HBO Sunday Night - 7/31/11

Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Smiley Face
Season 8, Episode 4

Larry's new girlfriend (Hung's Rebecca Creskoff) is the hostess at his favorite restaurant and their inevitable breakup will force him to find a new joint. Meanwhile, LD's assistant has been spending time with her sick father which is hurting his workplace organization. And Larry's office kitchen is under siege by a new tenant. David's curmudgeonly charm was firing on all cylinders again - even as he unapologetically offended his assistant, her mom, his hostess girlfriend, her roommate, and his dermatologist. I particularly enjoyed the multiple S-bombs at a wake . . .

The show's use of 80s TV icons is an interesting choice (with Harry Hamlin and Michael Gross this week joining Curtis Armstrong from 2 weeks ago). They're playing real characters - a new CYE producer must be a classic TV fan. There seemed to be too many plot threads this week and the later scenes seemed rushed. But I'd rather have TV trying too hard than just going through the motions. B+

Entourage - Out With a Bang
Season 8, Episode 2

Which brings us to the lethargic, tired, redundant Entourage. Almost nothing happened this week that you didn't either know already or couldn't care less about (I'm looking at you, Sloan). Andrew Dice Clay has worn out his welcome in just a few minutes - becoming an unnecessary burden on Johnny. At least Dice pointed out the ridiculousness of Turtle having hot girlfriends. Maybe the vanished Alex doesn't like Turtle's new cachexia. As Billy Walsh, Rhys Coiro seems to be the only one with any real energy, trying to bring each scene to life. I still love the Ari-Lloyd scenes, but now that they're dealing with infidelity, they're considerably less fun. C+