Cringeworthy situation comedy with a lot of laughs (Curb Your Enthusiasm: Complete HBO Season 6 (DVD))

Member Name: BumpyBump

Product:	Curb Your Enthusiasm: Complete HBO Season 6 (DVD)
Date:	13/10/09 (6 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Each episode has its own plot so you can pick up at any point

Disadvantages: At times the scenarios seem a little implausible

I stumbled upon the first series of CYE last year and after the very first episode I was hooked. I watched the entire series in one sitting and decided there and then that I had to have the whole lot, so promptly bought the box set of the first six series.

CYE is a love-it-or-hate-it kind of show. I love it and have a few friends who do, but also know lots of people who hate it. The reason? It's too cringeworthy! Yes, it is very cringeworthy, but that's where the genius of it lies. CYE is set as a faux documentary in the style of the Osbornes or similar, and follows the life of Larry David and his long-suffering wife Cheryl. Larry is a stubborn 'celebrity' who somehow always manages to get himself into the most ridiculous of situations which always result in the need for lots of apologies to pretty much everyone he has ever met. Poor Cheryl also seems to end up being dragged into it all and having to apologise on behalf of Larry.

The situations are mostly ridiculous but at the same time you can see how they could actually happen. It's usually accidental how Larry gets himself into these scrapes but then it's usually his own stubbornness which makes matters worse rather than better.

Each of the episodes has its own story so you can pick up any of these series at any point. There are a few ongoing plotlines which you might need to know about throughout (mainly Larry's fraught relationship with Cheryl and the eventual breakdown of their marriage) but on the whole you could probably start anywhere and be able to pick up what's going on. This series shows Cheryl finally walking out on Larry, and you'll be wondering why she didn't do it sooner. We also get to see the introduction of the Black family who the Davids decide to shelter after Hurricane Katrina. The fact that the Blacks are also black sets up some situation comedy all by itself, but it's good to see how Larry eventually ends up caring for the family that he was reluctant to take in - you get to see a kinder side of Larry that you don't see often. It makes him seem much more appealing.

All in all this is really well written and in the same unique style that the first five CYE series maintained.

Summary: Fantastic comedy - one of the best to come out of the USA