As we noted in our review of the HBO sketch series when it debuted back in June, Larry David’s Life, Larry, And The Pursuit Of Unhappiness isn’t exactly the sharpest satire of American politics ever committed to the digital airwaves. (Many of the sketches, once you peel back the costuming and historical name drops, basically amount to “What if such-and-such historical figure was a pretty stock Larry David type?”) Having just released its fourth episode (of seven) on Friday night, the series often feels like it lacks the petty-but-volcanic anger that motivates so much of David’s most memorable work—with one fresh and notable exception.
Because David’s show has finally addressed the “The guy my TV ex-wife married is running our national health services into the ground” in the room, as David’s show took clear and pointed aim in its most recent episode at Mr. Cheryl Hines himself, Robert Kennedy, Jr. The sketch—which is 75 percent a “Jewish mothers like to brag” joke about Jonas Salk, and 25 percent about reading a clear Kennedy stand-in played by Gregg Perrie for filth—doesn’t address David’s personal connection to the Hines-Kennedy family. (David actually introduced the pair, back before Kennedy had gotten too far into his public transition from “well-known environmental lawyer” to “conspiracy theorist-in-chief.”) But it also pulls absolutely no punches on its ersatz Kennedy, who barges into the scene croaking about how “That vaccine’s gonna kill people.” “God help us all if some idiot, some moron put you in charge,” David’s character fires back, as the Kennedy character moans about how vaccine requirements are like “Nazi Germany” and how “fluoride causes gender confusion.”
Hines (who starred in the first several seasons of Curb Your Enthusiasm, and appeared in a couple of episodes of its final season in 2024) has talked publicly about falling out with David over her husband’s politics; in December of last year, she gave an interview where she said she hasn’t talked to David in more than a year, saying “I think he’s mad … because Bobby’s in the administration.” Said tensions probably not set to be soothed by this latest sketch, which literally includes David yelling “Drop dead, Bobby!” before calling for his stand-in to be locked up.
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