I’m pretty sure this is from the “Curb Your Enthusiasm” pilot, but who cares where its from exactly, I’m not double checking Wikipedia. All you need to know is that its genius and hilarious. This is Larry returning to his roots, doing strait up stand up, and killing. He riffs on masturbation, blow jobs from Jews, Clinton, Hitler, Chinese men, answering machines, and Jack Kevorkian. It’s a brilliant montage of his best jokes, and it all ends on a joke that sums up his entire comedy philosophy. Just sit back, press play, prepare to laugh, and thank me later.
The “Seinfeld” obsession continues, this time with a great documentary on it’s unlikely creation and even more unlikely smash success. It’s a revealing 6 part look into how the show started off as a quirky experimental program whose premise was wrapping a sitcom around a standup comedians act. It was a totally novel creation springing from the minds of Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. The documentary is great because you see the enormous strain and pressure Larry David was under in the creation of this thing countered with the unnatural calm and ease that Jerry Seinfeld exuded during the whole creation. The whole video series is great, a must for “Seinfeld” fans, which should just about include the entire human race. Sadly, Part 3 and 5 cannot be embedded! Stupid youtube censors. Don’t worry, I’ve provided links so you won’t miss out. Enjoy.
If you caught last Sunday’s episode of “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Palestinian Chicken,” you know Larry David is on a hot streak. There are a lot of genius comics in the world right now, but Larry is going for the throne of world’s funniest man. I can’t get enough of Larry and the world of “Curb,” and because of my addiction, I found this awesome series of clips featuring Larry, Cheryl Hines, and Jeff Garlin talking about the creation and origins of “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” This is a long multi-video post, so be sure to click the more button so you don’t miss out on any videos.
VIDEO #1- Larry on the show’s creation. Here Larry talks about how he thought his return to standup would be stale, so he decided to wrap it around a clever little mockumentary idea.
VIDEO #2- Jeff Garlin, director and executive producer of the show, explains how Larry coaxed him into starring on the show as Larry’s agent.
If you’ve been following the site lately, you’ve noticed that I’ve been alternating its content between rock and roll and Larry David. Larry is just one of my biggest comedy heroes, and his newest 8th season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” is off to a roaring start. The trailers for season 8 point to an appearance by legendary British comic Ricky Gervais, creator of “The Office.” For anyone who has followed Rickey, you know that he loves “Seinfeld” and considers George Costanza the greatest sitcom character of all time. I found this incredible 6 part interview of Rickey sitting down with Larry, where they have an enlightening and hilarious conversation about comedy, and delve deep into each others pasts. It is so entertaining, insightful, and funny, and it’s guaranteed to be the best thing you watch today, so enjoy.
Larry David’s rise to full on stardom was a long an interesting road. He started off as a standup but got his first big break as a writer and performer on ABC’s answer to SNL, “Fridays.” After “Fridays,” Larry made it to SNL as a writer for the 84-85 season. He only ever got one sketch on the show, and it aired in the show’s last spot. Right around the time “Seinfeld” got going in 1989, Larry had a bit part in Woody Allen’s “New York Stories.” As”Seinfeld” grew in popularity, Larry could be seen and heard in bit roles throughout the show’s run, all in relative complete anonymity. “Seinfeld” gave Larry massive showbiz and financial clout, but he was still not a star by any means. When he launched his hugely successful HBO show “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” Larry the performer really took off. As “Curb” enters its eighth groundbreaking season, Larry has also officially taken his place as a pop culture icon; an anti-hero waging a war against awkward social moments, instances of perceived unfairness, and sleights against himself. With Larry being such a big star now, it’s fun to look back at his more forgotten moments when he was still finding his comedic voice, and when he had much much crazier hair. Below I’ve assembled some clips from “Fridays” and from his appearance in the Woody Allen movie for all you Larry fans out there. Enjoy.
Clip #1 showcases Larry’s recurring character, Saully Mullens, from “Fridays” where he plays a hapless temp worker sent in for assignments way outside his realm of expertise. In this clip, Larry fills in for the US Secretary of State.
Clip #2 again finds Larry in a temp role, this time filling in for Gloria Steinham at an E.R.A. rally. I don’t know about you, but to me, Larry seems to be a cross between Woody Allen and Harold Ramis, all with a tough guy NY accent.
Clip#3 features Larry and Michael Richards in a sketch where a group of friends remember how much they tormented and teased each other. In the early days, its clear to see Larry’s natural nervousness and unease with performing, but also the enthusiasm and joy he was experiencing doing it.
Clip #4 is Larry’s small role in “New York Stories.” I’ve never seen this movie, and have no idea what is going on, but it’s clear that this scene probably inspired the “Seinfeld” episode where Kramer scores a line in a Woody Allen movie. “These Pretzels are Making me Thirsty!”
Larry David is coming back, this Sunday, to HBO. Seinfeld, Larry’s first masterpiece of television an amazing 9 seasons, so it’s equally incredible that Curb Your Enthusiasm is about to enter its 8th glorious season, and by the looks of it, Larry hasn’t lost his touch one bit. The write up today in the nytimes proclaims that the new season is just as brilliant as any other, and these trailers I’ve provided below seem to indicate the truth of such statements. From what I gather, Larry travels back to New York City, comes across Michael J. Fox, Ricky Gervais, and even former disgraced Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner! Unreal. I am dying with anticipation for these episodes. DYING! My enthusiasm will not be curbed…Check it out!
