By Tom Comi
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George Costanza delivered one of the greatest TV lines in Seinfeld history when he turned to Jerry after coming up with a brilliant scheme and said, “Do you ever just get down on your knees and thank God that you know me and have access to my dementia.”
That sentiment explains perfectly how I feel about Larry David, the co-creator of Seinfeld, the inspiration for the George Costanza character and the star of the HBO hit Curb Your Enthusiasm (which returns Sunday at 9pm).
I perfectly get that David is not everybody’s cup of tea. Some people like my wife think he’s too neurotic. I happen to think his twisted mind is what makes him so funny. As fans of Seinfeld well know, he has the unique gift of taking nothing and turning it into, well, something.
There is a huge distinction between Seinfeld and Curb, though, and that has to do with David actually appearing onscreen in his HBO show. What was charmingly filtered through Jason Alexander’s George character on Seinfeld is now Larry playing Larry (or a parody thereof). And it is understandable why his over-the-top delivery can rub some folks the wrong way.
For me, there is nobody funnier on TV. And much of that has to do with three things. First, he surrounds himself with a gifted cast that includes regulars Jeff Garland, Susie Essman and Cheryl Hines; second, he gets scores of celebrities to play themselves or other characters, such as Ted Danson, Ben Stiller, David Schwimmer, Wanda Sykes and the stars of Seinfeld; third — and perhaps most importantly — most of the dialogue is completely ad-libbed, which keeps the cast and viewers on their toes.
For the eighth season, the show moves from Los Angeles to New York, which should give David and the cast some new material to work with after spending the last 10 years on the West Coast. In Sunday’s premiere entitled “The Divorce,” all we are told by HBO is “Larry learns his lawyer isn’t kosher, and rescinds a cookie order from the Girl-Scout daughter of a beleaguered sports owner.”
That’s good enough for me!
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Credit: John P. Johnson/HBO
