Everyone's favorite
miserable millionaire is back for another season of unparalleled
hilarity. No one puts their foot in it quite like Larry David,
with his successful life as a multimillionaire comic constantly
tarnished by mishaps and gaffes. Cheryl Hines returns as Larry's
long-suffering wife, as does his manager Jeff Garlin, and best
friend Richard Lewis. Some of the insurmountable obstacles
careering unstoppably towards David include a mentally unbalanced
nanny, an Alanis Morissette concert, Martin Scorsese, and, perhaps
the highlight of the show, the rapper Krazee-Eyez Killa.
CRITIQUE
The third season of
Curb Your Enthusiasm revolves around the opening of a new
restaurant that Larry has invested in along with Ted Danson,
Michael York, and a few others. This story arc works very well and
keeps the stories in each episode connected to a larger narrative
instead of ten stand-alone episodes. The most notable subplot is
the search of a chef for the restaurant, but Larry doesn't feel
right about the ones suggested by Danson and the other investors,
so he is on the lookout for a chef himself, which proves to be a
tough task. Another subplot has Larry shooting a movie with Martin
Scorsese, who appears in two episodes as himself in a great cameo
performance.
The general quality
of the episodes this season is very strong. My favorites are
Chet's Shirt (Larry's fascination with a dead man's shirt gets
him into some trouble), Club Soda And Salt (the last minute
is just golden), The Nanny From Hell (Cheri Oteri plays the
crazy nanny), The Corpse-Sniffing Dog (Jeff's dog delays
the restaurant's opening after it sniffs "something" on the ground
by the kitchen and the floor has to be ripped open only to reveal
a bra), Krazee-Eyes Killa (Larry befriends Wanda Syke's
fiancé Krazee-Eyez and later gets an undesirable hair lodged in
his throat), and The Grand Opening (Larry injures a famous
restaurant critic at a schoolyard dodgeball game, a chef who may
or may not be a "survivor" is hired - the revelation of this is
really funny - and the restaurant finally sees its opening, plus a
lot of spontaneous swearing occurs at the end of the episode that
is both hilarious and colorful). Well, there you have it, Season 3
of Cub Your Enthusiasm is very funny, original, and simply
quality entertainment.
Disc 1:
Chet's Shirt, The Benadryl Brownie, Club Soda And Salt, The Nanny
From Hell, The Terrorist Attack, The Special Section
Disc 2: The
Corpse-Sniffing Dog, Krazee-Eyez Killa, Mary Joseph & Larry, The
Grand Opening
THE VIDEO
HBO presents Curb Your
Enthusiasm in 1.33:1 fullscreen format. Colors look good,
image quality is pretty much average, and there really aren't
any major flaws. Some images appear a bit soft and there is
slight shimmering in a few cases, but overall I have no
complaints. A perfectly fine presentation for a TV show.
Optional subtitles include English, French, and Spanish. Closed
Captioning is also available.
THE AUDIO
HBO presents Curb Your
Enthusiasm in English 2.0 Dolby Surround. Dialogue is clear
and easy to understand, as is the music and the few sound
effects. Everything comes from the front, which is perfectly
suitable for this show. A French 2.0 dub track is also
available, plus it's kind of funny to hear Larry in French.
THE EXTRAS
The bonus material
for the Season 2 DVD was nonexistent so it's nice to see some
fifty minutes worth of extras for the Season 3 release.
Some of the cast
and crew gathered at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen,
Colorado, to answer questions about the show and other things.
The event was filmed and is included on this DVD in two separate
featurettes.
A Stop & Chat (22:00) features Larry David,
Jeff Garlin, Richard Lewis, Susie Essman, directors Larry
Charles and Robert B. Weide, and one or two others sitting down
in front of an audience answering questions about the show. It's
an interesting watch.
Favorite Moments (26:00) has some of the
directors telling us some of their favorite moments. This also
is pretty nice to watch, and overall both segments provide
insightful and funny commentary on the show.
The packaging is
pretty cool. There's a tab at
the bottom of the package that you can pull and two thin plastic
cases will emerge from either side. Easy and practical.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Curb Your Enthusiasm
doesn't let up in its third season, instead it continues to improve
and maintains its comedy quality. For fans this is a must-buy while
newcomers may want to start at the beginning but either way it comes
highly recommended.
