Curb Your Enthusiasm - Season 8

Although the eighth season of Curb Your Enthusiasm lacked a strong central storyline like the show had in previous years, it was still strong enough to be one of the show's best, just by pure funniness. Larry David still has story credit on every episode, but this is the first time he's shared it with anyone, and I think a bit of help coming up with ideas, plus having the character be completely free from marriage and thus able to be as big an asshole as possible, just made it the right situation for some of the best laugh-out-loud material in the series' run. The lack of a plot holding the show together made it more obvious when threads would come out of nowhere just for a gag, sort of like we were looking behind the scenes at an unfinished version where it hadn't all been properly tied together yet. The primary goal of the show though is to be funny, and in that, I think season eight did better than at least the couple that preceded it.

If you're just looking at Larry's performance, I think this was his best work. He managed to be as big a jerk as ever, but it was about things that didn't really matter, so it seemed harmless, in contrast to some of his other actions. He's just kind of mastered the angry indignation at meaningless minutiae that we've all come to love about him, and he's just fun to watch bumble through life. It was a great year for J.B. Smoove's Leon, too, getting more screen time than I think he did last season, and reestablishing himself as the king of foul-mouthed rants that almost, but don't quite make sense. The one real story thing that happened this year was Larry moving back to New York for a couple months just to get out of spending time with disabled children, and while leaving LA for half the season meant no Richard Lewis or Marty Funkhouser during that time (Ted Danson was unfortunately nowhere to be seen at all), it did provide opportunities for great appearances by people like Ricky Gervais, Michael J. Fox, and Mayor Bloomberg. Larry has always seemed pretty enigmatic about the show, never sure if he wants to keep making it or not. I suspect it will come back at least one more time, maybe in a couple years, and I expect it to be as enjoyable as ever.

Toy Story 3

The original Toy Story was a big part of my youth, and the sequel was thoroughly enjoyable, but I've long thought of them as slightly inferior to most of Pixar's work in the last decade, when they really figured out how to be all things to all people. I haven't actually seen the first two since that perceived step up in quality occurred, but I don't think I'm far off with those feelings. So when everyone gave the third film totally glowing reviews and talked up its emotional content, I was a bit surprised, but not disbelieving. I went into the film expecting something between a competent third chapter and the best movie of all time, and that's pretty much what I got.

Toy Story 3 is the perfect conclusion to the series, and possibly my favorite work to date by the studio. It was a stroke of genius to have Andy age along with the people who were children when the first two movies came out, and the story they chose to tell managed to stay true to the adventurous, humorous spirit they had before while still telling the most emotionally engaging and mature story of the three, without dipping into depressing or maudlin territory. I'll put it this way: Up made me a bit misty with a well constructed, beautifully tragic love story at the center of its old-guy-with-balloons movie, but I partly felt like they were trying to manipulate me into feeling sad when I just wanted to have a good time. Toy Story 3 delighted and thrilled me before making me cry with a perfect little scene that just seemed to capture all the emotions involved in growing up and life moving on without seeming to need to try to.

The core cast from the first two movies is back, whittled down to all the truly essential characters, and they really are a great bunch. Obviously Tom Hanks and Tim Allen take center stage as Woody and Buzz, but the whole group is just fun to throw together and do things with. There's also a veritable ton of new characters added, both the villainous overlords at the daycare center and the friendly bunch at another kid's house that Woody meets. Most don't quite have the time to develop full personalities like the old characters, but they're all interesting enough, with some great new voices by guys like Timothy Dalton and Michael Keaton, and Lots-O'-Huggin' Bear is probably the best real antagonist Pixar has had.

The movie also looks outstanding, not exactly because of the technical excellence of the computer effects (although that's definitely noticeable in places, like Lots-O's fur), but just because of the artistry and style of the animation. Woody's floppy run and all the little character touches look a lot more entertaining than I think the animators really knew how to do with computers only a few years ago. Moments like Mr. Potato Head with the tortilla are among what's simply the best stuff people have ever done with the medium in terms of creativity and movement that's amusing to look at. And of course Pixar maintains their ability to create action sequences that are more inventive and thrilling than what most violent blockbusters are able to pull off.

Curb Your Enthusiasm - Season 7

Curb Your Enthusiasm's sixth season had some good moments, many of them provided by Larry David's housemate Leon, but I was a bit disappointed by it. Two years later, Larry has finally redeemed the show. It's a return to form as Larry bumbles his way through socially awkward situations and one of the show's best long term stories. The premise this time is a reunion episode of Seinfeld, which Larry initially rejects but changes his mind about after scheming to get back with his ex-wife by writing her into the show. Before that can get off the ground though, he has to figure out how to break up with his current girlfriend who may or may not have cancer. Not exactly the best thing a person can do, but at least he's less despicable about things in general this time. He still gets himself into pretty bad spots, especially when he starts seeing a woman in a wheelchair, it's just things worked better this time.

There's plenty of good material in the first half, with a few moments among the series' best, and it only gets better once rehearsing and filming for the reunion gets underway. The whole main cast is back, along with some supporting characters like Newman and George's mother, and there are even a few finished scenes from what such a reunion could look like, which are pretty enjoyable. The real reunion though is just the one in the show, with the actors playing themselves and inadvertently foiling all of Larry's plans. The season ends the way it should have, with a nice moment and a payoff for one of the season's better gags of the sort that always come to fruition unexpectedly, and the finale could either serve to end the show or set the table for yet another season, whichever Larry decides to do. I'd be fine either way, great comedy is always nice but he's already given us more than anyone could possibly ask for.

Wall-E

Usually it's easier to write when I have things to complain about, but there really wasn't much wrong with one of Pixar's best films yet. It's really astounding how much better they are at animated features than every other American studio. The first couple Shrek movies were passable, but everything else looks either uninspired or just plain awful, and I'm never interested enough to see if my first impressions (and most critics) were wrong. To be honest, I don't even keep up well enough with Pixar's work, with this and The Incredibles being the only movies I've seen that they've made since 2001. Although this did a good job of encouraging me to check the others out. Wall-E has everything that you could want in a family-friendly animated film. It's very clever, with plenty of jokes that people of any age could probably laugh at. It's filled with cute moments, to the point that I was actually slightly annoyed by th "aww"s coming from the other people in the audience. The story, despite very little dialogue, especially in the first act, has a good message without getting too preachy and rings very true emotionally. And although I'm saddened by how America has pretty much abandoned traditional cel animation, a process Pixar started with the success of Toy Story, it's hard to complain when their work looks so amazing. The combination of intricate details and enjoyable stylization is perfect.

What's impressive is how good of a main character Wall-E is despite his speaking being limited to crude pronounciations of names. After being alone on Earth with just a cockroach for companionship for who knows how long, he encounters a much-more advanced robot with nearly as strong vocal limitations, and despite Eve's proclivity for large explosions at first, they quickly become friends, before she has to return to the humans' colony ship for her mission and Wall-E tags along. I won't say any more about the plot, other than it's (insert grandiose complimentary adjective here) how well the central relationship works when all the two characters really say is each other's names most of the time. The whole thing is really beautiful, and it ties in nicely with the B-Plot about humanity and how their lazy consumerism has literally turned them into fat cartoon characters. The old videos before they had to leave for space feature a live-action Fred Willard trying to be optimistic about abandoning the home planet, and the juxtaposition between people then and in the present just using film techniques is very interesting. It's more interesting if you take it a step farther, with the robots being more realistically rendered than the people. There are some silly plot contrivances in the climax and resolution, but it all still finishes in a very satisfying and touching way. I really want to see The Dark Knight but this may end up as the best film of the summer.

Curb Your Enthusiasm - Season 6

Compared to the show's past, the sixth season isn't quite at the same level. It's still funny, it's just that there are some noticeable differences in character which bothered me a bit and they messed with the normal relationship dynamics. This is fine in a show that's purpose is telling a story, but in a sitcom, the familiarity of the setting is usually comforting, and most of the changes didn't improve anything. On the first point, Larry's always been a little rude when common courtesy didn't make sense to him, but he never really did anything that bad on purpose either. He seemed to get in trouble more often in season six, and the things he did were often deliberate and out of character. Would Larry really steal flowers from a roadside memorial to help apologize to someone? I'm supposed to like a protagonist who does things like that?

The two storylines in the sixth season are the Davids taking in a black family (who happened to be named the Blacks, leading to a few uncomfortable moments) that was left homeless by a hurricane and Larry's wife leaving him after the straw that breaks the camel's back. I liked the Black subplot because it brings in one of the show's best characters, Leon, who's always good for a hysterical exchange or two per episode, but I really didn't like the other one. It presented some interesting opportunities for comedy to show Larry back on the dating scene, but the whole second half of the season just seemed to continually pile crap on him (a contrast with the first half) for no reason and the resolution is not what I thought or hoped would happen. It's not that the show wasn't funny anymore, in fact I may have laughed out loud more than any previous season, I just didn't like what was happening so much. We'll see where he takes it if he comes back for another run.

You notice how my posts are always longer when I have something to complain about? Much easier to be wordy when I get bothered.

Curb Your Enthusiasm - Season 5

The fifth season of Larry David's farcical look at how people interact is about as good as any other. You have to figure he'll run out of ideas eventually, but for the time being he still knows how to come up with ridiculously convoluted plots that almost always come together in the end, putting a nice bow on each encounter. Most of the first few episodes I actually ever saw were from this season, and they still hold up, doing even better when watched in order so you get the whole picture.

The two intertwining stories this time are the true nature of Larry's parentage and his friend Richard Lewis' need for a kidney. The former manifests with him hiring a private investigator to find out if he's adopted, which always seems to wiggle its way into other events. Larry takes a test and finds out he's a match to give Lewis his kidney, but still goes out of his way to find any other source so he doesn't have to do it himself. The extended finale resolves both of these issues well, featuring a great scene that I won't give away but will say includes great appearances by Dustin Hoffman and Sacha Baron Cohen. The sixth season is the most recent one, and I've already jumped into it. It's a quick, fun watch.

Curb Your Enthusiasm - Season 4

Another year provided another ten episodes of one of the funnier shows on television. I don't think the fourth was quite as strong as the last couple perhaps were, but it was a lot of fun just the same. The fictionalized version of Larry David is a really interesting character because of the conflicted feelings he brings up. He's a good person at heart and usually just has terrible luck in social situations, but you often get annoyed by his refusal to play by society's rules and just accept what's happened. At the same time, the people who's deals with, despite usually being "right" in the social sense, are also usually jerks who make a bigger deal out of things than necessary. Almost everything that happens is a real misunderstanding that turns into an absurdly huge mess, and part of the humor is just the semi-believability of his predicaments.

The two main pieces of the fourth season's plot are Larry being selected by Mel Brooks to play the lead in The Producers on Broadway despite him not even being a real actor, and his wife Cheryl giving him a chance to sleep with another woman for his tenth anniversary gift. As can be expected, he gets very close to achieving the latter multiple times before blowing it at the last second (sometimes his fault, sometimes not). The former comes to a head in the excellent season finale which includes lots of tipping problems, a run-in with Stephen Colbert, and a plot twist filled with plenty of meta-humor. It's pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty good.

Curb Your Enthusiasm - Season 3

The show continues to come into its own, with deeper, more connected plot lines and laughs enhanced by the attention to detail. Larry David is a comic genius, and he knows how to surround himself with other funny talent, either playing fictionalized versions of their real life personae or made up characters that fit the story. The dialogue's still mostly improvised and the whole cast deserves credit for how entertaining it is, but David's always at the center being the butt of all the jokes and driving the story.

The main plot thread this time is Larry and some other people investing in a restaurant, as they come across problems like uniforms for the waiters, the possibility of someone buried under the floor, and Larry's seeming inability to be satisfied with any of the chefs they find. This last point comes to a head in the finale, in one of the funniest ways to end a season I've ever seen. It's pretty vulgar, but supremely enjoyable nonetheless. There are a couple other intermingling plot points as well, like his manager's allergy to the dog, Larry having a part in a Martin Scorsese film, and getting one of his wife's pubic hairs stuck in his throat. You don't have to watch Enthusiasm from the beginning to enjoy it, although doing so, or at least starting at the beginning of a season, yields a lot more satisfaction.

Curb Your Enthusiasm - Season 2

The second season of Larry David's highly self-referential, mostly-improvised, foul-mouthed, comedic television program is as consistently funny as the first. Most episodes end with something bad that's been set up by earlier events happening without much real closure, and a couple of them in this block of episodes aren't that funny or well-executed. But in general, I'd say it's overall a little higher quality than the first run, thanks to the increased elaborateness of the trouble Larry gets in. The first time around it was mostly a funny but often disjointed sequence of unfortunate events, while everything seems better tied together here.

A big part of it is the introduction of an actual story arc that runs through the whole season. While the ideas in the first year could be seen in almost any order, they established a bigger focus on continuity this time that runs up through the most recent episode. The story in this season is Larry's quest to pitch a new show, first with Jason Alexander and then with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and how he manages to screw up every opportunity he gets. The real cleverness comes from how the idea for the show completely mirrors what's actually happening in the show, in a similar way to Jerry and George's idea for a show in Seinfeld. There's a lot of little stabs at HBO and things like that, and I really enjoyed the meta-humor along with the crazy situations and plentiful shouting that carried over from the first season.

Curb Your Enthusiasm - Season 1

Larry David made millions as the executive producer of Seinfeld and comic mastermind behind many of the best episodes, and now he has the spotlight with his own show on HBO. Enthusiasm has a similar feel and premise to Seinfeld with the whole thing basically revolving around nothing happening. At least in the first season, Larry never has much to do besides a few meetings about writing stuff for various people, and all of the conflict comes from everything that can possibly go wrong during the day. Missed appointments, bad directions, pretty much anything that can be messed up will be to great comedic effect.

I think the Seinfeld comparison is valid in terms of the general construction of most episodes, although the way it's actually done is notably different, with much more improvised dialogue, more freedom to be vulgar being on HBO, and filmed with one camera instead of on a set with an audience. George Costanza was more or less based on David's personality, and he's a unique, entertaining leading man. He's likable even when he screws up and his frequent shouting matches with people he angers or who anger him are always a treat. There's already been six seasons, but it's the kind of show that can keep on going for a long time.