Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness, the sketch comedy collaboration between Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm) and the Obamas, should have been the next great entry into the legendary comedic canon of HBO. On paper, the series, which debuted right before the 4th of July, has all the pedigree to be just that. A legendary comedic mind teaming with the former President and First Lady of the United States to create a star-studded series intent on lovingly and unflinchingly skewering American history. It should have been an undeniable comedic feat.
Yet, watch any episode of this series, and you’ll quickly realize this sketch comedy is, to quote Larry David in the second sketch of episode one, “mehhhhh.” The main issue is the same one that Twin Peaks Season 3 and the Miami Vice movie had (and don’t even start with the “oh, that’s a good movie” nonsense; it’s terrible). The creative mind behind it was given a blank check, and their worst creative impulses were not reigned in.
The series has too many sketches where there’s only one joke: Larry David being petty, irritable and extremely unlikable. The punchlines are so predictable that you know what they’re going to be before a line of dialogue is even uttered. It’s just like everyone in the series was like “Let Larry be Larry… but in history!” It’s as shallow and vapid as it sounds.
The most egregious of these sketches—and it’s stunning this even got a green light—was a Rosa Parks sketch where Parks (Jurnee Smollett, Lovecraft Country) gets so annoyed by how annoying David’s character is that she chooses to sit at the back of the bus. The payoff of the sketch is so blatant from the jump, and it is such a waste of Smollett’s time and talent. Not to mention it’s a rather tasteless sketch (and that’s being nice).
Yet, when David is not the center of the sketch and works off other comedic talent, the scenes work. For example, the Lewis & Clark sketch which reunites David with Jerry Seinfeld is legitimately great. The comedy is really fun and natural, and all of David’s excesses are curbed (pun intended). The same can be said in the sketch about writing the first draft of the Declaration of Independence. Here, his crankiness is on full display but is criticized by the likes of Alan Tudyk, Chris Parnell and Henry Winkler. When his trademark humor is questioned, he deploys a brilliant, bullheaded doubling down of his thoughts. It’s classic comedic escalation.
Yet, the sketches that stick out the most are when he directs his humor towards relevant political topics like the Trump presidency and the electoral college. Here, David unleashes his fury, anger, and frustration in the Trojan Horse of comedy. These sketches are not only pointed but also allow the audience to cathart their own frustrations.
Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness would be great if it focused on political satire and all-star collabs between David and equally talented comedic performers. However, the hyper-cringe, one-joke, miserable Larry David sketches are still front and center of this series, taking it from “must-watch” to “catch the funniest stuff on social media” instead.
Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness is now streaming on HBO MAX.
