Episode Commentary: The Reunion
The long-awaited “Seinfeld” multi-part reunion has begun on the third episode of the seventh season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” simply entitled “The Reunion.” Larry David has constructed a brilliant concept for reuniting a cast of beloved television characters without making it stupid or drawn out. Hell, it is not even a real reunion, but rather the actors of “Seinfeld” playing variations of themselves, and of course we all hold the knowledge that in some way, David will mess it up.
A chance encounter at NBC with his estranged wife, Cheryl (Cheryl Hines), who announces she is back into acting, crosses paths with David, who is on his way to turn down a reunion concept for “Seinfeld.” David suddenly realizes at the meeting that he can create an ex-wife for George from “Seinfeld” and hire the aspiring actress Cheryl to play that part. Not only that, but the executives are so excited they offer him tickets to a basketball game.
What could go wrong?
Now, David’s job is to simply talk to the former cast members and convince them to do it. Jerry Seinfeld is a little reluctant, and unsure why David wants to do a reunion, but says he will do it if everyone else is on board.
Simple enough, but remember nothing comes simple to David.
The problems start when he has an argument and becomes obsessed with the amount of a tip that Jason Alexander leaves when they go out for lunch, because he feels they should have coordinated on the tip since they are splitting the bill. (Also, you may notice the George character is loosely based on David.) Then he feels Julia Louis-Dreyfus made up an excuse not to meet up by saying she had to bring her daughter to a birthday party. This leads David to grill the young girl and cause more tension in his simple task. Finally, Michael Richards is distracted due to raunchy photos at a restaurant, and doesn’t hear one word that David says.
However, this is the least of his problems with the reunion, because David gets annoyed with the head of NBC for the lousy tickets at the basketball game. (Look for David Spade at the game.) He even feels that his calls are being screened, and this leads to a confrontation that forces David to apologize to the head, or no reunion.
On top of that, one more problem does arise, including the fact everybody wants Meg Ryan to play George’s ex-wife, and even Ryan seems on board for that, leaving Cheryl in the dust.
Keep in mind, there is always more going on with David than what each episode is about, and this episode keeps intact everything we love about the series while approaching a bold and inventive new idea (a fake reunion inside of a real sitcom).
Only the next few episodes will tell if the reunion will happen, but a guarantee for laughter is sure bet.
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