Smallscreen Reviews

'Curb Your Enthusiasm' continues passive-aggressive comedy tradition, HBO

By April MacIntyre Jul 10, 2011, 19:37 GMT

Few TV comedies get better with age, but Larry David\'s eighth season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm" on HBO, back tonight, manages to find all sorts of bedeviling topics and situations that David\'s fictionalized character latches on to and runs with.

Few TV comedies get better with age, but Larry David's eighth season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm" on HBO, back tonight, manages to find all sorts of bedeviling topics and situations that David's fictionalized character latches on to and runs with.

Add to that the evergreen cobra and mongoose relationship he has with Susie Essman, who plays Larry's Manager Jeff's (Jeff Garlin) wife Susie, the deck is stacked for a great new season that sees chat n' cuts, pig parking and the fallout of Larry losing his wife (Cheryl Hines) heighten the "social assassin" behaviors Larry has perfected.

Both Jeff and Larry support the local Palestinian chicken restaurant to the ire of their pro-Israel friends, and Larry is especially intrigued by the sexy Arab proprietor. Twist is that she blurts out anti-Semitic remarks while in flagrante delicto with Larry, unnerving the Jewish misanthrope.

Larry hates being pinned down for "have to" events, and his weaseling out of a charity soiree sees him go to ridiculous means to avoid it all costs.

Series regulars are back: Richard Lewis, Bob Einstein, Larry Miller, and Michael McKean. Rosie O’Donnell, Add the that mix guest stars J.B. Smoove, Wanda Sykes, Gary Cole, Michael J. Fox, Ricky Gervais, and even Baseballer great Mookie Wilson.

Comedies like "Louie" (FX), Sunny in Philadelphia (FX) and HBO's "Curb" give me hope that the genre of a half-hour sitcom has not devolved to a stultifying hack experience, as most network sitcoms tend to be for me.