Curb Your Enthusiasm might be one of the cleverest shows on TV and Larry David may have been labeled a genius by many of his peers, but that doesn’t mean the fictional Larry is written perfectly.
Whether it’s the way he spends his money or his unusual inventions that are completely dumb, even for him, the fictional Larry David isn’t just problematic because of the words that come out of his mouth. There are plenty of things that don’t add up about TV’s most beloved grumpy old man.
His Tipping Etiquette
For all of the times that Larry dines at restaurants, which is in almost every episode, the same problem keeps cropping up: how much he should tip.
With all those meals in fancy restaurants, one would think he should have his tipping game down to a tee by now. It seems like rich Hollywood men always hit a wall when it comes to the end of the meal, as Larry’s brother in arms, Jerry Seinfeld, suffers the same problem in almost every episode of Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee.
His Relationship With His Family
Larry has never been much of a family man, as even his father kept his mother’s death from him. He has always seemed somewhat disinterested when it comes to family events, but when his father tells him that he is adopted, he has a sudden urge to become closer to whoever his real parents might be.
This might seem natural, but it’s completely out of character for Larry. However, Mrs. Siederman’s death, the only one who knew the truth, is one of the funniest plot twists in the show.
Why He Was With Cheryl For So Long
Larry and Cheryl were together for six full seasons, but the two never seemed right for each other. They have gotten into a ton of debates and arguments over the series, but neither one of them ever changed their stance on anything.
When Cheryl left, Larry might have ended up in one of the lowest moments the series has seen, but he came out the other side swinging and dated a bunch of high profile celebrities afterward.
His Urinal Design
Larry’s feud with Mocha Joe was one of the best things about season 10, and his "spite store" in the form of Latte Larry’s was a sight to behold. But one of the strangest things about the store was Larry’s ridiculous, nonsensical idea for the cafe's urinals.
Larry was very proud of his urinal design that featured a lid that automatically opens and closes when it detects a human standing in front of it. He explains that the effort is to avoid "splashback" and the truth is, it wouldn't even work. To make matters worse, his “ladies’ urinal” was even more ridiculous and stupid, even for him.
The Way He Spends His Money
Larry’s wealth is one of the ways he has stayed the same since season one, as it has been mentioned on the show that he has a net worth of $425 million, and that was in season two, over 18 years ago. But for someone who probably has half a billion dollars in the bank, he is tighter with his money than everyone else on the show.
However, his over cautiousness could be from his bad business decisions, as anytime the Seinfeld creator sinks money into something, it almost always fails, such as Latte Larry’s, the Car Periscope idea, and many, many other bad decisions.
Why He Hasn’t Been Arrested Yet
How nobody has pressed charges against Larry is the least sensical thing about the character, as he is violent towards people he doesn’t like and destroys other people’s property, sometimes all in the same episode. In the first episode of season 10, he literally assaults a pregnant woman.
Larry has come close to getting locked up more than once, but it’s looking increasingly likely that the fictional Larry David’s fate will be in a jail cell, just like Jerry, Elaine, Kramer, and George, in the final episode of Seinfeld.
His Religion
Larry’s religion has come in to question dozens of times throughout the series, most notably in season five, when he thought he was saved by God.
He even momentarily went to heaven, which featured a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo from Sacha Baron Cohen. But with the character’s Jewish faith being the subject of several episode arcs, it isn’t always consistent with previous episodes and he often isn't particularly devout in his actions or behaviors.
His Satisfaction
Larry is a man of leisure, and even when he has any interest in working, it’s to open a restaurant, just to walk around in it.
Though this might be more of a personal self-destruction issue that he might have to work through with one of the many therapists he’s had over the years, he puts all of his efforts into things, just to inevitably gives up on them. Larry is constantly dissatisfied, but it seems like he’d even be dissatisfied if he was satisfied.
His Relationship With Leon
Leon first joined the cast in the opening episode of season six, as Cheryl and Larry took him and his family into their home after being displaced by a hurricane. The character has since become a fan favorite, which is a good enough reason for him to stick around, but very little about their relationship makes sense in the show.
After his family left the David residence, Leon just hung around, and he has lived with Larry ever since. There is no reason why Larry couldn’t have kicked him out by now, though it could be argued that Leon is a better friend than Jeff,
His Friends
How Larry even has any friends in the first place with the way he behaves doesn’t make sense, but why they’ve stuck around for so long is absurd.
Jeff is the only exception, as he is literally paid to deal with Larry’s issues, but Larry’s friends are the reasons for some of the darkest storylines in the series. Larry treats his friends with absolutely no respect, going as far as to steal flowers from Marty’s mother’s memorial.