Are You Sure? — The 9 Best Larry David Stare-Downs
Detective LD
Perhaps the most memorable Curb Your Enthusiasm moments involve Larry David’s inquisitive confrontations with friends and adversaries. Always trying to get to the bottom of a sticky situation, Larry goes full detective. We see this in many episodes through the “stare-down,” where Larry looks deeply into the eyes of an opponent, as if possessing a telepathic means of determining whether someone is lying. It’s always awkward, always tense, and always hilarious.
We chose what we believe are the nine best Larry David stare-downs…
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Michael J. Fox
Honestly, this is pure writing genius! In this episode Larry finds himself living below Michael J. Fox. Throughout the episode, Larry continues to believe that Fox is purposefully annoying him with these small acts (such as clomping on the floors) all “under the guise of Parkinson’s.” Larry confronts him about this, and he looks Michael right in the eye as he asks him about using Parkinson’s as a cover up. What a stare-down.
-JD
https://youtu.be/GIjDo-btyL0?t=1m12s
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Sure I’m Not Adopted?
The ever so adorable Papa David winds up in the hospital after choking on a sandwich (the infamous Larry David sandwich — which consists of whitefish, sable, cream cheese, onions and capers). While under the influence of morphine and other pain killers, Nat seems to tell Larry that he’s actually adopted.
Larry confronts him about this later, but Nat denies it. The ensuing staredown signals that Larry doesn’t believe him, and one of the continuous storylines of Season 5 involves Larry trying to discover his familial roots.
-MS
https://youtu.be/CuEnGTuqjh8?t=3m1s (3:01–3:33)
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Dude, Where’s My Paper??
At the David Passover seder, Larry tries to figure out why his newspapers have gone missing from his doorstep during the last couple of weeks. He is led to believe that a cosmetic surgeon, who lives nearby, is stealing his paper and decides to confront him at the beginning of the seder. He gets right in his face and asks “have you been stealing my newspaper?” The ever so famous stare-down ensues, and it finally finishes with an “okay.”
-JD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKLxSiJ4eBE
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Oscar’s Missing
Larry’s bookie (someone who takes and pays out bets, generally in sports) meets Jeff and Oscar’s new German Shepard Oscar, and grows a little too fond of the dog.
When the dog mysteriously goes missing, Larry’s bookie becomes a prime suspect in the “dog-napping.” Enter Detective Larry.
-MS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHI6S25Ilek
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Never Trust a Doorman
LD checks into a shwanky New York City hotel, and is annoyed with the cliche tipping behavior. He wants to tip a bellhop for bringing his bag up to his room, but instead of giving the money to him directly, he gives it to one of the doormen downstairs and asks him to share it.
Fast forward a few minutes and Larry comes across the initial bellhop. He asks him if he received the tip, but he says he never got it. Larry then confronts the doorman and the tensions builds!
-JD
https://youtu.be/te6CH5hFz9E?t=3m27s (3:27–3:59)
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No…I’d Like My 2nd Tip Back
It’s the holiday season, so Larry and Jeff make their way around the country club, giving all the employees holiday tips. When it’s all said and done, Larry realizes he may have accidentally tipped one of the servers twice.
When Larry asks the him about it, the server obviously denies having been tipped twice. Enter staredown.
-MS
https://youtu.be/CuEnGTuqjh8?t=2m14s (2:14–2:40)
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Jerry Goes Full Larry
The tables get turned here. Larry and Jerry Seinfeld are working on a new and revitalized Seinfeld episode, but Larry decides to make a last minute change to the script. Jason Alexander and Cheryl (Larry’s ex who also happens to be cast in the Seinfeld episode) have been getting close and LD is having none of it. He decides that Jason should do a part of the scene in the bathroom, very far away from Cheryl, and Jerry thinks something is up. He looks Larry in the eye and asks what’s going on, but Larry won’t budge. Besides, he invented the “stare-down.”
-JD
https://youtu.be/uF-QKIa4EXo?t=39s
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Enjoying the Dog?
Larry is tasked with watching Ted Danson’s dog when they are out of town. A dog lover, Larry is very excited about this.
Larry is playing around with Jeff and Susie’s dog Oscar. Susie walks into the room just as Larry is adjusting his pants. Susie sarcastically asks Larry, “enjoying the dog?”
Later on, Larry bumps into Ted, who says he’s taking his dog to a kennel instead of allowing Larry to watch it. Larry finds this odd, and soon after asks Susie if she had mentioned anything to Ted (thinking back to the previous interaction). The look on Susie’s face during the stare-down shows she obviously doesn’t have time for LD’s BS.
-MS
https://youtu.be/CuEnGTuqjh8?t=10s (0:10–0:47)
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Guilty of a Dirty Locker
Larry receives a letter from his country club indicating that he has a dirty locker. He confronts Norm, a “friend” and fellow club member, and asks him if he has anything to do with this. Norm completely denies it and Larry continues to ask if he’s sure. You know how it goes from here.
-JD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rfNx1ZWp0s
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Next week (August 27th): 9 Insane Moments Too Insane for Curb
Other installments:
Week 1 — 9 Executive Orders Under a Larry David Presidency
Week 2 — 9 Most Absurd and Very Best Curb Arguments
Week 3 — 9 Best Curb Your Enthusiasm Celebrity Cameos
Week 5 — 9 Insane Moments that Are Honestly Too Insane for Curb Your Enthusiasm
Week 6 — A Tribute to Comic Shelley Berman, Larry David’s TV Dad
Week 7 — COMING SOON (September 17, 2017)
Week 8 — COMING SOON (September 24, 2017)
Week 9 — COMING SOON (October 1, 2017)
