I missed the last couple reviews of Curb Your Enthusiasm and Entourage due to family, as well as complications from Hurricane Irene, so once I watched the episodes on HBO Go, I figured I would just merge the two reviews into one. Both episodes feature returning guest stars, while staying in the recent NYC setting. However, one was clearly better than the other.
As part of the season and as a standalone, "The Bi-Sexual" was probably the worst episode of the season, though I may just be biased due to my dislike of Rosie O'Donnell. One, I do not find her funny. Two, they play up her stereotype to the millionth degree (as done previously in "Denise Handicapped"). And three, the storyline that her and Larry would vie for an attractive woman's affections is just too ridiculous to get behind with all the other problems plaguing this one. The episode was only sporadically funny, with one memorable joke, and that being Leon arriving in New York. To see the sight of him having driven Larry's Prius 3000 miles across America was nothing short of hilarious, as well as his comments about the journey ("I had about 8 motherf*ckers in here"). It is then clear that he plans to sponge off Larry once again. That was funny and well-executed. Some of the baseball metaphors worked OK, but it kind of fails mainly due to the fact that this is a road much traveled, even in shows like South Park and How I Met Your Mother. It was a weak episode, but not a deal-breaker for the season as a whole.
Thankfully, "Car Periscope" was a near-classic, rife with some hilarious stuff. The whole idea of the car periscope invention was priceless, and Larry and Jeff gleefully using it in the car may have been their best scene since reading Mondo Freaks in "The Freak Book". It also featured some good jokes about a man's integrity being based on the attractiveness of his wife, but that joke kind of fizzled in the latter half of the episode. However, the old man with dementia and the mysterious "one-armed man" were near perfect, with some racial epithets and a senior being knocked to the ground culminating in it appearing like Larry was spontaneously attacking the elderly. The main criticism could be argued was that the Wanda Sykes/personal trainer plot never really went nowhere, in the end only leading to another racist joke. However, don't let this detract you, as it still was one of the season's better episodes overall. Two left, with at least one including a guest spot by Michael J. Fox.
"The Bi-Sexual" - 2.5/5 stars
"Car Periscope" - 4/5 stars
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