Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Table Read

When Leon's family moved out at the beginning of the season and he chose to stay with Larry, I knew a potential meet and greet with Michael Richards could make some great comedy and LD certainly didn't disappoint story-wise. He even surpassed expectations by having Leon pretending to be a Jew by unknowingly dressing as a Nation of Islam member. Throw in a horribly inappropriate pedophilia situation and a horribly profane Marty Funkhouser joke, and the actual Seinfeld cast reunion and read-through was one of the least memorable events of this excellent episode . . .

I was as shocked as Jerry by the sudden profanity. You're lulled into thinking you're watching a classic Seinfeld episode when the shock comedy hits you hard. Richards should be commended for addressing and acknowledging his worst 15 minutes. The Jason Alexander-pen subplot didn't work so well and Elaine was wasted, but the Newman cameo was perfect. And LD's explanation at the doctor's office had be shaking my head in disbelief. And I thought the Jesus-splash back episode was offensive! Can't wait to re-watch it tonight. A-

2 comments:

Lawyer said...

This one disappointed me. The stuff with Jason Alexander doesn't really work, and Funkhouser's appearance was a throwaway (except for the great joke).

I did like the way they did the Michael Richards deal - allowing him to demonstrate that context matters. B+

Lawyer said...

Leon talks about working with Michael Richards in New York Magazine:
http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2009/11/curb_your_enthusiasms_jb_smoov.html