"Curb Your Enthusiasm" Larry vs. Michael J. Fox (TV Episode 2011) Poster

User Reviews

Review this title
2 Reviews
Sort by:
Filter by Rating:
8/10
The upstairs neighbor
jotix10011 October 2011
Warning: Spoilers
Larry who has been dating Jennifer, is seen at her place. She begs for a little extra time to get ready. To entertain himself, he draws a Hitler's mustache and a swastika on a picture he finds in a magazine. A young boy enters the room, announcing he is Greg, Jennifer's son. The boy likes what Larry has done to the picture, especially the swastika, which he finds so neat. Larry notices the boy has feminine tendencies by the way he expresses himself.

Jennifer, a pianist at a cocktail lounge, is seen playing. Larry, who has come to hear her play, is clearly annoyed by the people he finds rude by not letting him enjoy the music. Michael J. Fox enters with friends. Spotting Larry, he goes to say hello, but Larry asks him to lower his voice because he feels Jennifer must be mortified. Michael and his friends at their table are seen talking, and Larry shushes them, something that does not sit well with Michael, who as he is departing shakes his head, as though disapproving Larry's warnings.

Going up to his apartment, Larry is seen in the elevator with another man. He has pressed his floor, but he decides to go one more floor to confront Michael, who as it happens, lives on the apartment above. The man in the elevator does not mince his words, telling Larry off. At Michael's apartment, Larry wants to find out what was that all about the parting gesture. Asking to wait, Larry picks a magazine where he proceeds to give the man on the cover a Hitler's mustache. What he does not know the man is Michael's father-in-law!. Michael, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, explains his shake has to do with his condition. Offering Larry something to drink, he takes a bottle from the refrigerator which spills all over his shirt.

Talking with Susie and Jeff, Larry offers his views on little Greg. Larry gives Greg a sewing machine, which becomes a hit with the boy, but it is clear his mother did not like the present. Later on, Jennifer and Susie are sitting on a bench in Central Park. Larry who has arrived with Jeff sees Greg who comes to give Susie a present he has made for her. It is a pillow sham with a Swastika on it! Susie goes crazy. A bicyclist comes to the area where the group is standing and knocks Jeff to the ground.

Leon and Larry are annoyed at the constant noise from Michael J. Fox's apartment. Larry cannot sleep. Leon thinks that would not happen on a black building. Larry goes to talk to Michael, but nothing is settled. One day, coming home, Larry is greeted by the doorman, who wants to thank him for the Yankees ticket he got. Michael is seen in the back and Larry complains about the noise to the doorman, who becomes irate hearing Larry talk about Michael, who is well loved in the building.

Larry, trying to make amends with Jennifer and Greg, has bought a violin for the boy. There is an event in the building, a fund raiser for the Michael J. Fox's foundation. Larry and Jeff attend. Mayor Bloomberg is also in attendance. As Michael is speaking, Larry is telling Jeff about the violin, but as he is shushed from the dais, he begins to gesture a violin player, something that does not sit well with the crowd.

In the end, Larry tries to do the right thing with Michael, who suggests Larry to come to another event where a contribution of ten thousand dollars will be expected. Larry tries to beg out because he will not be in town. Michael asks where does he plans to be. Well, the next scene is in Paris, where Leon and Larry are strolling. Larry observing a man parking his car over the dividing lines, begins ranting to the offender in French.

The episode could be perceived as offensive because of the way Larry deals with a beloved figure like Michael J. Fox who has been suffering from one of the most cruel afflictions a human being must endure. But then, Mr. Fox himself is on hand to play a dignified role about his condition. The other issue that might be offensive has to do with Greg, a boy that is clearly effeminate, the way he is presented. For whatever reasons, that could be taken as an unkind gesture from the creators of the show, but is is all played with subtlety.

Directed by Alan Berg with a screenplay by Larry David, Alan Berg, David Mandel and Jeff Schaffer, it marks the end of the 2011 season. "Curb Your Enthusiasm" is one of the most original HBO comedies. The creating genius of Mr. David shines right through in the way he sees life and the things that contribute to annoy him.
5 out of 17 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Season 8: A really strong season - even the weaker episodes are very funny
bob the moo15 October 2011
Warning: Spoilers
The last few seasons of Curb have been enjoyable; typically full of amusing social misunderstandings that spiral out of control - but six and seven were both mostly "amusing" or "funny" rather than hilariously inventive and contrived as the best of the series has been. Regardless though, Curb at "amusing" is still worth watching so I didn't come to this season with any worries or doubts. As it turns out, this eighth season is up there with the best seasons of the show and it avoids the problems inherent in the previous two.

Although harsh, the decision to move past the relationship with Cheryl gives the show a lot more freedom and it adds even more to the mix by giving the season a very generous narrative arch by nothing really having an overall story beyond moving the action to NYC halfway through the season. Within this loose frame we have all sorts of plots but the key thing is that they all provide the usual multi-thread episode where all the funny contrivances come together to produce an even funnier overall contrivance at the end. This season produces some great examples of these; my personal favourite having to be the contest with Rosie O'Donnell over a woman, with Barry Bonds and baseball throughout - this one worked really well and was very clever. However what makes the difference is that even the sillier episodes worked - so for example the one involving a random one-armed man and an invention is daft in terms of content but yet the comedic timing and imaginative construct of the episode means it still works and is very funny.

For sure at times it is a bit obvious, but only in regard the imminent delivery of a joke; so yes it is pretty clear what is going to happen in regards a ball being thrown around and Bill Buckner standing next to an open window - yes you can see it as "obvious" at that point, but to suggest you can predict where an episode is going is ridiculous - they are all too wonderfully contrived to be "obvious" or predictable in that regard. The writing is helped again by great delivery. David is in great form here and his material has him just right in the middle of things where he is not a total jerk but not innocent either - it is a balancing act that has to happen to make this work and this season it is bang on. Garlin and Essman continue to be strong in support and, although his character's inclusion makes almost no sense anymore, JB Smoove continues to be hilarious.

As with previous seasons the cast features loads of famous faces, mostly playing themselves. In some shows this is a sign of desperation - of including cameos for the sake of it but not producing any benefit apart from water cooler chat and maybe a small ratings bump. This is not the case with Curb and in this season all the cameos are good and benefit the show, not the marketing department. Michael J Fox of course, Gary Cole, Larry Miller, Rich Somer, Ricky Gervais, Samantha Mathis - even Mayor Bloomberg and Buckner manage to get laughs despite both being a little stiff and unnatural.

Overall, this eighth season really picks up its game after a couple of seasons that were only "good" - a target for some shows, but a slum for this one. The plots vary from the incredibly smart to the silly but they all work really well and produce good consistent laughs and entertainment. Even the weaker episodes are very funny.
21 out of 26 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

See also

Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews


Recently Viewed