What I’m Watching: Curb Your Enthusiasm (Season Premiere)

Curb Your Enthusiasm: Season 8, Episode 1 “The Divorce” (B+)

It’s a pleasure to have this comedy back on the air for the first time since November 2009. This marks only the second time that I’ve had the opportunity to watch a season of this show live, and it’s fun to see new episodes produced of a series that had always seemed to have only classic installments in the can. This premiere is just what the doctor ordered in terms of the norm for this show, putting Larry in several uncomfortable positions simply because he isn’t capable of properly responding to social cues and letting the little things go. Susie’s reaction to Jeff wanting a divorce was both amusing and terrifying, and I’m sure that Funkhouser’s newly single status is going to cause Larry some grief in the near future. The plot about the non-Jewish lawyer has hilarious, though Larry spotting him on a motorcycle was a silly start. Larry so giddily assisting a Girl Scout with the application of her first tampon was so entirely typical, and I love how Susie is always the one to inform Larry of how he has upset someone. The legion of Girl Scouts coming to Larry’s door to shame him into paying up was highly entertaining. In typical cleverness, the Jewish lawyer didn’t actually work out, resulting in the loss of Larry’s house to Cheryl and the loss of his opportunity to get a seat in the box for the big game because the same lawyer managed to screw over Gary Cole’s Joe O’Donnell too. Larry may not be in New York yet, but this show is just as great as ever.