shaq will only be out for a week, and the spell is broken, and all the bad stuff comes rushing back to him.

Or the episode where his wife hires a limo to take them to dinner. Larry worries about the driver, and feels guilty that the driver is out sitting in the car while they're inside eating a fancy meal, so he takes some of his portion, some of his wife's, puts it in a carryout container and takes it out to the driver. Is the driver grateful? No, he bitches about no silverware or napkin, so Larry goes back into the restaurant, gets silverware and a napkin to take to the driver, but is stopped by the owner, who's angry about a stupid slight earlier, who decides to report Larry to the police for stealing silverware. Then, after the police are gone, they go back out to the car and the driver is still pissed! No good deed goes unpunished. This kind of crap (on a more humble scale) happens to me all the time.

Yeah, he's self-absorbed, but no more than anyone else in that universe -- he just doesn't hide it as carefully. It's "comedy of manners" but with a slapstick element. It's Fawlty Towers transformed. It's "Jewish jokes" played out to extremes.

A Jewish woman and her son are at the shore, when a massive wave breaks on the beach and takes her son out to sea. The woman is hysterical and pleas "God, my son can't swim! He's a good boy! Please save him! Bring him back to me!" At that moment, another massive wave breaks on the beach, delivering her son safe and sound on the sand. She rushes over to him to see that he's all right, then looks up to the sky and cries out "HE HAD A HAT!"

That's Curb Your Enthusiasm.

I don't even remeber the details, but I remember laughing until I was short of breath.

...he felt awkward not having one, so he free-associated, using his uncle, the osteopath, as the perpetrator...

...later, byt sheer chance, one of the incest survivors from the group happens to be directing "The Vagina Momologues" in which Larry's wife ie performing. She meets the real uncle/osteoparh, who's a kindly gentle old man (played by the guy who was the psychiatrist in MASH), and completely freaks out on him...

He is George Costanza taken even farther

Sometimes I have to turn the channel it makes me wince so much,

Who cares if it's Richard Belzer or not? Who doesn't get into conflicts with friends?

:argh:

it always cracks me up, but some people might not get it. Some people like their humor with laugh tracks, you know, for hints.

My favorite episode is Crazy-Eyez Killah, "You my caucasian?"

The chef with Tourette's syndrome at the grand opening of Larry's restaurant.

So many funny ones...

but it also left me cold.:shrug:

she's a riot.

in her dressing room...priceless

i havent seen the show in a year so whats the deal with him and cheryl? or was he cashing in on how he can sleep with someone for his 10th yr anniversary present?

do tell

which he failed to cash in

anniversary present, but he couldn't do it - because the woman was a Bush supporter

Maybe you should check out "Everybody loves Raymond" or maybe some 'Friends' DVDs, or perhaps something equally inane. Might be more your speed.

But I'll give these other shows a try. I'm obviously stupider than you and must find more inane comedy that is not beyond my limited mental capacities.

This Curb Your Enthusiasm show, it makes you face the reality of who you are! Thank you, Curb Your Enthusiasm! It's hard, but at least I now know the truth!

.......the only part you can identify with is that we all have our inevitable should have know better- can't help being myself moments. The Christmas episode where he eats the Nativity scene is the best ever. Or the benydryl drugging of Lewis' scientologist girlfriend, too. Try to catch one of those.

I remember when that show used to be called seinfeld.

I perfer Bob Hope. That was when a man was a man, a woman
was a girl, and a gag was a gag.

"When men were men" ... and Gays and African Americans had no rights...

Yeah, those days were great if you were a white straight man... Or a Republican like Bob Hope...

:puke:

Larry David was raised on Leave It to Beaver.
He said, I quote, "If it wasn't for the Beav,
I wouldn't be where I was today."
And ahem I disagree whole heartedly when you say
it was "great" when Gays and African Americans
had no rights! Hunh Snowbank???!

What do you know about that! You sure had me going on that one!

is my favorite show ever. But I've never seen CYE. So I can't really contribute to the discussion much.

It's by far the funniest show on TV! I remember my favorite moment of the show was the one with the weatherman. At the beginning of the show, Larry tells his father that he pees sitting down so he can read.

A couple scenes later, it's the middle of the night...Cheryl and Larry are in bed sleeping. Larry gets up to go to the bathroom. The next thing you hear is the light switch, then the seat being put down. Then there's a *clunk* and Larry screaming......he fell into the toilet! I couldn't stop laughing for about five minutes!

Hands down. All other shows need not apply.

I love Curb Your Enthusiasm

that Burton and Jefferson Meet Roger Ebert at a Party cartoon is hilarious.

I'm so very glad I clicked that.

but then again i apreciate dry and sarcastic humor...not everyones cup o' tea