Season 7 of Curb Your Enthusiasm invites the audience back into the life of the belligerent Larry David (playing himself) – a man who is either extremely obnoxious, excellent at acting, or some combination of the two. After a surprisingly positive ending to Season 6, in which Larry finds romance after his wife leaves him, the beginning of Season 7 reassures us that things are quickly getting back to normal; Larry is once again dissatisfied with his life. While the general formula of pedantic arguments, awkward confrontations and cringe-worthy situations remains the same, Season 7 also provides a fascinating trip down memory lane, as Larry sets about organising the much-anticipated Seinfeld reunion show. The possibility of reuniting the cast of Seinfeld on Curb Your Enthusiasm is entertaining enough, but when it’s combined with Larry wrestling Rosie O’Donnell, getting in trouble with the law, and bludgeoning a cherished pet swan to death, it makes for one of the most entertaining Seasons of Curb Your Enthusiasm to date.
Curb Your Enthusiasm, Season 7 – Improvisation
As most viewers will be aware, the majority of the dialogue in Curb Your Enthusiasm is, in fact, improvised, with the script outlining the direction in which most scenes will go without detailing the specific lines that make up a conversation. As well as giving the dialogue a more realistic feel, this also enables certain actors to shine out with excellent improvised performances. As well as the usual entertaining acts from regulars Jeff (Jeff Garlin) and Susie (Susie Essman), Season 7 holds an improvisational treat in the form of Leon (J.B. Smoove), who practically steals every scene he is in. His conversations with Larry are especially amusing; the pair bounce off each other extremely well and create a hilarious cultural contrast, while giving the impression of a mutually warm relationship both on and off camera. The episode ‘Vehicular Fellatio’ is a perfect example of their on-screen chemistry; when Larry accidentally lands Leon in trouble with a suspicious friend, Leon’s laid-back, self-assured confidence forms the perfect antithesis of Larry’s bumbling lack of social grace.
Curb Your Enthusiasm, Season 7 – The Seinfeld Reunion
The plot of Season 7 will prove interesting for fans of the Seinfeld show, as it centres around Larry reuniting the old cast in preparation for a reunion, some of which is actually shown in the final episode. This storyline enables Larry David to not only give fans of Seinfeld a glimpse of what a reunion show might have had in store, but also opens the field for a large amount of self-parody and a comic insight into the creative process itself. The concept of making a new episode of Seinfeld and integrating it into the twisted reality of Curb Your Enthusiasm might have proved tricky, but Larry David handles it masterfully in Season 7. The feeling of realism is not broken, but is in fact emphasised by the show-within-a-show structure that allows Larry to play with the relationships between actors who once worked together. The result shows what Curb Your Enthusiasm is all about: almost-real situations that are twisted slightly to make a comic but cringe-worthy concoction. The audience get a feel for what the relationship between Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld must have actually been like when they were creating the show, and it is this sense of realism which makes Season 7 all the more amusing and awkward - especially when things start to go wrong and the Seinfeld reunion is placed in jeopardy by Larry’s own personal mission to win his ex-wife back.
Curb Your Enthusiasm, Season 7 – Information
· Created by Larry David
· Stars Larry David, Cheryl Hines and Jeff Garlin
· Guest appearances from the cast of Seinfeld
· Average Episode runtime – roughly 30 minutes
· Ten Episodes
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