Curb Your Enthusiasm, Season 11
Status: Finished on 12/27/2021
Rating: 3/5
Spoiler Warning
Summary
Larry David is developing a show with Hulu. A burglar drowns in his swimming pool. Larry is at-fault, because he did not have a fence. The burglar’s brother discovers this and uses this information to extort Larry. He coercing Larry into casting his talentless daughter in Larry’s new show. Larry attempts to get the law repealed by entering into a relationship with city council member, Irma Kostroski.
Reactions
- I found it funny, but I don’t remember much. I watched a lot of it on the treadmill, so that might contribute to my forgetfulness.
- The man who played the burglar’s brother previously played the Mexican hotel clerk at Micky’s wedding. His scenes were some of my favorites of the entire series. In this season, he comes across as purely evil, and doesn’t get as many laughs.
- I thought the season was going to be a meditation on Larry getting older. Though he initially finds Irma Kostroski repulsive, I thought he would discover some appeal to dating someone only 13 years younger than him.
- This actually wouldn’t fit the zero-personal-growth model of Seinfeld/Curb-Your-Enthusiasm writing.
- David’s real-life wife is also supposedly 38 years younger than him, which might contribute to his disinterest in such a storyline.
- I was hoping that they wouldn’t go in the Producers-style direction of having the talentless daughter becoming the star of the show. Fortunately, they did not. Instead, they didn’t really wrap up the show at all. I imagine they’ll wrap it up in one throwaway line next season, if there is another season.
- I wish they had done more with COVID-19, but I understand why they did not. Season 10’s focus on Me Too gave the show a timely feel. This season’s main arc was clever, but wasn’t bold.
- I’ll be sad if this turns out to be the last season, as it’s not a satisfying ending. Of course, I would have felt the same way about most of the earlier seasons. The exception was Season 7 (the Seinfeld reunion season), which would have been a really elegant ending.
- As usual, the highlights were the bizarre situations. Here were my favorites, but none of them were all-time series best moments:
- Larry’s dismissive attitude towards the Albert Brooks fake funeral.
- Larry being treated as an invalid by Lucy Liu after walking through a glass door.
- Larry trying to talk a Jewish dry cleaner into washing a klansman’s robe.
- The sushi restaurant host refusing to give Larry’s umbrella back.
- Seth Rogan chastising Larry David for having his petite chauffeur carry his luggage.
- Larry stealing shoes from the Holocaust museum after stepping in dog poop, and continuing to wear them everywhere.