While Larry David used to be known as the co-creator of the hit TV show, Seinfeld, he is now a leading man for a whole new generation. In Curb Your Enthusiasm, Larry David plays a slightly more neurotic, grumpy version of himself. Whether he’s lounging around his luxurious home in Los Angeles or attempting to stage a controversial musical in New York City, Larry David always seems to rub people the wrong way.
To make matters worse for Larry, he’s often planning ridiculous schemes that usually blow up in his face. In fact, it seems to be a full-time job for him! So, let’s take a look at 10 Larry David schemes that hilariously backfired:
“The Wire”
In “The Wire” (Season 1, Episode 6), Larry’s wife, Cheryl, wants to bury a low-hanging wire in the backyard. Unfortunately for her and Larry, she needs to get a consenting signature from their bizarre neighbors, the Weinstocks. In exchange for their consent, the Weinstocks pressure Larry to set up a meeting with his former Seinfeld co-star, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss.
When Julia arrives, Mrs. Weinstock appears devastated about the recent death of her cat. She then brings out a camcorder to record her visit. That’s when things start to get really weird.
“Mary, Joseph, and Larry”
“Mary, Joseph, and Larry” (Season 3, Episode 9) is all about embracing the holiday spirit. While Larry is pretty indifferent to Christmas, he is desperate to embrace his Christmas-loving in-laws. So, he decides to stage a live nativity scene when they come to visit.
Needless to say, things don’t go exactly as planned. When Larry makes a joke about the Virgin Mary, the actor playing Joseph tackles him to the ground. Larry’s in-laws arrive just in time to see the chaotic scene.
“The Ski Lift”
In “The Ski Lift” (Season 5, Episode 8), Larry’s longtime friend, Richard Lewis, is in need of a kidney. However, Larry has no intention of giving up one of his kidneys. This inspires him to go on a ski trip with the head of the kidney consortium and his daughter, who is a devout Orthodox Jew.
Things go south when Larry gets stuck on the ski lift with the daughter, who is unable to be alone with a man after sundown. As the sun begins to set, she is desperate to get away from Larry, who begins eating a pair of edible panties to keep warm. When Larry refuses to jump from the ski lift, she has to take matters into her own hands.
“The Therapists”
Larry is possibly at his most devious in “The Therapists” (Season 6, Episode 9). When Larry discovers that his wife’s therapist has a negative view of him (due to Cheryl incessantly complaining about Larry), he devises a scheme to win over the therapist. He hopes that if he can win over the therapist, he can win back Cheryl.
Unfortunately, his plan is just a little too crazy to work. Larry convinces his own therapist to mug Cheryl’s therapist, giving Larry an opportunity to be the “hero.” However, in the end, Larry doesn’t really win anyone over.
“The Bowtie”
“The Bowtie” (Season 5, Episode 2) focuses on Larry’s inability to stay in the good graces of various communities. When Larry adopts a dog and names it “Sheriff,” he thinks that this will make him seem more relatable. It ends up having the opposite effect.
Larry didn’t realize that his new dog was apparently trained to bark at African Americans. This causes a fight with Wanda Sykes. Just when Larry thinks that the drama is over, he finds out that his dog doesn’t like lesbians, either.
“The Group”
The first season of Curb Your Enthusiasm brought us one of the best episodes with “The Group” (Season 1, Episode 10). When Larry runs into his ex-girlfriend, Lucy, she asks him to attend her incest survivors meeting. The meeting will be run by the director of a show his wife wants to star in, so Larry agrees to go.
However, in order to stay in the meeting, Larry invents a story that he was molested by his uncle. At first, everyone believes him. However, when Larry’s uncle comes to the show, chaos ensues.
“Interior Decorator”
While the main story in “Interior Decorator” (Season 5, Episode 5) involves a garbled voicemail from Diane Keaton, the funniest moments happen at Larry’s doctor’s office. Larry is on time for his appointment, but his doctor’s office has a “first come, first serve” policy, giving his spot to a woman with a later appointment.
This all causes Larry to miss his appointment with Diane Keaton. Disgruntled with the policy, Larry throws a temper tantrum in the doctor’s office and insists that they change their rules. However, when Larry comes back to the doctor a few days later, he wants to be seen first, only to find out that they have changed their policy in reaction to his diatribe.
“The Ida Funkhauser Roadside Memorial”
“The Ida Funkhauser Roadside Memorial” (Season 6, Episode 3) is a somewhat dark episode, but hilarious nonetheless. One of the funniest moments comes as part of a subplot in which Loretta Black needs Larry’s help getting her kids into a good private school. Naturally, Larry finds a way to screw it up.
When Larry visits the ice cream shop, he gets stuck behind a woman who insists on sampling all the flavors. Of course, this annoys Larry to no end, so he decides to call her out on it. Much to his surprise, she turns out to be the headmistress of the private school.
“The Corpse Sniffing Dog”
In “The Corpse Sniffing Dog” (Season 3, Episode 7), Larry’s friend, Jeff, can’t be anywhere near his wife’s new dog without coughing and sneezing incessantly. When Larry finds another family who really wants a dog, he thinks he can kill two birds with one stone. Larry gives the dog to the new family so that Jeff can return home in peace.
However, Jeff’s daughter, Sammy, misses the dog and desperately wants it back. So, Larry is forced to go get the dog back, angering both families in the process. Larry tried to make everyone happy, but they all ended up hating him in the end.
“The Black Swan”
“The Black Swan” (Season 7, Episode 7) features Larry David as a double murderer. When Larry’s cousin, David, makes a complicated breakfast order at the country club, the group is forced to play behind Norm, the slowest person on the golf course. Larry confronts Norm, causing the latter to have a fatal heart attack.
To make matters worse, Larry accidentally kills the club owner’s prized black swan. He then develops a mob-like scheme to cover up the murder. Unfortunately, his crew isn’t as loyal as he had hoped, and word of the killing quickly spreads.
