Curb Your Enthusiasm

The first time I saw Curb I was fascinated by what felt like its quite radical and alienating naturalism. I'd seen mockumentary style before of course but Curb wore that style in a way that felt fresh. It was irreverent and not overly pleased with itself. I didn't find it funny at all but I knew I wanted to watch more. Then as the style became more familiar I found it funnier and at the same time less stylistically remarkable. I suspect it would be hard to explain to someone under 30 why it stood out 20 years ago.

It's strange how today's edgy realism will always look unremarkable tomorrow and mannered and conventional the day after that. All those films from the 70s with the 'realistic' family dinner with everyone swearing and talking over each other.
 
The office is still wildly popular. So is Seinfeld even though it's super dated.

I don't feel like the style was ever front and center in Curb. I feel like it was always about social mores and their philosophical/existential underpinnings. I think you could tell the same stories in different styles. I think that there are endless possibilities in this realm to explore. I don't think LD has exhausted the universe of social conduct, i just think his writing and acting used to be better.

That being said, i find a lot of it really funny, such as the concept of the living funeral for Albert brooks and the two divergent eulogies from LD and Jon Hamm. The covid hoarder ending to the scene didn't really hit home for me (partly because it didn't seem like that much stuff compared to some hoarders) but the idea that they could turn on him on a dime was funny. I just didn't think LD found the best trigger.

I think the guest stars have been so funny. It doesn't feel like a hail Mary to me if they're getting the job done.

Mitch, I thought the spite store was a funny idea but not enough to tide me over for a whole season. much of season 10 felt like a caper to me.. where do we get the best coffee beans? Now that we found them,, how do we steal them? How can I find out my friends' weights without them knowing? Sneaking around stuff that doesn't play to the strengths of LD's humor.

Mitch and Charles, are you saying that the tempo of lighting and shooting is the same, and only the camera has changed? I wanted to pull some frame grabs before responding to this. But my reaction to season 1 was that some of the nighttime interiors looked like a student film. I remember being shocked that this had aired on HBO. Not like a mockumentary but like hastily lit drama.

It looks way prettier now, like it's more carefully lit both for scenic realism and for beauty. Maybe that's all just a byproduct of a more sensitive camera with more dynamic range allowing them to do prettier stuff with less equipment and time. But if that's all it is, it would surprise me.
 
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I just watched S11 E3: The Mini-Bar. The writing was so on point. It felt like it could have been from season 6. It's like an elegant math equation when everything adds up. The casual reference to the hot dog eating contest in the newspaper becomes an excuse, turns into a motif, and then is the noose he hangs by at the end. Hoist with his own petard. Or the tape with Maria-Sofia in an actual fight that gets mistaken for great acting. Not the first time that's been done, but it was well-played.

"are you saying I achieved Goebbels-level lying status? 'cause Goebbels is the GOAT!"

And, y'know, as someone who's probably not 100% neurotypical, I really enjoy the analytical exploration and formalization of unspoken social codes and contradictions. Just speaking generally about this show and Seinfeld. I wouldn't say that I'm on the autism spectrum, but there were social truths and hierarchies, nuances and faux pas, that I didn't readily grasp growing up that other people seemed to absorb osmotically and adopt unquestioningly.

Seinfeld said he thought he might be on the spectrum (although I think he walked the comments back after offending some people.) "You know, never paying attention to the right things," says Seinfeld. "Basic social engagement is really a struggle."

Seinfeld goes on to explain, "I'm very literal. When people talk to me and they use expressions, sometimes I don't know what they're saying. But I don't see it as dysfunctional. I just think of it as an alternate mindset."

Curb sort of seems like a playing out of (and fantasy revenge/victory over) LD's social anxieties and mishaps.
 
I believe that as they developed the production style over time they were able to do stuff like build the lighting into the set more so that images would be more attractive without the need for greater setup time. And yes, shooting LOG with a grade in post in 2021 is so much more forgiving and pliable than live painting DigiBeta a couple decades ago. We're talking night & day.
 
Mitch Gross said:
I believe that as they developed the production style over time they were able to do stuff like build the lighting into the set more so that images would be more attractive without the need for greater setup time. And yes, shooting LOG with a grade in post in 2021 is so much more forgiving and pliable than live painting DigiBeta a couple decades ago. We're talking night & day.
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That makes sense. I had thought they were doing more now to diffuse the light in exterior CUs, but now that I look for examples, it seems like they're just making better use of shade and hats. From season 1:

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I think the flow has been pretty good the last couple episodes if maybe not quite as punchy as it used to be. But it does feel like he's on well-trodden ground. How many times do we need to hear how easy it is to break up with him? Or that he used to fool his blind employer? When he turned his attention to aging earlier in the season, I feel like it gave him new material to talk about.
 
I thought it was okay. Not quite as biting and insightful as previous seasons but still damn funny. Tracy Ullman was hysterical in making herself disgusting.
 
Stealing shoes from the you-know-where wasn't biting? My wife and I both gasped and blurted out, "no!"

Tracy Ullman was hilarious. I don't love the fact that the only woman he dates who is remotely close to his age (but still 12 years his junior) is so disgusting. Sort of an ageist/sexist trope and feels like punching down. But damn she nailed it

I loved the steadicam sequences at the end and the ending generally
 
The moment they mentioned going to that museum I thought, "Oh no, just how far is he going to go here?"

I TOTALLY agree about the ageist male/female relationship thing. Last season when he took Teri Polo on a date (22 years his junior) I was like, "Dream on." In her 50s she looks great and he's, well, Larry David.
 
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