What I’m Watching: Curb Your Enthusiasm

Curb Your Enthusiasm: Season 7, Episode 7 “The Black Swan” (B+)

It’s fun to see Larry squirm and watch how he functions under pressure when he’s hanging out with all his buddies. This is the first episode I’ve seen Richard Kind in (he guest-starred in three episodes, the most recent in 2005), and he’s a lot of fun in the way he doesn’t imagine he offends anyone but still acts as a thorn in everyone’s side. His deliberate instructions on how his food should be cooked when the group was in a hurry led to a predictably funny exchange where, like always, Larry just misses out on slipping under the radar and having everything go fine. Funkhouser is always fun to have on the show since he doesn’t really hide his hatred of Larry and always manages to get put off by something Larry says. And then there’s Jeff, whose morals are already rather questionable but who somehow usually seems to get away scot-free even when he’s just as complicit as Larry. The fact that Larry actually yells at a man and causes his death is pretty unbeatable, but it’s topped by the audacity of the group to play golf the next day when everyone else is in mourning for the loss of their dear friend. Larry’s relationship with Mr. Takahashi is truly amusing, and the ultimate way his killing of his beloved swan is revealed is priceless. It’s an impressive feat to piss someone off so much that they’re driven to mess with a headstone.