Robert B. Weide Movies

Frequent Curb Your Enthusiasm director Robert B. Weide makes his feature directorial debut with this screen adaptation of British writer Toby Young's comedic novel of the same name. When self-promoting scribe Sidney Young (Simon Pegg) accepts a position as a contributing editor for iconic fashion magazine "Sharps," his subsequent attempts to ingratiate himself with both his egotistical boss, Clayton Harding, and the superficial celebrities who populate the pages of the magazine prove disastrously hilarious. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Larry (Larry David) locks himself out of his car, and learns that the drive-thru window at Jack-in-the-Box does not accept walk-thru customers. He despairs until Peter (Frank Whaley), a friendly passing motorist, agrees to give him a lift. Jeff (Jeff Garlin) arrives, and gives Larry the bad news about Richard (Richard Lewis): he needs a kidney transplant. Because the comic's cousin refuses to give up any of his organs while he's still alive, Richard is hoping that a close friend will come through. Larry's response is, "I have to choose healthier friends." Eventually he gets into a conflict with Jeff about which of them should offer to give Richard a kidney. Also, Larry aggravates two different receptionists, one by revealing too little information, the other by revealing too much. He also argues with Cheryl (Cheryl Hines) over what constitutes "snuggling" ("I'm using the ass as a lever to draw you in! That's all!") and debates the rules of "Eenie Meenie Minee Mo" with Jeff. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Larry (Larry David) gets "orthotic" inserts for his shoes from his podiatrist (Carlos Jacott). They ease his foot pain, but they make a horrible squeaking noise when he walks, creating a variety of problems. Larry asks his sullen handyman, Jesus (Lobo Sebastian), to hang a mezuzah on his front door before his father, Nat (Shelley Berman), visits. Cheryl (Cheryl Hines), whose parents are visiting, threatens to fire Maria (Lydia Blanco), their housekeeper and Jesus' wife, because she won't wear a bra. Larry loves the way Maria makes chicken salad, so he agrees to ask her to wear one. Larry gets into an argument when he mocks Cheryl's father (Paul Dooley) for wearing merchandise marketed in connection with The Passion of the Christ, a "Christ nail" on a leather string. He also offends Susie (Susie Essman) when he learns that her 11-year-old daughter, Sammi (Ashly Holloway), still believes in the tooth fairy. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Larry (Larry David) is struggling to learn his dance steps for The Producers when the rehearsal pianist, Michael (Patrick Kerr), shows up. Michael turns out to be the blind gentleman whom Larry and Richard Lewis helped move back in the first season's "The Bracelet." Michael introduces Larry to his girlfriend, Rhonda (Jackie Hoffman), who has apparently told Michael that she's a model. It's up to Larry, of course, to break the bad news to Michael. Ben Stiller invites everyone to his birthday party, where Larry goes on a spree. He doesn't bring a gift, just because Stiller had said, "No gifts." He insults the glittery sports jerseys that Susie (Susie Essman) has designed. He uses an obscenity while playing "telephone" with a group of kids. He doesn't sing "Happy Birthday" to Stiller with the rest of the group because he doesn't like the song, and to top things off, he accidentally stabs Stiller in the eye with an hors d'oeuvres skewer while giving Jeff (Jeff Garlin) a golf tip. Larry also fails when Richard Lewis asks him to convince Kim (Sarah Ann Morris), the aspiring actress daughter of an old friend, that she doesn't need breast implants. This episode features appearances by Christine Taylor and Cady Huffman. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

It's the fourth-season finale of Curb Your Enthusiasm, and in addition to being nervous about his Broadway debut in The Producers, Larry (Larry David) only has a few days left in which to take advantage of Cheryl's (Cheryl Hines) anniversary gift. There are a couple of likely prospects, including his co-star in the show, Cady Huffman. Jeff (Jeff Garlin) helps Larry's cause with her by telling her that Larry suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder, just like she does. Once the gang arrives in New York for the show, Jeff (Jeff Garlin) introduces him to Christina (Cynthia Ettinger) who describes herself as a "fellatio teacher." Larry continues his petty squabbles with David Schwimmer and gets into trouble with the hotel staff due to some confusion over gratuities. He also has to deal with his obnoxious cousin Andy (Richard Kind, who actually starred in The Producers on Broadway) and his special needs, and has a run-in with a hostile tourist (Stephen Colbert). The episode features many guest cameos including Mel Brooks, Susan Stroman (director of the Broadway show and the feature-film musical version of The Producers), Paul Mazursky, Nathan Lane, Jerry Seinfeld, and, in her last filmed appearance, Anne Bancroft. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

It's a beautiful Sunday, and Larry (Larry David) and Jeff (Jeff Garlin), can't play golf, because they haven't heard back from the "restricted" golf club about their membership applications. They want to go to the next night's Dodger game, which is sold out. Larry remembers that Marty Funkhouser (Bob Einstein) has season tickets, and probably won't feel like going since his father died recently. "It doesn't hurt to ask," says Larry, but when they do, Marty tells them he's going to the game, and the second ticket is "spoken for." Later, Cheryl (Cheryl Hines) surprises him with tickets to the game. Larry tells Cheryl he plans to get out of jury duty. "I would serve if they made me foreman," he explains, "but I can't serve under another foreman. That's not gonna work." He ends up getting out of it by making a racist comment during jury selection. He also decides to buy some marijuana for his father (Shelley Berman), who suffers from glaucoma. When a street dealer (Jorge Garcia of Lost) offers him some expensive hydroponic weed, a very nervous Larry explains, "I'm not looking for a sound system," and ends up overpaying for some "schwag." The next day, Jeff cancels on him, and Larry decides to hire Monena (Kym Whitley), a prostitute, to ride in his car with him so he can use the car pool lane, beat traffic, and get to the game on time. She insists on going to the game with him, leading to a couple of awkward encounters. Ken Howard and James Sikking guest star. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Larry (Larry David) comes home to find Cheryl (Cheryl Hines) laughing it up with her actor friend and tennis partner, Brad (Josh Temple). "Maybe I'll go out and get myself a heterosexual woman to play golf with," Larry suggests. Cheryl says she wouldn't see Brad if Larry would play tennis with her, and Larry says he will. At the restaurant, Larry is amazed when the manager (Jim Staahl) removes a wine stain from a couch with club soda and salt. Then Randy (John Hayman), the chef, tells Jeff (Jeff Garlin) and Larry that he can't handle the pressure of the high-profile job, and he quits. Ted Danson suggests they hire his cook, Josh (Daniel Escobar), but Larry and Jeff insist on giving him a tryout. Later, Larry and Cheryl run into some old friends, who treat them coldly, and Cheryl is embarrassed to realize that it's been over a year, and they never got their friends a wedding gift. The tennis goes badly because Larry is irritated by Cheryl's grunting. Or maybe it's just that she beats him. Cheryl tells Larry she's going to see a play, but is slow to mention that Brad is starring in it. Larry finds chef Josh's food "too saucy." When Cheryl and Larry go shopping for a wedding gift, Larry is accosted by an overzealous saleswoman (Laura Silverman) who doesn't seem to understand the concept of "browsing." ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Larry (Larry David) attends a barbecue, at which Wanda (Wanda Sykes) announces her engagement to a gangsta rapper named Krazee-Eyez Killa (Chris Williams). Krazee runs some of his violent lyrics past Larry, who offers some constructive criticism. "Change 'motherf***er' to 'bitch,'" he suggests, "'Bitch' is a word that you would use to somebody that you disrespect." Krazee also discusses his fondness for performing oral sex on women, and implies that he has not been faithful to Wanda. Larry says he won't tell her. Later, Larry stops by Jeff's (Jeff Garlin) new house to get a script. Susie (Susie Essman) offers Larry a tour of the home, and when he declines, she explodes, angrily throwing him out. Larry goes home, where he inadvertently reveals Krazee's secret to Cheryl (Cheryl Hines). When Cheryl announces her plan to tell Wanda about Krazee's infidelities, Larry, fearing reprisals, tells her not to. "Have you heard his lyrics?" a frightened Larry asks. Larry has to do re-shoots on the Martin Scorsese film, and he gets a call from the wardrobe person, asking him to bring in the jacket he wore on the shoot. Cheryl threw the jacket out, so Larry goes to a clothing store, where a silly argument with the store manager results in his being barred from purchasing an identical jacket. When he gets home, he finds that Cheryl has gone out for drinks with Wanda. Fearing the worst, Larry goes to Krazee's house looking for the women. Krazee offers him "the tour," and Larry accepts. He's shocked to find that Krazee owns a jacket just like the one he needs for the shoot, and delighted when Krazee gives him the garment. Reciprocating Krazee's use of a racial epithet as a term of endearment, Larry asks Krazee, "Are you my Caucasian?" ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Seinfeld producer/creator Larry David has often claimed that the character of George Costanza, the abrasive, neurotic, spectacularly luckless Seinfeld supporting player so brilliantly played by Jason Alexander, was based on David himself. Small wonder, then, that most of the plotlines of the self-deprecating, reality-based sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm have a distinctly Costanzan flavor -- with Larry David, in the role of former standup comic-turned-TV executive Larry David, a dictionary definition of the phrase "his own worst enemy." A spinoff of the 1999 HBO "mockumentary" special of the same name, the weekly 30-minute Curb Your Enthusiasm is filmed in cinéma vérité fashion, with much of dialogue ad-libbed (though the premise of each episode has been carefully worked out in advance).

Larry David portrays himself as the archetypal Hollywood wheeler-dealer, forever promoting "can't miss" TV and film projects, and using (and sometimes abusing) his myriad of showbiz celebrity connections -- among them Richard Lewis, Rob Reiner, Shaquille O'Neal, Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen, Wanda Sykes, and Mel Brooks, not to mention a generous supply of former Seinfeld stars -- to further advance his already super-successful career. And yet, no matter how high he climbs, David is a slave to his own foibles, phobias, and neuroses, perpetually opening mouth and inserting foot, making as many enemies as friends in high places and never relaxing long enough to enjoy or appreciate what he has accomplished. In typical Seinfeld fashion, our hero manages to make a sizable and often insurmountable mountain out of the tiniest and least significant of molehills. While the plotlines of the first two ten-episode HBO seasons were relatively self-contained, season three was held together with the through-line of Larry opening a Planet Hollywood-style restaurant, while the focus of season four was the rather improbable premise that Larry had been offered the starring role in Mel Brooks' smash Broadway musical The Producers. Also appearing on Curb Your Enthusiasm are Cheryl Hines as Larry's spouse, Cheryl; David's longtime production associate Jeff Garlin as Jeff Greene; and Susie Essman as Jeff's wife, Susie. The series is very much an HBO production with an unending stream of hilarious profanities and sexual situations (though the series' funniest running gag is probably the cleanest: Larry David's constitutional inability to figure out the basic protocol of tipping the help). ~ All Movie Guide