TV Review: CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, 8.2 - "The Safe House"

It's all over. As far as we can tell, Larry's marriage to Cheryl has finally crumbled under the weight of his many foibles, and he's moving on without a care in the world. What else would you expect from a man who bought Ted Danson a Freak Book for his birthday? That's an assumption based on the fact that Cheryl Hines was absent for the entirety of the latest Curb Your Enthusiasm episode, and after the divorce antics that ensued in last week's outing, I think it's safe to say this season is going to focus on Larry's adventures as man with his own interests in full focus. Unlike that turbulent romance, however, the show moves ever onwards and upwards. "The Safe House", the eighth season's second episode, is solid Curb on every level: laugh-out-loud funny, packed with memorable lines, and inclusive of several interlinked stories that arrive at a brilliantly satisfying climax. Somewhat surprisingly, we're still in Los Angeles (presumably the shift to New York will make itself apparent within the next few episodes) with a story which begins at the supermarket. Larry, making the trip for some ice cream, is blocked by two women standing in front of the freezer cabinet. One of the women is in tears, and the other is consoling her. Larry is polite (as he usually is to begin with) and asks them to step aside, but people aren't as obliging in the world Larry David has created: the women seem to think they have special privileges, and because one of them is upset, it's wrong for somebody to ask them to move. I'm on Larry's side, but would have simply waited for them to shift. Larry wants his ice cream, and he wants it now. It turns out that these women are residents at a nearby safe house - somewhere that abused women can shelter from aggressive partners - which just happens to be in Larry's neighbourhood. After a second run-in with another one of the safe house's refugees (her dog has been defecating in front of Larry's house), Larry is invited over to apologise for his actions. He'll go (he has to go because the opportunity for comedy can't be wasted), but he sure as heck won't be apologising. Meanwhile, Richard Lewis has started dating a burlesque dancer with rather sizeable breasts and won't admit that they're crucial to the reasoning behind their relationship. Intrigued, Larry, Jeff, Marty and Leon (a dream team if ever there were one) decide to check out her show. This culminates in Larry encouraging the dancer to have a mole checked out that he spots on her bosom, and her eventual decision to have a breast reduction. Richard is furious. Most of the stories here are strong (if a couple turn out to be a little predictable) and the episode remains consistent. The dynamics between the group, both at the salad bar and at the club, are hilarious. It's nice to see all the men hanging out together, and gives this season an interesting touch - you don't often get to see older, divorced men in their fifties and sixties hanging out on television. It's also to be said that Larry and Leon's verbal duelling is some of their best ever here. One argument in particular, in which Larry questions whether black people have the ability to blush ("I've never seen a black blush in my fucking life," Leon tells him), is classic. "The Divorce" was a solid season opener, but "The Safe House" makes for an ultimately more satisfying viewing experience with a better sense of pacing. By now, we know that Larry lacks the willingness to tolerate others when they irk him, and the result is that practically any situation in which he must face another human being becomes ripe for comedy. That's the reason Curb is so attractive as a basic concept: Larry is doing and saying things that we wish we had the guts to do ourselves. In real life, there are consequences for every one of our actions, and though Larry often suffers for his mistakes, there's one thing that allows him to do what he does: he doesn't care. That single trait is what most of us lack. We do feel empathy, regardless of whether we'd like to or not. This, of course, has been in place since the very first episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm. The point I'm working towards here is that Larry has come a push further from there in recent years. I don't mean the man has gone through any kind of arc (where would be the fun in that?): I'm saying Larry has become increasingly worse in social situations, and more antagonising. Now, he almost seems to relish the chance to act ridiculously. The result? It's even funnier, because he's indulging himself, and not getting as worked up. Take the scene in this episode in which Larry is supposed to be apologising to the women in the safe house. Instead of simply stating has position in the belief that he has no need to apologise (and he's right, he shouldn't) and leaving, he turns the situation into a mockery, using his position to ridicule the females without their knowledge ("It's very hard to apologise to a dog because it's a stupid animal"). He even stares at one of the women and probes, "What the fuck is she talking about?" What do they think? That this guy is a oddball with some serious issues. They stare at him as if he's insane, oblivious to their own flaws. But now that Larry lacks Cheryl as a conscience, he doesn't have anybody to harness him. That makes for a slightly different slant on the show, and it's one that works. Larry is his own man, and he really seems to be taking pleasure in it. Luckily, we can take pleasure in it, too: right now, Curb Your Enthusiasm is the funniest show on television. Curb Your Enthusiasm returns next Sunday on HBO in the US and is coming soon to Sky Atlantic in the UK.