“Curb Your Enthusiasm” — The Ida Funkhouser Roadside Memorial
Curb episodes tend to fit into one of two camps: those where the big laugh is a culmination of each of the episode’s plotlines in some highly orchestrated moment of insanity, and those episodes where the laughs are more a product of Larry’s unrelentingly stubborn reaction to something that isn’t that big of a deal. This week’s episode fell into the latter. There was never the big “gotcha” moment like there was last week, but we did get several scenes of Larry David freaking out in public, which I suppose has its own charm.
Personally, I prefer the more elaborate orchestrations, despite the fact that they are exponentially more difficult to successfully pull off. This week each of the gags was funny, but felt more like sketches than actual fleshed out ideas. That is with the exception of Bob Einstein as Marty Funkhouser who was brilliant as always. There is no actor on the planet that can play pissed off like he does — and not the Larry David, whimsical annoyance that we all love so dearly, but a genuine sense of resentment directed toward those around him. He also feels like the one character on the show who isn’t improvising, but learned his lines and is now furious at everyone else for just making things up as they go along.
In an episode with no clear direction, Marty Funkhouser can save the day. Television producers take note.
