"Paul Levinson's It's Real Life is a page-turning exploration into that multiverse known as rock and roll. But it is much more than a marvelous adventure narrated by a master storyteller...it is also an exquisite meditation on the very nature of alternate history." -- Jack Dann, The Fiction Writer's Guide to Alternate History

Friday, March 13, 2020

Curb Your Enthusiasm 10.8: Meets Mad Men



Just checking with a review of Curb Your Enthusiasm 10.8, with apologies not reviewing this hilarious show every week as I said I would, but,  hey, given everything that's been going on in this world, I've had a little less time for television, including reviewing it.  Not to mention my new album coming out.

What makes episode 10.8 so appealing and funny was Jon Hamm, playing himself, in a story line that has him playing a Larry David kind of character in some movie or television show (I think movie, but I'm too lazy to look that up).  Larry gives Hamm permission to follow Larry around, and by the end of the episode we get the real treat of seeing and hearing not one but two Larrys in operation.

Cheryl ties this up nicely, as she always does.  She and Hamm go out for a bite to eat, but Hamm is now so thoroughly in Larry mode that Cheryl can't take it and eventually leaves.  A reviewer somewhere said Hamm was "pretty-ay good".  While the Larry-esque phrase works well, it doesn't do Hamm's performance justice, which was flat-out great.

The other stand-out gambit of the episode is the Gotta Go business that Larry and Leon cook up. It's a great idea:  fill in for someone who has to go to the bathroom, but is working at a newstand or shoe-shine or similar service and can't leave his post.  And charge the guy a few bucks.  It works great - until the person being relieved takes unaccountably long to relieve himself.

I'm going to really miss this show, yet again, when this seasons ends after the next two episodes.  I'm still hoping that Larry and Cheryl get together for a little longer at the end.

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