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Weekly Archive > Weekend Read > 03/02/07
An Underachievement
About an Overachievement
By dennis sampson
Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Book
Deirdre Dolan
As he broke the mold for television sitcom with Seinfeld, so co-creator Larry David does again with Curb Your Enthusiasm, his improvised HBO comedy that serves as a loose reflection of his own life. In Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Book, author Deirdre Dolan provides an overall view of the series, including episode summaries, interviews, guest casting breakdowns, and a number of random tidbits on the show. Unfortunately, there's not enough behind-the-curtain information to really make Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Book a standout. Aesthetically, it's a handsome, coffee-table hardback edition with a striking yellow facade, but its beauty is only skin-deep. The true essence of the show—the mechanics of working out the stories, how the improvisations are stepped out, what the deciding factors are in the editing process—isn't explored to the depths that it could have, or rather, should have been. The book merely scratches the surface on the procedures involved with creating an episode; for example, while portions of David's outlines are offered, it would have been more enlightening to include a few full outlines. We're ultimately left with a lot of fluff that could learn a lesson from the series it showcases by burrowing deeper into, well, everything.
Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Book
Gotham Books
208 pages
$30.00
Buy it now
Dennis Sampson is a commercial production coordinator and unproduced screenwriter. He currently lives in Los Angeles with his better half, Susan, and their dog Tripp.
Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Book courtesy Gotham Books
Curb Your Enthusiasm courtesy HBO Home Video
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