Curb Your Enthusiasm not only gets away with its controversial themes, it revels in them. Long before Larry David created the show, he co-created Seinfeld, one of the most successful sitcoms of all time. While Seinfeld had its shaky ground moments, Curb Your Enthusiasm truly pushed things to the next level from the outset, and continued to do so with each passing season.
The popular HBO series sees Larry David portray an exaggerated version of himself. As he argues his way around Los Angeles, he often says things we all wish we could say, but we don’t because of societal norms. Most of the time, his actions aren’t malicious and he classes himself as a “social assassin”. However, other times, he takes things a little too far. Curb Your Enthusiasm ended in 2024 after 12 seasons. During its run, Larry got himself into heaps of mischief. Here are 5 times he went too far.
5. Larry Steals Flowers from a Memorial Site
Cheryl was Larry’s long-suffering wife from season 1 to season 7. Throughout the series, Larry got into trouble with her many times but usually tried his best to make amends. In season 6 episode 3, as he often does, Larry finds himself in a bizarre set of scenarios that intertwine. When he begrudgingly takes a sweaty $50 bill from Marty Funkhouser (Bob Einstein) that has been kept in one of his running shoes, he can’t for the life of him get anyone to take the bill off him.
After getting into an argument in an ice cream store with a woman he classes as a “sample abuser”, he soon realizes that she is the superintendent of the school he and Cheryl are trying to get their adopted family’s children into. Livid with Larry’s actions, Cheryl forces him to make things right. After attempting to buy some flowers with the murky 50 note and failing, Larry makes the immoral decision to steal a bouquet from the memorial site of Marty’s mother. If that isn’t bad enough, when he gets into further trouble with Cheryl, he goes back again to steal more. When he is confronted by Marty, Larry sees no issue with what he has done, seeing as the site was filled with hundreds of bouquets.
4. Larry David: The Two-Timer
Following Larry and Cheryl’s breakup at the end of season 6 of Curb Your Enthusiasm, season 7 saw him get right back on the saddle and attempt dating. When he meets Denise (Anita Barone) at a coffee shop, he woos her with chitchat. Then, when she leaves her table, he finds out that she is in a wheelchair. While hesitant at first, his narcissistic side comes out when he starts to enjoy the positive attention he gets and the “perks” that come with dating a handicapped person. However, when he asks Denise to accompany him to an intimate concert, his plans are thwarted when an aggrieved Suzie throws his phone in the ocean following an argument.
Realizing he has lost Denise’s number, Larry asks another handicapped lady named Wendy on the date. But when both women turn up to the concert, Larry gets caught in the act of two-timing. He then digs himself into a bigger hole when he can’t remember either of their last names – referring to Denise as “Denise Handicap” and Wendy as “Wendy Wheelchair”. Of all the times Larry has shown no tact, this may be the worst.
3. Larry Says the “C” Word
One of the perks with having HBO as the home for your TV series is that there are pretty much no limits. Way before the violent, profanity-ridden The Sopranos in 1999, Larry pushed the boundaries on HBO with Curb Your Enthusiasm, essentially becoming an R-rated TV show. So, alongside controversial themes, the series has always been littered with bad language, even occasionally the dreaded C word. However, Larry used it in the wrong way in this particular episode.
During a friendly poker game, Larry lets out the C word when another player turns over a very careful hand. The room goes silent and his victim is both shocked and hurt, making for a funny yet intensely uncomfortable scene that is beyond cringe-inducing. Ironically, the scene plays out during a conversation between Larry and Julia-Louis Dreyfus (Seinfeld) as they discuss the home for their next show, with the two opting for HBO as you can say whatever you want.
2. Larry Disrespects the Dead
Larry stealing flowers from a roadside memorial was not the first or last time he would disrespect the dead throughout Curb Your Enthusiasm. While Marty Funkhouser is one of Larry’s closest friends, the two engage in bitter screaming matches frequently throughout the show. As well as disrespecting Marty’s mother, Larry also did the same to his father when he passed away, resulting in their most bitter argument of all.
Just like the real-life Larry David, Curb‘s version is a massive fan of golf. Throughout the series, Larry is constantly prodded by people to get back to work after leaving Seinfeld, but he’d much rather spend his time arguing and playing golf. When his beloved 5 wood golf club is mistakenly placed in the casket of Marty’s deceased father, Larry simply can’t let it go. Instead, he shows up to the funeral and attempts to sneakily replace the club with a more modern and less lucrative one. However, Marty is hot on his trail and confronts him. Larry leaves but adds insult to injury when he pays his respects with a mouthful of cashews and raisins and drops one on the dead body.
1. Larry Befriends the Wrong Man
Larry David is careful about who he befriends, both in real life and in Curb Your Enthusiasm. Naturally, he’s not a sociable person and states many times that he hates people. However, if there’s something in it for him, he will strike up a new friendship from time to time. In the episode The Seder, the community is shocked and appalled that a sex offender has moved in to the neighborhood. Yet, when Larry bumps into him while shopping, the two hit it off, and he takes Larry to his house to play on his state-of-the-art golf practice technology.
Initially trying to keep their friendship a secret, Larry folds when Rick the sex offender (played by Rob Corddry) says he has nowhere to go for the Jewish holiday, Passover. To that, Larry invites him to his Seder. Of course, Larry faces intense scrutiny for his decision, but he states he is simply being a good Jew. The episode ends hilariously when a young girl chokes and Rick is the only one who knows the Heimlich manoeuvre. Safety trained or not, Larry definitely took things way too far inviting him to such a sacred holiday.
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