Art continues to imitate life to squirm-inducing effect in "Curb Your Enthusiasm"'s seventh season. Now divorced, Larry (creator Larry David) lets agent Jeff (Jeff Garlin) talk him into a "Seinfeld" reunion. He convinces the old gang to participate--Jerry, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander, and Michael Richards--but mostly he hopes to win back Cheryl (Cheryl Hines), who longs to play George's ex-wife (Jerry would prefer guest stars Meg Ryan or Elisabeth Shue). "Seinfeld" fans are in for a treat when George's mother, Mrs. Costanza (Estelle Harris), and neighbor Newman (Wayne Knight) drop by for rehearsals. In the show's boldest move, Richards's taped tirade at a comedy club in 2006, which set the Internet on fire, plays into the season's story arc.
When he isn't working on the script with Jerry, Larry hangs out with Leon (J.B. Smoove), tries to find a way to break up with Loretta (Vivica A. Fox), and discovers the benefits of dating a "wheelie" (in David's scenes with Seinfeld, the two often appear on the verge of cracking up). Of course, it wouldn't be "Curb" if Larry didn't step into a few minefields along the way, including an awkward plumbing problem, an inappropriately bare midriff (not his), a 9-year-old texting buddy (talk about inappropriate!), a dessert war with Ted Danson, a misunderstanding with Mocha Joe, and in a nod to the musical "West Side Story", a real-life Officer Krupke. If some episodes are funnier than others--"The Black Swan" features one death too many--"Curb" comes through in the finale, in which Larry's jealousy of Jason's relationship which Cheryl gets out of hand. A fine addition to the L.D. canon, the season also offers the immortal line, "I'm Larry David, and I happen to enjoy wearing women's panties." "--Kathleen C. Fennessy"