Our good friend Larry was clearly having issues tonight with having been left by Cheryl. Right off the bat, Auntie Rae gave him a hug and he got more than a little happy below the waist. Larry claimed that he can afford five seconds of contact before he becomes involuntarily aroused, but I don't believe that was the only factor at play here.

As we saw later in the episode, he had a dream about Cheryl. Despite the fact that Larry was, almost undoubtedly, upset about the loss of his wife, the dream wasn't portrayed as one of longing for her. Yes, he did think of the good, and not so good, times they've had in the past, but that seemed far more a result of the estrogen Larry had taken than his own personal upset. I think that the audience is meant to believe that without the estrogen Larry would have immediately jumped to the end of the dream, which was him in bed with Cheryl. The estrogen however caused Larry to require foreplay before getting to the good stuff.

Let's face it, the man was so completely starved for affection that he kept his date with Sheila Flomm despite her treating the entire thing like an appointment. Not only did she only allow him to book a time between five and six or after eight-thirty, she recommended that he show up at least five minutes ahead of time. I was waiting for her to say that she required 24 hours notice for any cancellation, but it didn't come up (I'm going to say that it was cut for time).

When Larry did show up at Sheila's place, it looked just like a doctor's office. There was a reception desk, a fish tank, and Larry got to sit in an uncomfortable chair and read a magazine while waiting. Then, after the date, she sent him upstairs to go and get undressed and said she would be there in a few minutes.

Is Larry really getting that desperate? It's amazing to me that over the course of one week (or however much time has elapsed from the last episode) that Larry has gone from dating Lucy Lawless to seeing Sheila Flomm. At this rate it is only going to be a couple of weeks before he starts dating Auntie Rae (if she'll even have him, which I highly doubt).

Enough of Larry's love life (or lack thereof), because what I really loved about tonight's episode was the bald storyline. Jeff had his head shaved tonight and ended up getting treated far more like Larry than he ever could have imagined. Apparently, in the world of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Larry is treated so horrifically because he is bald.

Due to Jeff's new found baldness he didn't get hired by Ben Stiller and couldn't get the waitress at the hospital restaurant to take his order. Life, it seems, is different for those of us without a full head of wonderful hair. Jeff even identified his wife, Susie, as having turned into a witch towards him since the baldness. Could that be why she is also so wretched to Larry?

Rather than revealing anything serious about Jeff, the entire storyline provided a deeper looking into Larry David's psychoses. The storyline, as with many comedies, is carried to an extreme on the show that it would not approach in reality, but that does not mean that there is not a grain of truth in it. It seems clear that Larry David himself definitely feels that bald men are treated differently than those with hair (I seem to recall several instances of George Costanza lamenting as much too).

Does anyone out there think that this is the case? Are bald men treated differently or does Larry just like making himself into a victim? I really don't feel qualified answering this question as I have a wonderfully thick head of hair. Sure, I'm getting a few gray ones mixed in with the brown, but my hair is so thick I can pluck them and no one can tell the difference.

Other thoughts, questions, and a dearth of quotes:

• Did you catch that Sheila has a doctor's scale in her bedroom?
• Did Auntie Rae catching Larry massaging his groin in the car and assuming it was his him having relations with himself remind anyone of Jerry's girlfriend assuming he was picking his nose in Seinfeld?
• I am so happy Jeff ordered an Arnold Palmer when he was out with Larry today. I love a good Arnold Palmer.
• Wasn't it nice to see Brenda Strong as more than just a disembodied voice on Wisteria Lane? Don't get me wrong, I like what she does as Mary Alice Young, but it's always nice to see the voice in the flesh.

And now, I'll close with a promise – should you agree to come over to The TV and Film Guy's Reviews you will never have to see me in the flesh. If you decline, I may have to come and knock on your door.

Comments

Who was Brenda Strong on last nights episode? Was she the doctor?

I thought this episode was hilarious. This season has really been one of the funniest to me. Anyone notice the thumbs up he gave to the other bald guy before seeing Shelia at the hotel.

Darius | Oct 29, 2007 9:13:35 AM | #

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Several Seinfeld references tonight:

- Brenda Strong as the doctor, was also on Seinfeld as Sue Ellen Mishkie on several episodes

- As mentioned, Larry getting caught in the car.

- The idea of Larry being treated poorly due to baldness was also touched on in the episode where George gets a hairpiece

- Larry shaking his head at the end was a direct callback to the The Pie episode of Seinfeld where both George and Jerry do the same thing to avoid eating tainted food.

Paul | Oct 29, 2007 9:32:40 AM | #

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Larry David is living proof that bald men are treated differently. His wife left him for the Martha Vineyard contractor with full head. I was bald in my 20's and had to run triathons and invest in real estate on side to compete with moderately overweight slugs living at home with full head. Luckily it turned out all right but they are not making it up.

alan | Oct 29, 2007 11:02:31 AM | #

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This was the best episode of the season for me. I was laughing the whole way through. I loved the note from the doctor and the interaction with the pharmacist.

Also, does anyone else love Leon as much as me? I hope they keep him around after the Black's move on since he normally lives in LA anyway.

On the bald note, I am BBC (Bald By Choice) and I can definitely attest to the fact that we are treated differently.

Sean | Oct 29, 2007 3:49:28 PM | #

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And another thing, I love my bald brothers!

Sean | Oct 29, 2007 3:49:51 PM | #

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I missed the show when Cheryl left Larry .
Why did she leave him?
Do you think she is off the show?

Larry | Oct 30, 2007 11:08:54 AM | #

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you also missed that her bed had a white sheet right down the middle like that little sheet of paper they have on a doctor's bench.

Jay | Oct 30, 2007 5:17:35 PM | #

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Cheryl Hines plays "Cheryl David," Larry David's wife, on the HBO series "Curb Your Enthusiasm." In this audio interview (and transcription), she talks about the effect of his divorce on the show and her role, as well as her favorite improv moments and what it was like to play opposite Robin Williams in "RV."

Bob Andelman | Nov 1, 2007 6:23:31 PM | #

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