Curb Your Enthusiasm season 7 episode 2 review

7.2 Vehicular Fellatio

The title of the episode tells you all you need to know about it really. Yup, the crux of this one was blow jobs, lots of them. Plus the odd misunderstanding along the way.

First of all, Larry doesn’t want to hug Richard Lewis’ new girlfriend because Jeff told him she gave Lewis a blow job in the car on the way to their restaurant meal (Larry’s “Eugh” and backing away was comedy gold). Then Larry thinks he spies Loretta’s doctor giving her husband some oral help. Then, to finish things off, Jeff and Susie are in a little accident as she administers some close-up action to Jeff. This last one was completely far-fetched and one of Curb‘s more creative flights of fancy, but as it was so downright funny I’ll forgive it this time.

The other main narrative of this episode featured Loretta’s cancer treatment at the hands of the aforementioned doctor, chosen by Larry as he has heard that she recommends cancer patients should dump their partners should they be in a bad relationship. Given the fact that Larry wants out of it himself, this was a perfect storyline for the show as it gave Larry full licence to be as annoying as we all know he can be. Scenes of him in the clinic, mumbling, humming and generally not giving a damn in front of the doctor were clearly some of the show’s many improvised scenes and it’s always great to see David having such good fun with his character in moments like these.

Unfortunately for Larry, it didn’t quite work and he was stuck with Loretta – a trip to one of the doctor’s public talks is called off after they spy her and her husband apparently enjoying each other in a car in front on the freeway – right up until the final moments of the episode when a further blow job misunderstanding, this time with Leon’s bit on the side, led Loretta to decide Larry is a cheating, bald asshole.

Job done, The Blacks are finally out of Larry’s life so he can now move on to all things Cheryl. Well, they’re all almost gone. Fortunately, Leon decided to stay behind which means much more of J.B. Smoove’s brilliant comedic delivery.

While Loretta’s dismissal does seem a little shoehorned in to allow Larry to move on the real core of this series – winning Cheryl back – and I am sad to see Vivicia Fox leave the show, I do think that the show had taken The Blacks’ storyline as far as it could. If anything, the decision in the last series to bring the pair together was probably a misstep, so to rectify that as soon as possible for this series makes sense to me.

Beyond the main story arcs of the episode were the usual misinterpretations and annoyances that litter Larry’s life. Who else but Larry could turn a chance encounter with an old neighbour into an embarrassing argument in which he essentially tells a cancer-stricken chap to f*ck off while breaking his glasses, hugging him with them hanging round his neck. The assertion that Larry had to pay for the damage was, of course, preposterous but his neighbour played the Ace card: are you really going to shout at someone with cancer?

This episode continued much of the blacker, more adult humour showcased in the opening episode of the series. Larry seems to be an angrier man than ever before and that’s no bad thing. The odd improbable situation aside, this was another top draw outing for this latest series.

Next week, the series’ wider story arc really gets going as a Seinfeld reunion is on the cards. Here’s hoping Jerry Seinfeld is better here than he was when I last saw him on 30 Rock.

Read our review of the seventh season opener here.