Clear History

It's like a really long episode of his show. Same kind of humour.

I do watch Curb Your Enthusiasm and think it's a funny but crazy show. When I found this movie on HBO I just read the plot, I didn't read any reviews. If I had done that I might have understood that this is a movie very much featuring Larry Davids mind and ideas. It is like a long episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm with a similar kind of plot. It's a movie about a very "special" person that always feels the need to say everything he thinks out loud and that always feels neglected. Just like Larry in Curb Your Enthusiasm.

It is a funny movie but I think some may think it's a bit too much like Curb Your Enthusiasm. It even has the same kind of music. The movie is entertaining but quirky!

'Clear History' is certainly amusing & also well-acted, but its not Hilarious. Despite some funny moments & an ensemble to die for, this Larry David comedy doesn't really bring out the hilarity one might expect from it.

'Clear History' Synopsis: A disgraced former marketing executive plots revenge against his former boss, who made billions from the electric car company they started.

'Clear History' clearly lacks wit & top humour. Larry David, Alec Berg, David Mandel & Jeff Schaffer's Screenplay has a terrific premise & some sequences, especially when the revenge is plotted against the antagonist, do hold you interest. But, overall, its strictly average. The sub-plots are too many & sadly, not all of them even work. Even the culmination to this twisted story, isn't well-done. A far superior Screenplay could've made things better! Greg Mottola's Direction is standard.

'Clear History' is led by a very fine cast. Larry David is in his element & performs marvelously well. Michael Keaton is simply astonishing as the angered hillbilly. He steals the show & brings the house down. Bill Hader is first-rate. Jon Hamm is effective. Kate Hudson is genuine. Live Schreiber is superb. Eva Mendes is excellent. Philip Baker Hall, Amy Ryan & Danny McBride shine, as well.

On the whole, 'Clear History' has stellar performances, but thats about it.

Not everyone is a raving fan of "Curb Your Enthusiasm." The show is often like watching a root- canal procedure as Larry David's character plunges himself into one unnecessary, painfully embarrassing situation after another. There's some of that in "Clear History," but the character has mellowed. You can understand why people like Rolly, the name of the hard-luck case Larry David plays here. He's irascible, but then the other people in his little community are just as irascible and just as quirky; he fits in well. "Clear History" is a farce, a word that I wouldn't exactly apply to "Curb." It's a sequence of disasters based on carefully timed misunderstandings. The scene where Rolly is on the way to stop one such disaster when he has to pause when he encounters two friends who have just been in a motorcycle accident is priceless. He tell the two friends that he just doesn't have time to help them; the two friends are incredulous and angry, but he's actually right! If you were in his situation, you wouldn't help them and you wouldn't be able to explain either. The crush Rolly develops on Kate Hudson's character is also believable and funny, especially the way it (of course) comes crashing down around him.

The cast is terrific. Watch for Liev Schreiber in an uncredited role.

If you're a fan of Larry David's (and I am) this feature film should make you very happy. It's very much like an extended episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm with the same sort of quirky observational humor and dependence on Larry's obsessions with the minutia of every day life. The revenge plot, the back story are just scaffolding on which to build the kind of gags that made Seinfeld and Curb so satisfying. Is Larry exploring new territory? No. But expecting LD to be different is like expecting Woody to be a different person in his films. One can argue that Woody and Bob Hope and Danny Kaye are always themselves (or at least their comic personae) in all of their movies. And I wouldn't have it any other way. There are lots of laughs in this film and Larry delivers in his signature style.