The 25 Days of Christmas Episodes – Day 17 – Curb Your Enthusiasm “Mary, Joseph, & Larry”
In the hopes of smoothing things over with his housekeeper, Larry takes her to lunch at the club. Unfortunately, she gets caught up in an unrelated lie that he’s trying to maintain, and ends up quitting as a result.
At home, Larry innocently eats a fresh batch of cookies, only to discover that they were for a gingerbread nativity. See, Larry thought they were animal cookies, and that Baby Jesus was a monkey. Now, I’ve never heard of people actually doing this. Personally, I find if really funny to imagine that Larry David think people really do this. Unless I’m the one who’s crazy. If you make baked good deities over the holidays, please let me know.
In order to make it up to Cheryl’s family, he hires a living Nativity scene to perform at the house. While negotiating payment with Joseph, Larry goes too far by commenting on how hot Mary is.
At this point, Joseph and two shepherds beat the crap out of Larry, dislodging that errant pubic hair. And, if you know Larry, you know that his is the exact moment that Cheryl and her family come home.
Best Line – Becky: “How are you going to make it up to us, Larry? You just swallowed our Lord and Savior!”
Christmas Tropes:
Trimming the tree – Cheryl brings in a Christmas tree over Larry’s objections. “It’s bad luck for a Jew to have a tree. My guy might see it and think I’m switching sides.”
Musical Number – Cheryl’s family sings carols around the piano at night. OK, I have family members who might actually do that.
Nativity scene – Both with cookies and real people! It’s a double-shot!
Celebrity Guests – Kaitlin Olson of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia appears as Cheryl’s sister, Becky. David (Anchorman) Koechner plays Joseph in the Nativity, and he’s pretty hilarious playing the opposite of every character he’s ever played.
Gifts – Larry mentions that he’s giving Cheryl his grandfather’s scarf. Her parents are underwhelmed at the gesture.
Learning a lesson – If you’re tipping two people who know one another, you’d better tip them exactly the same amount. Also, be careful when eating Christmas cookies, especially anything that looks like a monkey.
Cheer-o-meter Score: Skin-crawlingly awkward and frequently inappropriate. Nice to see that the holidays don’t slow Larry down. Since he actually tries to make his family happy, I’m giving it a 7.
