A Tonal Miracle

One thing I'll say about this week's "Curb Your Enthusiasm": It pulled off a tonal miracle. I mean, it was really, really, really sad to watch Cheryl finally walk out on Larry, and then to see all of Larry's friends "go with Cheryl." Larry has always been pathetic, but without Cheryl he's downright tragic. His usual neurotic business -- getting a smaller plate than everyone else, proving a point to the maitre d' -- is more disturbing when he's left without a support system.

And yet the half hour was pretty funny, with absolutely no "very special moments." The theme of separation is darker than usual for "Curb," but the episode fully qualified as a comedy, from the scene in which Glenn and Larry face off to Larry getting his testicles stuck in his underwear. The scene in which Larry takes on a cell phone user in a restaurant is a classic. And then every scene with Bob Einstein as Marty Funkhouser is just automatically funny.

By the way, David says that the storyline was mapped out before his real-life divorce from Laurie David in April. "This was all written before any of my marriage problems," he tells USA Today. But he also says, "I knew when we were filming what was going on," and it was a "very weird" coincidence.