I have long felt that Barack Obama’s highest aspiration was always to become an adored celebrity, perhaps even an actor; he settled for president of the United States. Having completed his two terms, Obama wrote memoirs, started a production company, co-hosted a podcast with Bruce Springsteen, and, most recently, executive-produced a new HBO series starring Larry David.
Created by David and his longtime “Curb Your Enthusiasm” collaborator Jeff Schaffer, “Life, Larry, and the Pursuit of Unhappiness” transplants familiar “Curb” sketches and stereotypical Larry-isms into various periods of American history, with a particular emphasis on the country’s founding. The result ranges from passable to downright dreadful.
In what amounts to a collection of loosely connected sketches, the writer and comedian behind “Seinfeld” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” first portrays Robert R. Livingston, taking an early pass at the Declaration of Independence. He introduces his draft as “a declaration of common sense,” filled with such characteristically petty proclamations as, “After January 7, it is illegal to wish someone Happy New Year.”
The problem with sketches such as this — and there are far too many — is that David’s shtick works on “Curb” precisely because of its contemporary setting. The social conventions he obsesses over feel recognizable, and his grievances reflect real encounters we have all endured but are restrained by the norms of polite society from confronting. Recasting them in colonial attire creates the impression that David has sauntered onto the wrong set, like someone reciting Richard III’s “Now is the winter of our discontent” in a Michael Bay film.
The same problem recurs in a segment set during the Great Depression, when someone cuts into a soup-kitchen line after recognizing a friend near the front. David immediately launches into his “chat-and-cut” call-out, lifted almost wholesale from “Curb.”
Another sketch imagines David making Alexander Graham Bell’s historic first telephone call, only to become stuck on the phone with his assistant, played by the eminent Richard Kind, who subjects him to endless, numbing small talk until a frustrated David tosses the contraption in the trash. It is one of the better moments, though it ultimately drags on for too long.
A cleverer bit places David’s irritating disposition beside Rosa Parks on the Montgomery bus. He initially insists that she remain seated beside him, only for his intrusive questions and signature mannerisms to drive the beleaguered activist voluntarily toward the back of the bus just to escape him. There is a memorable interview in which Jerry Seinfeld explains that almost everything can be funny: “You just have to have a way of looking at it.” In that spirit, even a segregation sketch can be funny.
Seinfeld himself appears in another episode, reuniting with David for a sketch in which the pair play Lewis and Clark, leaders of Thomas Jefferson’s Corps of Discovery following the Louisiana Purchase. The expedition is reimagined as an elaborate fishing trip devised by two husbands desperate to escape their wives. David’s Meriwether Lewis tries to assuage his suspicious spouse while the duo banter over politically correct terminology in the frontier. Can’t say “squaw” anymore — they can say it; we cannot. “Teepee? I think teepee’s cool.” Wampum? Kind of a gray area.
The series reaches its nadir when it abandons social comedy for political screeds marooned somewhere circa 2016. One dreary segment rehashes trite laments over Hillary Clinton’s Electoral College loss despite winning the national popular vote.
Samuel L. Jackson, the series’ narrator, drones on about how American democracy is supposedly unique because “a candidate can be elected president even if they don’t get the most votes.” Larry David, of all people, should know comedy’s golden rule: that a joke must be anchored in truth. Yet there is none to be found here. Parliamentary democracies including Canada and the United Kingdom routinely produce governments whose parties received fewer votes nationally than their opponents. Jackson then explains that the Founding Fathers enshrined the Electoral College in the Constitution for reasons that “defy logic,” before the camera pans to David throwing a tantrum over losing an election despite having won the popular vote. It is unclear what the series hopes to achieve here. Is Larry David trying to charm Obama with this tripe?
David’s talents have not disappeared entirely. Episode 3 brings back “Curb” favorite J.B. Smoove for a slavery sketch in which David, working with the Underground Railroad, shelters Smoove in his home. The scene moves from David attempting to relate to the experience of being chased by dogs to Smoove fantasizing about “tapping Northern ass,” complaining about the mildew stench permeating the safe house, and continuing to rant about a slave owner who named his slaves after pieces of furniture — “Ottoman” and “Armoire.” Their charming chemistry gives the sketch an energy missing from much of the series.
We also visit a trench on the front lines of World War I, where a frightened soldier confides in David: “I don’t think I can do this anymore. I’ve lost so many friends already.” David predictably responds, “At least now you don’t have to worry about staying in touch.” Short bits such as this can still wrest a chuckle.
Obama reportedly tried playing the “I was president of the United States” card while offering creative advice on David’s scripts. He is among the few people I can imagine mustering the gall to proffer comedy advice to Larry David. David responded, “I’m the president of this.”
But among the pitfalls of “Life, Larry…” is that there is simply too much Larry. He was effective in “Curb” because his idiosyncrasies were carefully balanced by a capable cast. Here, David drives every sketch with too little resistance and frequently drives them into tedium. This elaborate historical pageant seldom reveals anything new about either its star or American history. If David wished to continue portraying the same curmudgeon, he would have been better served writing another season of “Curb.” And if this is Larry David’s pursuit of unhappiness, he is getting us there.
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Harry Khachatrian (@Harry1T6) is a film critic for the Washington Examiner. He is a software engineer, holds a master’s degree from the University of Toronto, and writes about wine at BetweenBottles.com.
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