If Kafka were a screenwriter living in the Mid-Wilshire district, this is the show he'd write. Larry, here channeling a monied Egbert Souse' ('accent grave over the 'e''), is just a guy trying to get through life with as few bruises as possible but he finds life stalking him.
He gives offense when none is intended, he sees offense where none exists. To this add the obvious circumstance where self-defense calls for small arms fire and you have a day in the life of a Westside mensch.
Surrounding himself with capable, if largely unknown, supporting players and a generous helping of guest stars, usually playing themselves, David then settled on the genius of improvised dialogue within scripted situations. The result is nearly sublime.
The episodes seem to move at a snail's pace and yet turn on the relationships of well-developed characters dealing with just a soupcon of continuing plot lines to provide a sense of continuity. The Jewish sensibility is mined for the humor but is never overwhelming. This could just as easily be about any essentially decent, white middle-aged guy who has known a little success and doesn't have a good explanation as to how it happened. In fact, Larry doesn't have a particularly good explanation for how anything happens in his life, it all seems to move mysteriously from one unanticipated crisis to another.
This is not for all tastes. While I find it laugh-out-loud funny, many will find the humor alternately sophomoric or obtuse, some allusions too esoteric or topical, the subject matter occasionally off-putting and in poor taste. But, in a way, that's the point, just like real life.
(Disclaimer: Like Larry, I am an avuncular white guy with thinning hair and an aversion to coitus with known Republicans.)
Coo-Day-Lah, Larry, Coo-Day-Lah.
He gives offense when none is intended, he sees offense where none exists. To this add the obvious circumstance where self-defense calls for small arms fire and you have a day in the life of a Westside mensch.
Surrounding himself with capable, if largely unknown, supporting players and a generous helping of guest stars, usually playing themselves, David then settled on the genius of improvised dialogue within scripted situations. The result is nearly sublime.
The episodes seem to move at a snail's pace and yet turn on the relationships of well-developed characters dealing with just a soupcon of continuing plot lines to provide a sense of continuity. The Jewish sensibility is mined for the humor but is never overwhelming. This could just as easily be about any essentially decent, white middle-aged guy who has known a little success and doesn't have a good explanation as to how it happened. In fact, Larry doesn't have a particularly good explanation for how anything happens in his life, it all seems to move mysteriously from one unanticipated crisis to another.
This is not for all tastes. While I find it laugh-out-loud funny, many will find the humor alternately sophomoric or obtuse, some allusions too esoteric or topical, the subject matter occasionally off-putting and in poor taste. But, in a way, that's the point, just like real life.
(Disclaimer: Like Larry, I am an avuncular white guy with thinning hair and an aversion to coitus with known Republicans.)
Coo-Day-Lah, Larry, Coo-Day-Lah.