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February 9, 2012
 
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Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Freak Book

by Jonathan Toomey, posted Oct 8th 2007 8:02AM

Larry David

(S06E05) "Happy birthday... Becker!" - Charlie, the limo driver

The trend continues! That's two weeks in a row with a solid episode and the grotesque and morbid themes have carried on as well. Last week it was Larry's bowel movements and this week it's Larry's new favorite book (Mondo Freaks) and cemetery plots. He's definitely exploring the darker side of his humor in this season.

First off, because it has to be one of the best and funniest Curb Your Enthusiasm scenes ever, we have to talk about McEnroe. He and Larry were fighting! Two of the angriest and most opinionated people ever to be seen on TV were fighting and it was hilarious because it was like seeing two mirror images attack each other. I almost wonder if he was cast for this episode specifically to build up to the one scene? Priceless.

Next up is the freak book. I tried searching for Mondo Freaks with no luck, so I doubt it's the actual title of the book. That being said, Larry must have based this off something he saw or read. So what's it called and where can I buy it? I realize stuff like that is horrendous, but who doesn't want to see a picture of some guy with four noses on his face?

Once again, the way the episode had numerous moments that tied-in was very well done. Even though that's the bread and butter of this show -- it's not always done well. It was here. From Larry posing as the limo driver and making the same poor decisions with alcohol to the opportunity to get rid of his cemetery plot at the end, it all folded together nicely.

Stuff I'm still wondering about:
  • Whatever happened with Ted Danson and Cheryl? They were being awfully flirty early on in the season. I wanted to see that go somewhere. Larry doesn't want to be buried next to Ted now. Imagine if he found out that Cheryl was sleeping with him?
  • Did Larry actually drive a limo before like he said? I know he sort of made a joke about some blind lady as his passenger, but was her serious about the actual driving? Because he sucked at handling that thing.
  • Was there any point to Cheryl mentioning that Paul McCartney and Heather Mills might get back together? I know this show is largely improvised, but sometimes lines get left in that really just don't add to anything and that was one of them.
Final thought? What's Ted Danson going to say when he finds out that a family straight out of the freak book is going to be buried next to him?
Who would you rather be buried next to?
Larry David683 (88.6%)
Ted Danson88 (11.4%)

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20 Comments

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Neurosis

The point of the McCartney/Mills comment was how Larry replied sardonically Oh how exciting, I'm all a twitter. Because his mind was on the Ted Dansen situation. Personally I get a laugh whenever Larry is sarcastic.

August 20 2011 at 4:55 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
mustapha

not to be rude, but we probably have all checked 'mondo freaks' on amazon....
that's not difficult...
we wanna know where the MONDO Freaks book is!!

:-)

December 17 2007 at 1:16 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Verbal

I couldn't get past the Whiz, that's all I thought about when watching him. His line about Becker, that was quoted at the top was priceless. Although the one thing I didn't like was that the whole limo driver waiting outside thing was reused from the season 2 finale. I thought that was kind of lame.

Nonetheless, this episode had me laughing all the way through. Definitely the best of the season so far. I'd repeat what I believe about this season but it's shaping up to be the third best season of the show behind 3 & 2.

I don't know if this is available everywhere but in Comcast ON Demand in the Curb section there is a 7 minute interview called "Curb on Cue" where Susie interviews Larry. During this he explains why he decided to do a sixth season. He first decided to end the show and write a movie. While writing the movie he wasn't enjoying it and decided to have some fun and take time off by writing more Curb episodes. He said he basically missed the good times of Curb.

October 11 2007 at 1:19 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jon

I thought this was a great episode overall and a major upgrade from last week. John McEnroe was excellent.. really didn't seem like he was acting. I also liked how this episode actually ended on a relatively happy note for once. I always love seeing old seinfeld characters pop up on different shows. This was just an added bonus.. "I'm the wiz and NOBODY beats me!"

October 10 2007 at 2:40 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
seinfeld_rules

Two things...the whole time i am watching the limo driver i am thinking of Elaine's b/f...nobody beats the wiz and did anyone notice the voice of the limo driver's wife father, it sounded like bubble boy from the famous "moops" episode.

October 09 2007 at 10:15 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
davidlarry

ps. ted dansons a douche for making that guy wear a bowtie.

October 09 2007 at 1:26 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
davidlarry

one question i have for larry...where did the limo driver get drunk...did he get trashed at the party or did he drink at the limo? either way that is one dumb fucking driver...pretty good episode i thought though ..whe larry argues with susie pretty classic... "i wouldnt have let u leave the house dressed like that"

October 09 2007 at 1:24 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
freak fan

Also on amazon:

American Sideshow

americansideshow.com

A great freak book. Larry would love it.

October 08 2007 at 11:11 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Borat

^ Pilkington is one of the funniest men alive.

October 08 2007 at 7:15 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
James

I know that Larry and Ricky Gervais have become friends, and that Gervais' erstwhile sidekick Karl Pilkington used to carry a book of "the top 50 freaks" around with him at all times in case he "needs something good to read". Maybe LD was inspired after he heard RG's podcast?

October 08 2007 at 4:48 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply

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