Grid Effect

That’s a long-winded title. The longest I can recall at that. I guess its appropriate since Larry is now a notch below a sadist. Usually I can defend Larry’s unpopular actions, but stealing flowers from a memoriam for a woman hit by a car is indefensible. The show treated it as such, though, and it led to some comedic high jinks that made it forgivable. Still, it just seemed…harsh, for a Curb episode.

Not to say I didn’t enjoy it. Marty Funkhouser is one of the more offbeat side characters. Whereas everyone burst into hysterics when dealing with Larry, he has a stoic delivery and looming persona that manages to be threatening and non-threatening at the same time, and it’s a nice change of pace. His basic decency which sometimes delve into overt sentimentalism (though this was not one of those instances) often clashes with Larry’s self-serving behavior. So when Larry opened the door to see Funkhouser coldly standing there immediately after Larry stole the flowers, we assume he knows about what transpired. But know, that’s just his natural look, and given how large he is, it can be quite intimidating. Especially when he’s trying to force a sweaty $50 bill on you.

Larry was in rare form last night. Voicing complaints about over-usage of free store and restaurant samples, stealing flowers he gave to a dean of admissions at a middle school (that he took from the memorial) and dismissing Funkhouser’s claim that they were best friends (maybe my favorite exchange of the season). Even when he is in the right or thoughtful in some way, he still takes an earful from someone (this time its the displaced family he brought in and his wife about only bringing back ice cream for Cheryl and forgetting about the family).

The scene in the perfume store was a bit heavy-handed, with Larry just screaming insanely about the inefficiency of two checkout lines as opposed to one line for two separate counters. It reminded me of the first season where he was lecturing everyone in the waiting room about the appointment time-sign in conundrum at the doctors, which was much funnier because everyone was following the credo of being silent in the doctors office, and he answered his own questions to further mock his beleaguered psuedo-audience’s adherence to the unwritten rule (funny how selective he is with these unwritten rules).

Other notes:

-That was an odd reaction from Jeff following Larry’s accidental sabotage of their meeting with the school dean. Has he ever lashed out like that? I can recall a few such instances where he might have shown contempt, but since he is an employee of Larry’s (and a meal ticket, essentially), he always bit his tongue.

It appears as though the ban has been lifted

-Speaking of defending Larry, is anyone going to demonstrate any appreciation for him bringing in a displaced family? Not that people should be fawning over his generosity or anything, but a little acknowledgment would go a long way, particularly from said family.

-I like how Larry preordains in the morning that he wants sex, then spends the entire day working towards it, then reverts back to his normal personality the following morning. Is this what happens when you’re married and faithful in your fifties?

-Can’t throwing a worthwhile sum of money on the ground be enough of a deterrent to get anyone out of an uncomfortable situation in public?

All in all, a good episode. They’re certainly trying to be innovative, and not just going through the motions like they were seemingly doing last season.