Clear History

A memorable comedy about a man trying to be forgotten.

A wonderfully diverting film with Mr. David at his abrasive best.

Clear History purports to have a real plot. But the movie also feels at time like an extended all-star jam episode of "Curb." Those are, perhaps not coincidentally, the best, and funniest parts of Clear History.

Clear History single-handedly rehabilitates the word "derivative," as long as the source material you're reworking is anything Larry David writes and stars in.

For better and worse, it feels like an extended version of a "Curb Your Enthusiasm" episode.

It plays in many ways like a leisurely, bucolic version of "Curb," with a larger cast of characters and something like a "journey" for the main character.

With its seaside setting and lighthearted fun, Clear History is a kind of pleasant, late-summer gazpacho, enjoyed to the sounds of Chicago and debates about whether there is a racial preference between black and white dwarves.

There’s not a lot of plot to be had here, and the news that Clear History leaned heavily on the improvisational impulses of its cast might usually ward off the improv-weary. But Clear History has a nice, confident and well-edited breeze to it (including a lot of jokes about the band Chicago), with a fun cast that includes standout riffs from Michael Keaton, Danny McBride and Eva Mendes.

HBO's Clear History, a cable movie that plays very much like an overlong episode of "Curb."

Clear History is amusing enough to pull a viewer through it, although those who haven’t yet acquired a taste for Curb might find it the equivalent of a pricey two-drink minimum without enough payback.

The humor's not as sharp as Curbed--one bit finds Nathan wondering if waitresses should really wipe down tables with rags, since they're dirty--and the cameos feel gratuitous. Only JB Smoove earns his screen time. [9 Aug 2013, p.73]

A revenge farce that takes such perplexingly arbitrary turns that it finally sits down like a confused Labrador and refuses to budge. [12 Aug 2013]

A perverse parable of envy and misfortune that loses some steam as it turns into a wacky but predictable revenge caper that you know can't end well.

Despite a number of funny lines sprinkled through the script, this History isn't very memorable. It seems more like Larry David's What I Did on My Summer Vacation project.

While it’s fun to see the band Chicago drawn into a subplot about the sexual history of Nathan’s ex (Amy Ryan)--or savor an in-joke playing off the name of HBO CEO Richard Plepler--even some of those intricately woven gags feel like a bit of a distraction.