Curb Your Enthusiasm 9.5: Schmata at Large

Well, I held off reviewing Curb Your Enthusiasm 9.5 as long as I could - because I don't usually review comedies - but it deserves a review, if only because it had the word "schmata," the second in as many weeks for a show on HBO (the first was in The Deuce, from Harvey).

This time, in Curb, it's from Larry, but 9.5 was one of those episodes with lots of good schtick and lots of good lines, from everyone.   It was also good to see Larry maybe start up a romance with the mail deliverer aka mail woman, though, of course, given it's Larry, he torpedoes it before it's really had a chance to begin.

Other good segments delivered their expected dose of humor wrapped in insult, ranging from Larry commenting on the baby with Asian eyes to Larry refusing to go along with the "thank you for your service" to Jeff's soon-to-be-son-in-law, who served in Afghanistan.

But the funniest shtick has to be the mixture of words and pantomime, carried over in at least two scenes, wherein Larry tries to determine if the chef "made a face" when the waiter presented Larry's request that the dish be broiled rather than sauteed.  As in all things Larry, his goal of knowing what was on the chef's face makes perfect sense: you don't want to get the chef to change the order he or she's expecting or accustomed to preparing, unless you're sure that's ok with the chef.

My wife and I discuss this every time one of us is thinking of asking if a dish can be slightly changed to our liking, especially at a restaurant where we've never eaten before.  Once, on Cape Cod about ten years ago, my daughter and I asked for our fish to be prepared slightly differently, and it came out way too dry.  But my wife didn't ask to have her order changed, and she said her food was delicious.

I'd like to see Larry and the mail deliverer give it one more shot, maybe in a restaurant, where Larry can opine about changing the order and gauging the chef's face, and no one will be wearing a schmata of any kind.

See also: Curb Your Enthusiasm 9.1: Hilarious! ... Curb Your Enthusiasm 9.2: Wife Swapping ... Curb Your Enthusiasm 9.3: Benefits ... Curb Your Enthusiasm 9.4: "Hold You in his Armchair"





It started in the hot summer of 1960, when Marilyn Monroe walked off the set of The Misfits and began to hear a haunting song in her head, "Goodbye Norma Jean" ...