What I’m Watching: Curb Your Enthusiasm

Curb Your Enthusiasm: Season 11, Episode 9 “Igor, Gregor, and Timor” (B)

It’s getting more and more difficult to feel any sort of sympathy for Jeff because of the revelations about Jeff Garlin’s real-life conduct, and the fact that he didn’t want to shell out a lot of money to make up for the affair he had wasn’t easy to generate. Why a $10,000 vase really means something to Susie when Jeff has plenty of money is a mystery, but that’s part of what this show is about, the illogical nature of the things that make people happy. Larry, for instance, was trying to get Irma to get vaginal rejuvenation surgery specifically so that he wouldn’t have to have sex with her for six weeks, but in getting Susie to lie for him – never a good idea – he accidentally prompted her to scare her off of doing it, while Susie got the idea to do it herself. It felt particularly random for Bill Hader to show up playing three apparent siblings who all gave Larry and Jeff unhelpful advice and made their lives more difficult, but Hader was funny and it was a great reminder that the show that won him two Emmys, “Barry,” hasn’t returned to HBO since it finished its second season in May 2019 but fortunately was included in HBO’s preview of content that will premiere in 2022. Larry’s ability to break two $10,000 vases was remarkably impressive, and it’s a wonder that he only screws up a portion of the things in his life when you’d think he would manage to ruin it all.