Sour Grapes: Appreciating Larry David's essential bridge between "Seinfeld" and "Curb"

(1998, 91 min) Barely released by Warner Brothers in 1998, it's easy to forget that Larry David wrote and directed his lone feature film between his two popular and wildly overrated TV series, "Seinfeld" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm". Yet while tackling many of the same petty gripes about humanity, the expanded format of the feature film allowed him to fully realize his vision for the first (and perhaps only) time.

Larry David's first stroke of genius was to replace Jerry Seinfeld in what is clearly a Seinfeldian role. This has been done before, most successfully by Roberto Benigni replacing the late Peter Sellers in Son of the Pink Panther (Ted Wass is a close second in Curse of the Pink Panther, substituting ace comic timing for Benigni's manic energy). Seinfeld, who didn't win a single acting Emmy, was wisely passed over in favor of Steven Weber, one of very few actors with the chops to fill the big screen... and he had a Saturn Award to prove it. Clearly, Larry David was watching the massive ratings of "Wings" every Thursday night, and knew that it was Weber, and not the "Seinfeld" coattails, that were driving the Nielsens. Pair him with the comic stylings of Craig Bierko, and even a subpar script would have been elevated; but Larry David was aiming much higher.

In Sour Grapes, he tackles nothing less than the greed of ugly Americans, and comparisons to Von Stroheim's bloated silent epic are no doubt intentional. In place of tragedy, however, David sees comedy, in the form of hilarious shouting matches and zippy one-liners like "I don't know. Roberta's out of town. I'll probably just go home and blow myself." Sick of "Seinfeld"'s everyday observational comedy, David places his characters in the unlikely fantasy world of Las Vegas, fighting over a slot machine jackpot – the unlikely events allowing the audience plenty of distance from the characters, allowing laughter to flow forth unabated by emotional connection.

Apparently, these aspirations were too much for the average moviegoer, and David has not directed a feature since. Relegated to the HBO ghetto, where a tiny audience is enough to generate "hit" status, he has continued to churn out uninspired "Curb Your Enthusiasm" episodes. Here's to wishing he decides to challenge himself, and us, again on the big screen.

– David Gorgos

© TLA Entertainment Group

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