S4 Ep. 2 - “Ben’s Birthday Party”

You can watch the original episode we'll be discussing in every other episode of HBO's Curby Your Enthusiasm, including the new and final season, on Max. You can also watch the video version of the History of Curby Enthusiasm podcast on Max and YouTube, as well. Links available in the episode description. Okay, so I'm Susie Esmond.

And I'm Jeff Caerlin.

Hi everybody, and we're here for season four, Episode two, Ben's birthday. And we start off with Larry in rehearsal tapping with the choreographer played by Patrick Bristow.

Who, by the way, Groundlings.

Groundlings very very funny and has some real gem stuff later on, which.

Is why for years before this I was up whenever I did comedy stuff. And he is just he's hilarious.

It's very funny.

I mean, he would be a working class comedian, do you know what I mean? He's not, you know, and he will make any project you do as.

This funny, funny.

Yeah. And the first line that he says in the episode is thank god you stopped.

Okay, I'm not even gonna get into what's wrong with the actual choreography. I'm gonna start with your shoes Okay, I told you to get Kipezia Jazz, I will get those shoes today. You're gonna get the shoes, but you're also gonna get the steps. So we're gonna break it down one more time and just watch only my feet.

Thank god you stopped. Yeah, thank god you stuffed. I'm sorry gold from the get go right.

I love that Larry doesn't understand and I kind of agree with him.

Why can't you just do this?

And he shuffles around, like, what.

Do you have to do?

The tap? Why can't you just go this? And by the way, you've seen your share of Broadway shows? Do you think it doesn't make a difference. Really, No, it does make a difference, of course it does. But I understand his logic though, because he.

Can't I just shuffle around?

Why do I have to do so?

Then the pianist walks in and it is blind Michael, who we met.

I think it was in season one or two.

Where Richard Joys one. I believe Richard Lewis and Larry helping, and he's very unrealizarious.

Yes, yes, And he walks in with a woman on his arms, and that is Patrick Kerr is the actor who plays Michael and Jackie Hoffman and Jackie Hoffman who's you know, Yeah.

I mean she's Second City. But here's what I want. I want to say about Jackie Hoffman. When I first moved as a young comedian and improviser to Chicago to do the Second City theater, other people had the same dream and they came and you. But you started, you got lucky if when you got there you got a job as a bar back, a server. Yeah, you can make a living. But they only gave those jobs to the actors that they believed in. So for a long time,

She does a lot of Broadway, she does a lot of one woman shows shows all the time, and she's been on Broadway in many, many things. Yeah, I recently saw her in the Yiddish Fiddler on the Roof. She knows Yiddish yes, she was terrific.

No, she's but I also she played the maid something.

In in in with with the behind the scenes viewed.

With that, she played Joan Crawford's maid, but.

She gets hired. She was she was in I forgot the name of the movie Birdman or whatever with Michael Keaton. She shows up in every New York movie, always cast it appropriately, Like when you see her do these parts, you think, I can't imagine anyone else doing this part. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So she comes in and she is Michael, who is blind. She's his girlfriend, and Larry looks at him. He's like, you see on Larry's face, this guy looks familiar and then he realizes who he was and he says to him, I helped you move with Richard Lewis three years ago. Turns out Michael is the rehearsal pianist, right, and he introduces He says, this is.

My girlfriend Ronda. Hello, and Larry, Hi, can you believe it? I hooked up with a model boy? You lucked out?

Can you believe I hooked up with a model? I love this guy, Patrick Kerr.

I love his voice. I love no he's great, A lovely man too. By the way, Who better than Jackie Hoffman to bullshit a blind guy that she's a model and Angenoux? Do you know what I mean? Who better? Because immediately it's gotten boom. You know, she's a character actress and it just and I never thought that somebody could do that realistically, could lie to somebody who's blind as to what they look like.

Well, you know, that's how Larry's brain works, because he thinks, wouldn't it be great if this woman was blind? And I told her I looked like Paul Newman. You know, that's how his brain works.

Yeah, so that's why he put it in there. Yeah, exactly.

And then Ben enters and he's introduced to Michael, and Michael introduces his girlfriend Ronda, and he says hands off to Ben.

Right. So that's all good and fine, But I want to say something about Ben Stiller, his greatness as an actor and a director. I don't know if you watched his show Severance. I have seen it. It is subtle, it is beautiful, but as an actor, his reaction, he doesn't say a word like the woman I said in the last episode, who did it all with her face? Yeah? Who's very handsome? But he says it all with his face, so he says hands off, and the look on Ben's face is the laugh, and then he turns to Larry

And that's a delight to watch.

Well it is, but Ben is sot. He's such a wonderful actor. I hope he acts again.

He invites everybody there to his birthday party, right, and he says his birthday was two weeks ago, but they're gonna do it Saturday and no gifts. And Larry's like, why have it at all? If it was two weeks ago, why have a party at all? What's the whole point of it? And he's at lunch with Richard Lewis and Larry's brings up to Richard Lewis the total scam that Michael introducing. You know, Lewis knows Michael also because he was with Larry when they moved him episodes ago, and

She's clear not a model.

And Richard then brings up that his friend's daughter, so he's like uncle Richard, who's like a niece to him, wants breast implants, and that Richard is supposed to be doing a breast intervention, and he asked Larry to help him talk her out of Kim is her name? Help help me talk with Kim out of getting a breast enhancement.

And then Richard says.

To Larry, you never confide in me, right, which I found interesting.

You know, it's like, you don't confide in me.

And then his fake niece Kim shows up, and Kim wants ld to look at her reel, of course, and Larry says, out of nowhere that added Nicole Smith, what a pair of knockers on her?

Yeah, and you can see the woman knowing what he's doing, the young lady.

Right, But it was the exact wrong thing to say.

Well, by the way, it's a complete run. But that was also his character because he even said to Lewis, how do I approach this right?

No idea?

That was his attempt. He went from zero to sixty.

Larry is the last person I would ask to do something like that.

See, I disagree. I think Larry is brilliant in uncomfortable situations. And I also think he's not as good as you. He's a great advice guy.

Just like No, he is a great advice But I just know that he would feel so uncomfortable in something like that that I would never ask him.

But if he had to do it, he'd be good at it. That's what I'm saying.

And that Larry and Cheryl walk into Ben's party and they see a table full of gifts and there's like, what I thought, no gifts, And Jeff and Susie then approach and he says, did you bring gifts?

Susie's like, yeah, of course, and we brooke gifts.

He said it said no gifts, and nobody means that right now. This is one of those those curb things. This is a typical curb thing of no gifts, Do you bring a gift? Everybody means bring a gift when they say no gifts, and it's bullshit.

Well, by the way, for the most part, no gifts parties, there's lots of gifts there.

You know what I don't never see to if somebody a gift.

When you get to a certain age that's really like no, no, no, you like gifts, but make them thoughtful. They don't even have to be expensive. Just make it a thoughtful gift to where my eyes will go big and go.

Wow, Well, did you happen to be a terrific gift giver as am I?

I didn't know that. Yes, I'm a very good gift giver. Oh yeah, I gave you the Mickey Mantle card.

Get me a Mickey Mano card.

Yeah.

And then they're passing out or dures and there's a skewer with chicken on it, you know, like a kebab thing, and Larry takes the skewer and Ben and Christine enter and Larry's like, what.

Do you do with these skewers? I don't know what you're supposed to do with the skewers, And he and Ben.

Start to talk about the rehearsal a lot of dancing, and Ben's like, well, you have to work on the off hours. And you see Ben already is feeling like he's not doing enough, He's not carrying his weight, and Larry's it looks like a lot of effort, and Ben is saying, like, you're not putting the effort in, and we see the riftstore forward and Larry's just focusing on the skewer What am I going to do with the skewer?

What are which is a natural question that I have to this day of what you do with the skewer? Yes, people come by, but what if you're stuck there and nobody's coming by. It's an issue, it actually is that has not changed, and.

It's happened to me since we've done this episode numerous times.

Say he was right.

Yeah, I'm standing here holding the skewer and I have no where to put it, and as usual he's.

Right, Yeah, he's right with the setup, correct, Like those are one of the things, like people look at some of them and go most of them. It's like a release for people watching. I feel the exact same way, right right, you know our show, which is politically incorrect, but in a thoughtful way, not a shocking way and irreverent people watching especially today, if like.

It gives them permission.

No, no, no, no, you know, crying makes you feel better when you're feeling bad. Yes, I think that the laughs from our show really do the same, yea to people in that way.

In that way, tears are natural endorphins that are painkillers, as his laughter laughter, you know.

So I think it's a big release for people when he takes something that's happened to them to the nth degree, you know, which he does.

Yes, And then I start telling Larry about my new business that I'm making these sweatshirts that are dazzled and they're selling like hotcakes, and I've got a whole bunch in the trunk. You want to see them. He doesn't want to see them.

He's not.

Okay, hold on, you're skipping the big point. What There are two times where Susie begins the doll Yeah, and this episode because you're wearing slightly loud clothes, your jacket, especially in the scene where you open up and show the things, but the bedazzling and those shirts of beautiful hold on. Not only, but not only in horrible taste and ridiculous, but that's the beginning of you having always some sort of clothing business. Yeah down the road kaftans,

Also had the soaps on business too, where I was selling like hand creams and I know, but you're entrepreneurial, I.

Know, but you're wearing your outfits when you're doing the soap. Yes, exactly, you know what I mean. So it's a turn, it's it's a slight beginning to what we're gonna get with Susie. Yeah, you saying.

And I think season five is where it really all comes together, which we'll get to.

We'll be right back. Stay tuned, and we're back.

Then Larry sees Michael, the blind pianist come in and Michael tells him Tuesday night he's doing a show at the Mint and it's show tunes, And he asked Larry if he thinks Ronda is beautiful.

Ronda had walked away to go to the bathroom.

Hold on one. He asked him if he'll go, and Larry says, no, I've got a clan meeting.

That, I got a clan meeting that speaking of the clan.

Yes, And then and he doesn't believe Larry, like he laughs, he knows Larry's joking, ye, And then the look on Larry's faces, Oh, I guess they have to go to this fucking show.

But Larry likes show tunes as do I.

Well, no, I know, then walks away and he and Michael askes ld if he thinks he's beautiful.

Larry's like, you know, what's the difference what she looks like? You can't see her anyway? What that's one of the advantages, right in the good hearing good hearing? What is that a myth? I thought blind people had better hearing?

What's the difference what she looks like? You can't see her anyway. That's one of the advantages being blind. That and the good hearing. You know, it's just constantly making it worse and worse. Hearing, according to Michael, is a myth.

Is this where he tells Michael that she's not an engeneue? No, because this scene she walks up.

If I'm r exactly she does, so he hasn't told him yet, Okay, and then we cut to you and and Larry and I are out at the car and I'm showing him my creations.

Wait do you see them? You are gonna die?

Okay? Now is this cute?

I mean, how much fun?

Is this? Huh? Great?

Right?

You know? Nice? Yeah, not going my cup of tea, but you know it's nice, all right? You know what?

Fuck you and fuck your teeth?

What whoever said you had taste? Mister hushpuppy rumpled suit. Look what, it's nice, it's just not you know, we all can't like the same things.

I'll tell you when I showed him to Ben still or he happened to love them, right.

Honey, he went nuts free, he went crazy for them.

Yeah, he has taste.

I'm sorry. I think it's it's nice, it's just not stop right now.

Now.

This scene is classic Susie.

Yes, excited, excited, excited, and then excited and pissed and then excited, and you tell Larry to go fuck himself because he doesn't like them.

Well, he says they're not my cup of tea, and I said, fuck you and fuck your tea.

Right, But that's still I know, which leads us down the road. But I'm just saying this is the first scene. We've already established your your bite. Yeah, but at this point we see the levels how proud you are to show Larry you know, Larry's important to you, and then you turn on a dime and get you know, boom, I'm hitting you hard in the face. And also between that and these horrible shirts, this is the first of many quintessential Susie scenes. We'd never done anything like this

You know how I feel about it is Larry knew how to use me. Larry knew how to use me.

Without a doubt. I'm not saying that, I'm just saying the way it was portrayed in that scene we had never done before, and that's when he went he knew you were capable of it. You're so great at this part. But it was the first where he realized I don't remember if we had a conversation about it, but the trunk, the showing, and by the way, there are numerous trunk showings and coming up. You know your trunk.

Okay, So then you know, fuck you, fuck you tea Ben still I love him. Then Larry goes back to the house and he sees Katie Huffman, who is the statuesque blonde, and Ben introduced Larry to Katie, and Ben leaves to go to the bathroom and Larry, you know again, talking to a beautiful woman. He can't help but be a ridiculous person. Yeah right, you know it's not really his birthday. It's you know, there should be a statute of limitations on the birthday.

And then he goes on a skewer. I don't like a kebab.

What do you doing it? The cordial thing he says about cordial because he can't be cordial. Oh no, Larry can't be cordial. That's what I wrote down. Yes, his character has an inability to go in and just be like, hi, how are you. Yeah, he can't do it.

Yeah, and yeah, the stick you stick yourself in the scrotum. You put it in your pocket, you stick yourself in the scrotum.

I made a mistake because the proper thing to say, which Ben said, that's why you said Ben loved them, is to say, oh, those are lovely. Being cordial, he can't do it. But you say, what do you know in your hush mister hush? No you said mister hushpuppy rumpled suit. I believe you said. Maybe you said your shirt,

What can I tell you?

Well, so he totally alienates Katie Huffman. You see, she can't wait to walk away from him. The skewer you put it in your pocket. You said stick yourself in the screw to He's ridiculous. He clearly does not know how to talk to women and where, and the audience is thinking he's never gonna find somebody to fuck him for.

The anniversary, which is good that they think that, Yes, But I also want to say he is obsessed with cutoffs. When the cutoff is like Happy New Years. Yeah, but we do that in the future episode what time you can call, what time you can't? But he loves the.

Cutoffs statutal limitations, Yeah, yeah, yeah, And then we cut to We're in the kitchen and I'm playing telephone with all the kids, and Larry comes in and sits down and I don't want him there.

I clearly I'm pissed off at him about the you know, not my cup of tea thing, and he sits down to play telephone and the waitress leans over with huge cleavage.

I love tits.

That's funny to you, It's funny to say that in a room full of children.

What the what's the matter with you? That's what he said to me. What did you say to him? I love pigs, I love people, Ammy, What did you say? I love pigs?

Larry and he whips to the kid next to him, I love tits, and the kid announces I love tits, just when Cheryl walks in in the background, and here's this in the background, And what the kid had said was I love pigs. That's what it was supposed to be. And you know, I go off on him with his sick, perverted mind, and Cheryl drags him away to sing Happy birthday.

Okay. So I just want to say this. I've always been mischievous. And you're in first grade. Everyone since a circle. You're about to play telephone no matter what. Duck duck kuse duc duck goose, of course, but that's a little younger. Anyhow, whatever I heard didn't matter. I would whisper to the kid's next let's say it was why am I not surprised at this? Okay? What would be a thing that someone would say.

In that I like pigs, that's what that's what Sammy said or whatever.

So I would say I love skirt steaks, and you have to say it like that, so you pass it around. So you would do that at what age six? Seven, seven?

Okay?

And then also when adults played that, I would do that. It was like, why my attitude was a saboteur. I am a sabateur, but my thought process, even at the young age, is this is stupid. Why are we doing this? Because at the best, at the end, it's going to be a slight iteration. So I thought, I'm going to spin it on the sh I'm going to the bathroom, I would whisper, and then it would get to I'm going to the bathroom, and the teacher would be so frustrated, and then she looked.

At you must have driven your teachers crazy.

All except one psychology teacher in high school who was the only teacher in history that embraced me and told me keep being who I am. And I'll think of her name probably after the episode, But isn't that amazing. She's always been in my heart. A psychology somebody said, you're okay the way you are? Of course, of course a psychology teacher. Yeah, but yeah. It was like I've never in any class, even the other students who were

Because were they a year older than you?

They were like I was in the birthdays in June, so I was no, no, no, no, no, no no. I was in ninth grade. No, I was in tenth grade. They were in eleventh.

It wasn't like I was.

But even all the kids in that class were so thoughtful about me and my misbehavior and my add mind.

You know, you know, you know what I used to get, Jeff, I used to get. The teacher would call my mother and they would say, she's a natural born leader, but she leads the class in the wrong direction.

I don't think that can ever be topped. My funny story is not about me. It's about James when he was in preschool. And by the way, I was never sarcastic with my children, because children don't understand sarcasm. They don't. It goes way over their head. It's not right. But I would say silly things around the house although I was a present father. Marla and I get called to the school because she needs to talk to us about James.

Well it was listen, we're comics. It's always a skewed direction.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay.

So now they bring in the cake and everybody's singing Happy birthday except for who Larry and Ban of course notices and they've done in Cheryl.

You know, Cheryl's so funny.

Why didn't you sing? Why weren't you singing?

Cheryl says, and Larry, I don't sing the birthday song whatever.

By the way, I don't think he sings the bird. He doesn't. He doesn't sing. Yes, so do everyday the story. You were in New York, so you went there. I had a birthday party, I remember, with a food truck of this great Mexican food and Larry came. He looks at me. He's probably been there forty five minutes. He goes, I did it. Oh see you later, like he was doing it because he loved me, wanted to be no, but at a certain point I thought he's more so now than he used to be. Way more, way more

Stay tuned, and we're back.

So then Larry is telling you about a golf he's giving you a golf tip he just heard, and he goes, he's with the skewer.

He still has a skewer in his hand.

All the way back to many many scenes ago, he's still holding the skewer.

No, it's a I think it's a new skewer. He put the other one on the thing.

He just happens to be got another skewer.

Yeah, and he swings back using the skew were as the golf club and he swings to show you the golf tip, you know, something about the hands whatever, and the skewer sticks Ben in the and the.

Follow stick's Ben in the eye. Dick's Ben in the eye. And it's bad. That was, you know.

I remember how good Ben was that I thought he really got hit in the eye.

Well, no, no, Ben is maybe the greatest of all the guys who were comedians. Ben is phenomenal because everything he does is nuanced, even something that broad, it's real. It was real.

It was so real in the moment, I remember thinking he got he actually hit him in the eye. I remember thinking that even though heline was.

And then Christine looked at Larry and said, what's wrong with you? Yeah?

Yeah, okay, And next we cut to rehearsal and Larry finally has the right shoes for his tap and the choreographer Patrick shows him that he's doing the tap dancing, but it's actually double time of what that was, and he's supposed to speeding it up. And then they take five and Larry complains to Michael about the tempo and it's like the flash the guy in the red costume, but he doesn't know what the flashes. He's blind, he's

Come on, Larry, everybody knows that's bullshit. Bullshit. Yeah, how's that bullshit? It's bullshit.

You say no gifts, you bring a gift?

Well, why did you even say it?

I'm just saying this as a friend. You really have a little ways to go when it comes to dealing with people. Really, So you don't even shake my hand the first time I see you, you know the theater.

Yes, it's not on your hand, it's just sneeze. That was a dry sneeze, Larry. It wasn't a sneeze. It was I can't assume Jrhy I gotta assume what it's air coming out.

I'm not gonna put out my hand if it's full of snotch, I.

Know its hair. I thought I saw some little speckles flying. I would assume you would know me. Won't have to know that. I'm not going to give you a handful of snot to shake your hand. And by the way, because you don't know snot speckles are coming out, I saw snot speckels flying and everyone.

Knows no gift is bullshit, and that he didn't shake his hand.

It was a dry sneeze. And Larry carries.

On about he saw speckles of snot coming out, and you think it.

Was a dry sneeze.

But I saw speckles of snot in the air, yes, not speckles.

Yeah.

And then we say, already this relationship is not going well.

It's a roller coaster. Hi, Larry, Uh, what the fuck did you do? Hi Larry, what the fuck did you do?

It's literally like that exactly.

Then we cut to Larry's at home and he's practicing his dancing at home and there's a knock on the door and it's Kim Richard Lewis's fake niece and she's dropping off her reel and headshot to Larry, and Kim is like, whoa, whoa, don't you notice anything? And she clearly got her enhancement all right, And.

Don't they look real? She's like, don't they look real? Check them out?

They're good, right, and she lifts up her shirt to show Larry.

Oh boy, that's it, that's it, it's all done already.

That was fast, an hour in and out done.

Boobs genius. Don't they look real? I remember how you said they were not going to look real?

Do they not look real?

You want to see them?

Check them out?

Check them out? Look they're good right right?

Feel them?

They feel totally natural.

Come on, Larry, don't be so tight. Come here, let me feel them.

Check them out.

They feel good, right, Squeeze them, give them a little.

I will tell you who did that to me when she got breast implants backstage at a comedy club, Brett Butler, she got breast in plants and I was backstage and she lifted them up and she told me to touch them to feel how real they felt?

Okay, what if I told you two maybe three times I was asked to look and I was asked, hold, and this is all I'm married. Different people you would know, Yeah, the people you would know who wanted to show them off and me to feel them. Now, I said no every time I said please, don't you wants to do that?

No?

No, But I was like, please keep your shirt down when I knew they were starting. No, because even if there's no way, that's so disrespectful to your wife. Even if so, I think, Larry, well go on. But Larry the next moment is a victim. He's uncomfortable holding, very uncomfortable, and very forceful about it.

Yes, but white insistent.

Also on the side shot, you see he's really holding her breasts. Yes, she's stopless and he's holding her breath. And she's like, check them out. They're good, right, but touch them and they feel totally natural. Squeeze them, squeeze them. Okay, But I want to say this, itnt show business. Your hands are on a woman's breasts. That's not acting. Uh, well, I don't know what you mean. What do you mean he puts his hands on her breast. There's no acting there.

Though we know that there's a million cameras are it's not exactly hot, but by the way.

Run it's so technical and now they even have a person it works out every move.

It's it's called an intimacy director or an intimacy advisor or something like that.

When I was much younger, maybe even in high school college, there was a movie called Tattoo with Bruce Dern and Maud Adams, and the rumor out there was they really had sex, and also Donald Suddent and Julie Christie and don't look back, it was also out there that their sex was real.

Someone well, maybe Donald Sutherland or Julie Christy. You'll call in and let us know.

All right, See that's sarcasm, and I don't like it.

I'm not being sarcastic.

Where's our hotline?

What the fuck are you now?

They're writing it, where do they write? What do you think Julie Christie isn't a curb fan?

I bet you she is.

Well what's her name? Kim Novak said when she retired and they said would you ever act again? And she said, only on curby your enthusiasm? And for me that was how can I write something that she's right for as fast as I can? Larry Shrugged, how about that? You know what I mean? Tim Novak? What the fuck? But by the way you watch the sex scenes, I don't think I've ever seen tattoo, but I've seen don't look, don't look now, ye don't look now, and it looks

So luckily as a as a comedian, I've never been in that position.

I have no interest.

Hold on, I have directed a scene with a naked young lady and a naked man. It's a comedy And she had a patch over her vagina and breasts, and he was wearing some flesh colored underwear what have you. But he's still in bed with a beautiful young oznou with large breasts, a killer body. He's handsome as hell, and they're rubbing against each other. Yeah, yes, they're doing a scene. But what the fuck.

I'm sure that people get aroused all the time. I don't see how you cannot.

Well, though, that would be very embarrassing, you know. Ray Ramano once said to me one time, if you have a masseuse and she's even remotely attractive, you have to work hard the whole massage. That's noting. No, No, I know, to not get a boner, you have to work. And it's so true because I think any massuse is knocked up a category with how they look. Women.

Women don't have to deal with that.

It's not necessarily true. No, we don't have something that shows that you're want to know.

No.

In other words, if that happened.

You, you might get excited or arouse, but it's not sticking up in the air, you know what I mean?

Right?

Yeah, Okay, Larry is touching her breasts, and we see Cheryl at the window seeing all of this, and Cheryl says to him, happy anniversary. Touching a breast is sex. You just had your anniversary game and it's over.

Do you blame her in that moment.

That she's absolutely on her side?

Yeah? No.

Men house runs by and Larry says it's a tit mouse, and Cheryl's like, you're.

Obsessed with tits.

He did tits in the in the telephone with the kids anyway.

Then Michael calls, by the way, I know that term. I've never seen anyone use it.

It's a real term, but I've never you know.

And by the way, do you know how many times they in movies, old movies, they talk about a mouse, but when you see it, it's a fucking rat because little mice are actually cute. It's weird, but they're actually if you look at them, especially pet mice, they're really.

Add like them. I don't like any of it.

Cargo was walking down the street. I passed an alley in the city and there's a rat and baby, I'm exaggerating some the size of a pig and hissing it at me. Ye and I read I have a phobia.

We're not going to discuss this.

Did you know that phobia? I know someone close to me he's got a wreck inophobia.

Truly, really okay, that doesn't I.

Don't like spiders, but I hate spiders, but sometheless.

I'm I don't like insects. They don't bother me. But rodents I have a phobia.

Okay, by the way, when I grew up, no one more thing. People freak out from lizards. I never do, no matter what.

Snakes don't bother me.

Snakes freak me out. Oh any garden, run for the hills. That being said, and pull anything out that might be attacked. What have you? Well, no, I cleared the area. But like chameleons. You know it's I grew up with chameleons, so lizards are cool.

I love coamellions in sou and sal So.

You know what was great in Florida because I was born in Chicago, lived there as a kid, and explained, but high school, junior high school, and high school and college University of Miami, I lived there. I started comedy in Florida, so I lived there from twelve to twenty two, ten years of my life. And what was great about chameleons was they ate cockroaches, So they were my heroes

Shoot, all right, let's let's move on from this discussion. I don't like it.

By the way, I enjoyed it. It was very revealing.

So so Michael calls Larry. He broke up with Rhonda and he needs Larry to help him because he has nobody to help him. So then we have a whole montage. Larry's taking him to the supermarket, to the shoe store, to the laundromat.

To buy glasses to eat pie.

They stop at stop at the Greens, but please, but.

I always want to say when he's at the cereal. By the way, that was written as a montage, unlike the special section where I said it was so disappointed that it turned into a montage, But that one was written as a mostage. It was all good until Larry mind,

Oh it was a necessary montage. Yes, that wasn't necessary, was it?

It?

Would it work?

No?

I thought it was necessary to the story. We'll be right back, stay tuned.

Okay, we're back.

And then Larry comes to our house.

And so Larry wants to buy a one of my sweatshirts, one of my bedazzle sweatshirts. Ben was mad about the birthday song. And you know, I was right about the stricks, though I don't know what the sticks.

Oh yeah, he was right about the sticks.

And you say to Larry, say the shirt is for you. Don't say it's for Ben, say it's for you. You tell him entred, and Larry tells me that he wants to buy a shirt he needs more flair, and I say, yeah, the red would look good. You're pale and pasty.

How much sixty? But he did get a lot of sensive hold on though he buys the first one out. You well, I said the red would be good for him. He's pale and pasty, yes, but there was no looking at other ones he had.

No interest, so he's like, how much is it?

Sixty dollars? Hold on, wait, wait wait Indiana, Indiana. I know I actually I have that one. I kept that one, did you keep? Yes? I keep that one. Well, by the way, he says, I used to a friend of mine's sister went to Indiana the university, And you say, all the better the yeah, because you're excited.

I'm excited, and I won't take his money. I'm like, laugh from me to you, Mike, gift you. I'm so excited that he likes the shirts, and I'm truly excited about it.

Well, by the way, oh, hold on, hold on a second here, uh in this episode, like when Larry's dancing and he grabs the breasts and this scene, we're both in new houses. Ours is a new house. That's right, His is a new house.

Well, I told you why we had to have a new house last time, because they kicked us out after in season three when I was throwing your clothes out the window and screaming and cursing, and.

Yes, yes, and that was the house tour house.

No, no, yes, but that was when I'm throwing your clothes up there.

I know when that was Larry, Joseph and Mary.

Yeah. Yeah, but I'm just saying that's the one from the house tour, and then somewhere at a new house. Uh, and then Larry's new house. By the way, it's not the house anymore. No, no, but he mentions we had to what does he say about we moved the other We had to move because the other neighborhood they were filming all the time, right right, because we got kicked out of that house because of what's his name, Fraser who plays Fraser Kese Kelsey Grammar lived in the area

It is quite an imposition. I mean, we'll hold on to the house, we take over the whole block.

Okay, but I agree with the one that we used to live in. Okay, but I want And by the way, when we were in the Palisades, all the houses were great. What I was going to do.

Was.

I have a difference of opinion in the Malibu situation because it was self contained. There were no trucks down the block that fit the driveway, and also the house was isolated, so he had to have only heard we were filming because we weren't loud. The only outside thing I remember shooting is I'll tell I'll talk about it in the future. Yeah. But there was a scene that was cut, and it was cut a while later and we had to reshoot it different lowcasian, different tone, and

So now, so I sell Larry the shirt and I say to him, which is the first time I said it, and I've said it so many times.

All is forgiven. I said that to him so many times.

Yeah, okay, So now we cut to rehearsal.

Ben is rehearsing and the choreographer Patrick says, it's perfect. You get everything the first time. He's so askissy to him, and Larry comes in with Michael.

I actually think the opposite. I think Ben does do it perfect every time.

But Ben does it perfect because he rehearses.

I know he works hard practice. And Larry is in a blitter. He doesn't know.

Okay, so Larry brings Ben a gift Happy birthday.

This is ridiculous.

Well you don't have to do that, Larry. I didn't have to. I wanted to.

I'm sorry. Okay, let me just say I'm sorry. I'm really no. No, I've been like stressed out of my.

Mind and I stabbed you in the eye.

No, no, no, no, I've been crazy about this thing, and I'm like getting into your space and I shouldn't get into your space. You're doing what you're doing. I'm doing what i'm doing. We're working together, we're gonna make it work.

And I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Okay, let's just let's be friends. Okay, okay, all right, And you didn't have to get me a gift on what is this? Open it up? Oh you got me a gift. I knew you liked it. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, it's one of those. It's a sweatshirt with studs on it.

Yeah, Indian And Ben apologizes.

He says he's been stressed and uh, it's you know, He's sorry.

They got off on the wrong foot.

And he opens the gift and it's the sweatshirt with studs and Ben says, it's a sweatshirt with stuts.

Okay, I also want to say him getting the gift, Ben apologizing the two of them, and Ben even says, let's be friends. And I don't know. If they hug, they hug, the hug they hug. And so this is what I'm talking about with Ben. Every scene is different, and it's nuanced from one scene to the next. Right, and this scene goes both ways because he's about to he opens the package. It's one of your shirts, and

Go ahead, and it's a sweatshirt with studs.

And then they start to rehearse and Ben says to him, you're not Larry as for a script, and he says, you're not off book yet.

You know there was that little.

Dig there TM we go into the stage right stage left thing, which I have to say still to this day confuses me.

Well, no, by the way, it did confuse me until I rewatched the episode, because I had forgotten exactly and it's facing out right left. That's what it is. That's why they'll say, if I'm standing on stage stage right, is my right? Yeah? Ok, yes, that's that's the uh each By the way, when I was in Second City, holy Craft, remembering that of which entrance and laying out the chairs.

For people, just for our people in our listening audience, there's a lot of lingo in the theater. We're not really all that familiar because we're not theater people, but there's a lot of lingo.

Do you know. I was a drama major. I was an acting major in college, and I like, I wasn't good. I wasn't a good actor. You know, I was fine, especially back then. And I've got a whole story about that that I'm not gonna tell. What is it when you build the stuff, you build the wooden things, whether stagecraft stagecraft. We went from acting on stage and stuff, and then we began the stage crash craft portion. Well, I'm backstage and I'm like, we're building things. I quit.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, which is you know the same thing with film.

I mean it is.

They're all completely collaborative processes and so many people contribute. You know, you see our faces out there, but there's a lot of other people.

And a great crew. A great crew can make a difference, by the way, a great crew that not even making a difference, help set a tone for the set. Yes, like the groove that we had the past three seasons, which got better every season because we had one crew that was great, but they only lasted till Larry stop.

We took we took a six year hiatus, and.

Everybody scattered and had different jobs. It was hard.

I think the only person Thomas the hair was going to be on their show Who did your hair? Yeah? Who else came back after that? I'm trying to even run.

John Party came back for one is a great camera.

Man, and uh and Richard Tippetts.

Richard Tippets of course, and Jonas came back.

Yes.

Okay, So next we're at the Mint and Michael is playing the piano, performing and he's wearing the Indiana sweatshirt that I gave to Larry who gave it to Ben, who then Ben gave it to Michael the blind Man because he can't even see. Michael is really bad. He's horrible, really horrible. And people are out left and right singing.

In a way that's passable. He's playing piano perfectly, but his singing is passable. Who wants to watch someone?

Nobody wants to sit and listen to Michael singing.

A fine Mione.

Stand the world again.

Turning up the lights. Okay, it's the outside.

That Bucky star right, talk about pace, and people are walking out left and right. And before people start walking out, there's a whole series of you know, the camera goes to Ben and you see Ben pissed off at Larry, and then you see me making a gesture. Why is Michael wearing the shirt I give you? And everybody's managed, by the way.

If I may, this is the first of many times you're doing that to Larry.

No, not true. When happen I did it in the Dog where I said.

Oh yeah, theater, okay, my mistake. That was the first time.

But I enjoyed doing that. I enjoyed making a figure.

Yeah, we don't hear a word you're saying, but we know what it could be. Of course I love that.

And then everybody's walking out and Cheryl wants to go, and Larry's like it's gypsy, everything's coming up roses and that's it. Larry's the only one left. Michael singing and Larry's the only one left. But Michael doesn't even know it.

No, it's fun. It's a beautiful ending. It's a very fun episode. And this episode really it's like the first time we did it was the restaurant. And by the way, and he mentioned the restaurant, as I've said before, No, no, it never existed.

Well, now, interesting, you should bring that up because I brought this up last time when I you and Larry and I go out to the car and I'm going to show him the sweatshirts, I do say to and I remember we discussed it.

I say to him, it's great because I could work.

From home and take care of the baby, because I supposedly had a baby in the season before. In season three, that's the only time it's ever mentioned, and we discussed it.

Larry and I discussed it.

I said, I'll throw on something about the baby here because we've never mentioned it.

And that was it.

It's never mentioned again.

Yeah, well no, but did it make the cut? I didn't even Yes, it was in the cut. Oh really, Well, by the way, we firmly established Sammy getting drunk last season, for sure, but this season she's at the party, so that's kind of she's too old. It's about the baby that I had, Yes, right exactly. So the thing, Oh wow, that's surprising that he put it in, because if I would have said to him, shall we mention the restaurant? No? No,

Doing season season This is season four, This is the season five is one of my favorite seasons of all of them.

Which one is it? But which one is that Lewis needs a kidney the kidney, Well, there's one scene that actually I'm lucky enough Larry myself, you and Bob Einstein one of the best scenes ever Your Enthusiasm. We will. It's one of my favorites. Also, I know it is so amazing. I mean really, as we're doing it, in between the takes, we burst out laughing, all of us because it was so fucking funny.

So next next week we will do episode three and season season.

Five, but the next and six, we're never stopping. By the way, you even after we go through season twelve, I think we should do a fantasy version and just make up a story about one night. Jeff Susie, I love you too, and everybody. I really appreciate you listening or watching. It's very kind of him. Bye.

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