Curb Your Enthusiasm Isnt as Funny as
10 Controversial Things 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' Would Have A Hard Time Getting Away With Now
Photos: Everett Collection ; Illustration: Dillen Phelps
There may be a lot of terrible things in 2017, but there is one very good thing. Curb Your Enthusiasm, one of the greatest and consistently funniest comedies of all time, ifsfinally coming back with all new episodes.
Though today's current comedy landscape is dominated by jaded, selfish antiheroes, Larry David's Curb was a trendsetter when it first premiered on HBO in 2000. The series had the same acidic charms of David's Seinfeld, but it had no filter and followed a fictionalized version of its creator — a format that has been heavily been adopted in the comedy world from Louis C.K's critically acclaimed Louie to Pete Holmes' freshman series Crashing. However, as influential as Curb was to comedy, HBO, and television as a whole, it existed in a different time. The internet of the early aughts was not the well-oiled outrage machine we now know it to be, and television criticism wasn't nearly as expansive or obsessively detailed. Curb Your Enthusiasm was a show that could happily poke at society's taboo topics without facing the backlash of Twitter.
All that is going to change this Sunday when the fictionalized and crotchety version of David will return to HBO. There are several currently-running comedies that have successfully mastered Curb and Seinfeld's brand of terrible people doing offensive things without being criticized too hard. The aforementioned Louie excelled at that balance when it was one the air, and both It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and South Park have managed to cross the line several times without facing too much backlash. Season 9 of Curb Your Enthusiasm will very likely walk that same balance. However, before this new season premieres, it's interesting to look back on the insane moments Larry David's award-winning series was able to get away with without comment.
1
When 'Curb' mocked Michael J. Fox's Parkinson's.
The problem with this one isn't that the show made fun of Fox's Parkinson's per se. There are lots of shows, movies, and stand up routines that made similar jokes with little to no backlash. It's the specific way Curb made fun of the actor that may raise a couple eyebrows. There were a few shaking jokes, but the main substance of the bit claimed that Fox was using his disease for selfish reasons.
Stream Season 8, Episode 10 "Larry vs. Michael J. Fox" on HBO
2
When Larry used the n-word.
Granted, the only reason Larry even said the n-word was to complain about a worse person than himself in public. He was also immediately rebuked for his intolerance. However, it's difficult to say how an entire episode that's central joke relies on white men saying the n-word would play out in today's TV landscape.
Stream Season 6, Episode 8 "The N-Word" on HBO
3
The show has been accused of being racist.
This is tied less to a specific episode and has to do more with the show as a whole. Curb was never afraid to deal with race, whether Larry was bumbling around Wanda (Wanda Sykes) or chilling with Leon (J.B. Smoove). However, the show's many episodes on this topic caused some critics at the time to wonder if ironic racism was acceptable. Complex even included the show in its list of the most racist shows on television, pointing to Larry's temporary "jungle fever" during the Vivica A. Fox storylines and criticizing the mooching Leon.
4
When Larry blurted out the c-word.
In the middle of playing a game of poker, Larry gets overly emotional and calls himself a c-word. Immediately afterwards, his female friends distance themselves from him, making everyone wonder how Larry has maintained any friends. This is another one that's difficult to calibrate to today's world. On one hand, Larry is chastised for this slip of the tongue, and the c-word has become less taboo recently. On the other, I'm not sure we're so comfortable with it that this episode would avoid a think piece.
Stream Season 2, Episode 4 "The Shrimp Incident" on HBO
5
The swastika-loving Greg.
Greg may be the most difficult character to introduce to the world of 2017. Though his love of swastikas is a faux pas that could have easily been avoided if Larry had taken a minute to explain anything, it's his sexuality that's potentially think piece worthy. One of the main jokes of the episode is that Greg's mom doesn't want a gay son even though she likely already has one. That kind of anti LGBT sentiment played off for laughs isn't something that works well now.
Stream Season 8, Episode 10 "Larry vs. Michael J. Fox" on HBO
6
When Larry hit on the Virgin Mary.
This is certainly one of Curb's tamer jokes, but it's unclear how it would be taken today especially with the tendency for anti-Christian plot points and characters to make headlines. Larry tries to put aside his religion-based differences with his in-laws by hosting a live nativity in his house. However, the line between acting and real life is blurred when Larry made a suggestive comment about the actress playing the Virgin Mary, causing his fake Joseph to fly into a rampage. Of course, that's what Cheryl (Cheryl Hines) and her parents walk in on — Larry wrestling with Joseph.
Stream Season 3, Episode 9 "Mary, Joseph, and Larry" on HBO
7
The anti-Semitic sex scene in "Palestinian Chicken."
Curb was always a show that liked to play with race, but "Palestinian Chicken" took things to a whole new level. In the episode, Larry takes Jeff (Jeff Garlin) to a new chicken place. They're both blown away by Al-Abba's food, but they also notice a pointed anti-Semitic tone in the restaurant. They joke that this could be the perfect place for a Jewish man to have an affair, and sure enough, that very thing happens. Larry hits it off with a Palestinian woman who can only get off by being racist. It's a hilarious episode, but as Dave Hinckley put it, "Taken literally, it could be one of the most tasteless and offensive sketches in recent TV history."
Stream Season 8, Episode 3 "Palestinian Chicken" on HBO
8
When Larry really looked like a pedophile.
Of course we know that it was all a bizarre series of misunderstandings, but that doesn't make Larry's relationship with one little girl any less uncomfortable. After being coerced into destroying a doll's head, Larry vows to find a new one for a little girl. However, during the course of the episode, Larry sticks the doll head down his pants, goes to the doctor for said doll head, and later hugs the little girl with something hard in his pocket. Turns out it was just a water bottle, but still. Definitely a cringe-worthy moment.
Stream Season 2, Episode 7 "The Doll" on HBO
9
The transgender joke that never made it to air because it was too offensive.
In an interview with Time, trans actress Candis Cayne revealed that she walked out of a Curb audition because it was too offensive. The joke in question involved a trans woman who really needed to pee. Instead of waiting for the ladies' restroom, she goes to the men's room. Cayne said she walked out because it did not honor her community. She also revealed that trans actress Alexandra Billings was equally upset by the role. The sketch was eventually cut entirely.
10
When Larry peed on a picture of Jesus.
This is the one time Curb did cross the line enough to warrant outrage in the pre-internet era of TV criticism. A series of misunderstandings lead to Larry accidentally peeing on a painting of Jesus in a way that makes it look as if he's crying. The episode stirred controversy with both the Catholic League and the Council on American-Islamic Relations. The latter group even demanded an apology from HBO, which the network refused to give.
Stream Season 7, Episode 6 "The Bare Midriff" on HBO
Source: https://decider.com/2017/09/29/10-controversial-curb-your-enthusiasm-moments/
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