Diary of a Curb Your Enthusiasm virgin – The penis biting dog was unnecessary

by Aryeh S.

With a bunch of great stories bouncing around in the air, why did Larry also have to get bitten on the penis by Jeff's dog? Aside from the fact that I didn’t need to see that, what was the point?

(Season 4, Episodes 5-6)

Larry David definitely doesn’t have a linear thought process. That being said, as I’ve watched the construction of various plots on Curb Your Enthusiasm, I’ve become increasingly impressed with the way his circular mind creates brilliant stories that seem to repeatedly swing around to make two points meet. And once you buy into his world, a lot of things that were once crude become funny. I’m really enjoying season four.

4.5 “The 5 Wood”

We get a rather weird version of David Schwimmer in his arc on Curb. He seems very subdued, and somewhat of a reasonable human being. Nothing like Ross Geller, or the version of himself that he played on Entourage. I kind of liked it.

And I love that part of his plot seems to involve his mixed nut-selling father. That’s a perfect situation for Larry to be his annoying self, making recommendations and critiquing the offerings that are available. Ben Stiller was wonderful, and David Schwimmer is no second stringer.

I was a bit confused by Dalilah the dental hygienist’s (Maria Canals-Barrera) proposition, until it dawned on me that Larry’s still in the hunt for his tenth anniversary freebie. I don’t believe for a second that it’ll ever happen, but the underlying plot will make for a lot of fun this season.

Larry hanging out with Steve the choreographer (Patrick Bristow) made for a nice change from Larry and Jeff and from Larry and Richard Lewis. Funny how the frame and picture on Larry’s desk led Steve to think that Larry was gay. I couldn’t believe that Larry was recognized by the doctor not for Seinfeld but rather for The Producers.

I’m not a Funkhouser (Bob Einstein) fan, so the funeral didn’t do much for me. The 5 wood in the casket bit was really off-color.

The hunt for the new country club, on the other hand, was great. I loved Larry and Susie yelling at one another about who looked like the bigger gentile. The Davids’ interview was fantastic, and I really enjoyed the appearances by Ken Howard (Dynasty, Murder, She Wrote) and James Sikking (Doogie Howser). Larry did a tremendous job at playing a Republican.

This was also the first episode I saw that wasn’t edited. New On Demand service gave me the opportunity to see the show in all its glory. Nice.

4.6 “The Car Pool Lane”

Who’d have thought that a Seinfeld jacket would get Larry out of jury duty not because of fans in the crowd but because of a bias against Hollywood types? Larry’s racist rant didn’t hurt, either.

I love Shelley Berman as Nat David, so I’m a fan of anything that keeps him coming back. Plus his medical marijuana story included an appearance by Jorge Garcia as a drug dealer who was definitely not selling medical grade weed. Keep bringing Berman back!

Monena (Kym Whitley) was fantastic. From Larry picking the hooker up for the sole purpose of being able to drive to the game in the car pool lane, to Monena smoking Nat and Larry out, the entire thing was wonderful. This was an out-of-left field plot that was absolutely fantastic. Funkhouser got in the way a bit, but Monena was spot on. She was brilliant.

I want to say more, but there’s nothing more to say. Just brilliant.