A couple of months ago, I was thinking about new ideas for blog posts and one popped into my head. At the end of 2023, leading into 2024, I binge-watched “Curb Your Enthusiasm” for the first time. While maybe I did a disservice to Larry David by not watching “Seinfeld“, I thoroughly enjoyed watching Curb. I was even lucky enough to finish season eleven right as season twelve rolled out on a weekly basis.
Now for those of my readers and friends that don’t know the premise of Curb, I’ll do my best to explain. Curb is an exaggerated day-to-day joke show that stars Larry David as a version of himself that makes occasional mistakes and errs in normal life, leading to large spiraling chains of events. To dumb it down, it’s a comedy show that makes fun of normally boring interactions and conversations. Larry, as himself, plays a version of himself that he wishes he could show to the world but is normally shy in reality. He is, after all, a writer at heart.
Because Curb is a comedy, these interactions Larry has are overblown. More often than not, Larry makes an ass of himself on purpose for the cameras. He took flowers from a memorial for a friend’s late mother. He answered the phone while in the middle of having sex. Cutting in front of people for “seconds” at a buffet. However, sometimes Larry is right in his moves. Sometimes, just sometimes, the viewer may find themselves siding with Larry. That’s what this blog is going to be about.
I was going to painstakingly watch every episode and take notes, but like a prayer, I happened upon the very question in a Reddit post by the user u/charge_forward.
10. Israeli Palestinian Chicken
As an agnostic, I can’t exactly speak on what is happening/has happened in Palestine and Israel for all of these years. This isn’t a political post either, so we won’t delve into that. Maybe another day. However, I think Larry has every right under the sun to eat food that goes against his religion and political stance. To add context to the problem, a new restaurant opens up with the best chicken in the city. The problem is, it’s Palestinian, and Larry is a Jew. The idea of eating chicken that comes from a Palestinian-owned business is morally wrong. However, he and Jeff decide to try it out and fall in love. Larry also falls in love with one of the owners of the restaurant.
The business is so successful that they plan to open a second location, right next to a popular Jewish deli. Demonstrations break out and Larry, who has now fallen in love with one of the owners (Palestinian), is stuck between choosing love or friends, Palestine or Israel.
Personally, I think Larry is in the right. While I wouldn’t assume anything or consider myself an expert on the subject, eating other cultures’ foods is a way of learning. My goal on this page isn’t to take sides to black and white issues or even the grayer choices, but in the end, I think Larry shouldn’t be stuck choosing between his new romance and the idea of lust over his lifelong friends and fellow Jews.
9. Trick Nor Treat
Should any child no matter the age receive candy during Halloween if not dressed up? In the episode “Trick or Treat”, Larry David answers this question with a resounding no. In all honesty, I’m in full agreement. One of the essential parts of Halloween is dressing up in costumes. Whether the costume is scary, funny, or straight horrific, it’s at minimum a costume. I don’t think Larry was in the wrong for denying two teenagers candy when they couldn’t put the effort in to dress up.
This entire situation also brings up the question of what age is the cut-off for candy. Should a seventeen year-old get candy but an eighteen year-old not? In the end, Larry pays the ultimate price as a victim of egging and inappropriate words. Would I do the same though, not knowing the consequences? One hundred percent.
8. The Chat and Cut
This is a running gag that is seen through more than just a single episode. The chat and cut is a method used at buffet lines, amusement park queues, and other lines. The strategy is that someone might know someone further up in the line so they begin a conversation, slicking their way in front of a number of people who have been waiting patiently.
It’s a very sly maneuver that Larry is smart enough to detect and call out on. Often in Curb, we see Larry in positions that we ourselves would love to be in, to gain the courage and bravery it takes to call someone out on something like this. This is just another situation I have been in and have been too shy to say anything. Thank you Larry for doing what we all want to do.
7. “Can you watch this for me?”
In the episode “The Safe House”, a man in a cafe asks Larry if he could watch his laptop for him. While this is a simple task many wouldn’t turn down in good nature, the man disappears for what seems like forever. Minutes turn quickly to an hour and Larry is ready to leave, but held down with the responsibility of watching the laptop. After some more time passes by and it seems like the man won’t return, Larry asks another stranger to watch the laptop for him.
The next day, he runs into the owner of the laptop and says he had another man, specifically a “colored man”, watch it since he had to go. The stranger is taken aback as he doesn’t want to insinuate that it was taken because he was black. Next day, the black man with the laptop shows up to Larry’s house to find the man who’s laptop he had since he never returned. He has him wait at his home to do something, and in mistake, is arrested as the police show up to arrest Leon for domestic violence.
I think Larry is totally in the right, no question. He waited a necessary amount of time, going above and beyond what was needed. He put on his good samaritan shoes and didn’t need to wait any longer. Is there anyone to blame? I would personally give it around 10 minutes before I would turn the laptop into the cafe employees/owner, as long as they were open for a reasonable amount of time.
6. Handicap Stall
While researching this gag a little more, I found this under a “Larry’s Worst Moments” post. I was a little baffled because I have it on a list of times where Larry was right. I would add context, but I’ve basically done everything I can to make sense of the situation. Larry took the handicap stall, which is known to be much larger than a regular stall. While the normal stalls weren’t taken, Larry decides he wants the luxury of a full-size stall. A wheel-chaired individual soon enters and criticizes Larry for taking the stall made for handicapped individuals.
The joke, however, comes full circle when later in the episode Larry catches the wheel-chaired man in a normal-sized stall. However, we’re going to ignore this part of the episode as it doesn’t fully related to the argument presented in this post. If the handicap stall is open, I’m going to use it. The comfort and space is worth it compared to a smaller, condensed stall. Some people are comfort poopers, and while I’m not, I can see why someone would levitate towards the bigger stall.
The handicap sign on a stall is a suggestion by some means. It points the wheel-chaired individuals to the correct area. One redditor claims the sign means the stall is “handicap accessible, not handicap only” which summarizes my entire point.
5. Black Swan
As an animal lover, you may think I’d be against Larry on this specific point. My dislike of avian creatures is what pushes me to put this all the way at number five. To give some context, Larry golfs often at a very fancy course where the owner has a black swan he loves dearly. Larry hits his golf ball near the body of water where swans are apt to hang out. The swan is territorial and attacks Larry, and Larry swings his club at the swan to defend himself, killing it instantly. Knowing the club owner would take no excuse, Larry attempts to hide the body in the woods, only for it to be discovered by a groundskeeper.
The animal loving side of me would say I would never do something to physically hurt a creature, especially one that has more authority over the land than I. The defensive side of me would take no risk and defend myself with any means necessary. As someone who’s golfed in the past, I’m scared of the ducks and swans and geese. If a swan came charging at me with its wings extended ready to attack, I’m defending myself. Usually, the bird would expect the club and stop attacking or try another method, but the black swan had it coming.
4. Orthodox Skiing
Trying to sway the opinion of the man in charge of the kidney bank, Larry takes him and his daughter skiing. Going on one more final run down the mountain is Larry and the daughter, an extremely orthodox Jew. It was against her orthodox religion to be on the ski lift after sundown with Larry, someone she’s not in a relationship with. It breaks down, leaving them stranded. She gives him the ultimatum of jumping or she jumps. Larry, not being orthodox (but pretending to be), doesn’t jump and forces Rachael, the daughter of Ben Heinemann, to jump off of the ski lift. She injures herself from jumping off and Richard (on Larry’s behalf) is taken off of the top of the kidney list.
What point am I trying to defend Larry for you might ask? Lying to Mr. Heinemann to get Richard on top of the kidney donation list? No. Not jumping off of the ski lift? Yes. As in #10, I can’t say I’m the strongest believer of religion and I don’t choose to believe I understand the complications behind religion, especially Orthodox Judaism. If I’m in Larry’s situation, I’m not sacrificing my legs for someone else to feel comfortable religiously. You shouldn’t bend the knee to fit someone else’s beliefs.
3. Beloved Aunt
Throwing it back to season one with my number three pick. Cheryl’s (Larry’s wife at the time in the show) aunt dies and the family asks Larry to write the obituary, most likely because he’s a TV writer. He writes an obituary, which all things considered is appropriately written, but the newspaper prints it with a vital error. Instead of “Aunt” it says “C*nt”. I’m surprised this wasn’t found many places as it’s one of the biggest examples of “not my fault” in the entire show. I seriously don’t understand why Larry gets flack for this, as any reasonable person would understand typos happen.
The one little section of wiggle room I’ll grant is that Cheryl’s family is obviously distraught of the sudden loss. But let’s be honest with ourselves, Larry did nothing wrong in this situation.
2. Mr. Anonymous
We’ll need a lot of context to understand why this is so high. Larry makes a donation to the NRDC and sees that another large donation came in under the name “Anonymous”. He gets upset that it now looks like his donation was only for the credit to his name. When he gets the news from Cheryl that the donator “Anonymous” is Ted Danson (a close friend of his in the show), he confronts him. Everyone around Larry seems to know that Ted Danson behind the mystery donation, including the lady giving opening remarks at the opening.
There’s much more to the episode, as there typically is, but my focus is on the single thing. I think there’s credit in donating anonymously, but there’s also no fault in wanting to be credited for giving money. I used to donate to a rescue/mission I truly believed in, amounting well over $100 over the span of time (which is a lot for someone with little money). The first time I donated, I shared my donation but afterwards (it was a recurring payment), I couldn’t care less if people saw I was a charitable person.
The action Ted takes is a good gesture, but because everyone knows he’s anonymous, there’s less merit in being anonymous. If he shared the information with one or two people, then it’s reasonable, but there was no reason the lady giving opening remarks should’ve known.
1. Greg, the Gay Kid
The most suggested comment, and one that I had thought about for a while was about Greg, the obviously gay child. Larry is in the middle of dating one woman who has a child named Greg. Greg’s birthday is coming up soon, and based on one small interaction Larry has with the kid, is able to determine the perfect birthday gift: a sewing machine. While the word “gay” is never specifically brought up, there’s obvious signs. Greg enjoys watching “Project Runway”. He uses exaggerated movements with his arms and speaks in a way that could be traditionally associated with homosexuality. Larry David takes this into consideration before buying Greg a gift, and with Greg’s love for fabric and design, a sewing machine seems like the perfect present. This also shows Larry’s ability to do something he doesn’t typically enjoy — gift giving — and do it well.
A lot of commenters seemed to forget the bad side of Larry and Greg’s interaction, which shows the plot twist of the episode. While waiting for his “girlfriend”, Larry doodles on a magazine on the coffee table. He draws a Hitler mustache with an accompanying swastika. As a kid, Greg imprints upon seeing the swastika. He loves the way it looks, calling it “beautiful” and asking Larry to get him one for his birthday. The plot twist at the end is that Greg uses the sewing machine from Larry to make a swastika design for Susie.
I think this shows Larry David (fictional) as a caring, compassionate, and empathetic human, which is unlike his character. Perhaps it was because he’s a child, but nonetheless, I think it tops the list of things Larry has done.
Summary
While Larry David is 100% in the wrong sometimes, there’s always moments where he’s right, even if his friends and family don’t believe so (in the show). He stands for a part of every human that wants to do things we can’t, shouldn’t, or won’t. That’s what makes Curb such a realistic yet funnily fictional show. I highly recommend you watch Curb for yourself and make your own judgements.
If this one is perceived well, I’ll go ahead and do 10 times Larry David was completely in the wrong. But for now, thanks for reading. Be sure to share with friends and family.