You’re Just Like Him, Admit It

curb_your_enthusiasmEveryone knows someone like Larry David. You know, someone who always finds himself in precarious situations- everything from getting his foot caught in his mouth to the strangest things like getting caught taking food out of garbage.

He is the inspiration behind George Costanza for a reason.

However, in spite of all the shenanigans he consistently finds himself in, you can’t help but love him. Inside everyone is a David desperately trying to come out- to tell the world it’s the “C-word” for folding with a great hand at poker or telling someone else to do our dirty wok because we’re too scared to do it ourselves. The problem is logic and conscience then comes into play and you realize your thoughts are better left being just that.

Luckily, David’s mind works a bit differently than most.

Antics like this are on full display in the second season of his hit show “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and a huge reason why the two-disc DVD compilation is a must-buy. Despite being only 10 episodes long, a bit shorter than most sitcom season sets, there isn’t one stinker in the entire bunch.

For those that are back tracking into the season, you’ll be the first to notice the production values weren’t nearly as solid as they are now, but that plays a nominal role in the quality of the show. Incredibly witty, David, along with his wife Cheryl [Hines], manager Jeff [Garlin] and buddy Richard [Lewis] gets himself in the type of situations that are at times, a bit out there, but never too far from reality that you’ll dismiss them.

It’s the same formula that made “Seinfeld” such a great show, but at the same time, it’s a different animal all together.

While the cast of characters, especially Garlin and his wife, [Susie Essman] provide a huge jolt to the action with their foul-mouthed [She has to call Garlin fat at least once every episode] confrontations, the action never takes focus on them. Instead, it’s more about David and how they interact with him, making it something different from what made David a household name almost 25 years ago.

Sprinkled on top of the wit is a crude, rude and lewd candor that gives the show an extra sharp, yet lovable edge. Sure, David is a bastard at times, but he does have a heart as well, making for a nice balance in the show, that always seems to backfire in his face. People just don’t know what to expect from David and that’s perhaps the biggest reason why he gets himself in the situations that he does. For every nice thing he does, like bringing Shaq every episode of “Seinfeld” after he trips him on the court by accident and sends him to the hospital, it doesn’t take him long to go back to his mischievous ways.

Waiting for the proverbial crap to hit the fan in every episode [and boy, does it] makes the second season a great first introduction to the series as well. It doesn’t matter if you have no idea where everyone fits at first because after a few minutes, everyone’s roles are clearly defined, making for some of he funniest television you’ll ever come across.

For those looking for another “Seinfeld,” you may not get everything you desire here, but anyone looking for something different and truly funny, will find themselves right at home with the only Jew in LA that has no problem whistling Wagner on the street.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13821 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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