TVSquad

It's amazing to me that the main topic of last night's Curb Your Enthusiasm, people in wheelchairs, has never been tackled by Larry before. I'm sure there have been a few wheelchair jokes in the past that I'm forgetting, but this? This was a full-blown, inappropriate mess of incorrectness and every second of it was brilliant. Save for "The Reunion," this was easily the strongest episode of the season. Wheelchairs, wrestling Rosie O'Donnell, and the return of Leon! How can you go wrong?

Right from the moment Denise Handicap asked Larry if he was some sort of creepy creep-o, it was like a roller coaster slowly inching to the top and it took all episode before we finally edged over the hump. You were on the edge of your seat the whole time. Larry David is horrible person and he's going on a date with a woman in a wheelchair! How could this not end badly?

So many moments were played to perfection - carrying Denise up the stairs when there was no ramp and her lifeless legs during sex both come to mind - but it was Larry's realization of the perks that come with dating a handicapped person that really made it unforgettable. The parking, the preferential treatment at the restaurant, the smiles of admiration he received, getting the Fowlers to re-invite him to the violinist's recital. It very quickly became all about Larry and what he could get out of this. Not that there's any surprise there...

Highlights from "Denise Handicap" --

• At first I didn't understand the point of Larry getting in the fight with Rosie O'Donnell. It seemed forced and their first scene together wasn't all the funny, especially since it reminded me way too much of Larry's recent fight with Jason Alexander about tipping. But the fight paid off very well at the end when Rosie took on the plight of Denise and Wendy by chasing Larry up the stairs.
• Speaking of Wendy, leave it to Larry David to assume that women in wheelchairs are as replaceable as, I dunno, toothbrushes. All the same, right?
• Larry's phone IDs were funny (Denise Handicap, Wendy Wheelchair), but Leon's (Nasty Big Tits, Janelle Sweet Ass) were funnier.
• After Leon doubted whether Larry "brought it" (aka "put your dizzle on it" or "bring the ruckus to her ass"), I was really hoping that we'd see Leon take a stab at pleasing Denise in bed.

Overall, a very solid episode. Lots of hilarious moments that made some of the lesser scenes (like Larry's fight with Ted Danson about the pie) better than they should have been. In closing, my favorite exchange of the ep:

Larry: Are you challenged?
Denise: Right now I am, yeah.