Despite being considered a misanthrope, there is one way the character of Larry David has shown to be an optimist time and time again on Curb Your Enthusiasm: his catchphrase! Over the course of 12 seasons, periodically Larry froze an episode in its tracks just to really make a meal out of declaring something to be “pretty, pretty good.†Larry doesn’t inherently hate the world — he just hates when things don’t go how he believes they should, which is often. When things do go his way, he won’t just say it’s “good†or “pretty goodâ€; he’ll say it’s “pretty, pretty good,†and sometimes even “pretty, pretty, pretty good.†With Curb Your Enthusiasm’s series finale airing this weekend — during which he’ll possibly say his popular catchphrase one last time — here are the 15 things Larry declared to be pretty, pretty good over the course of the show’s run.
How a bad interaction with another person goes
Episode: “Porno Gilâ€
Season:Â One
While lost, Larry flags down then approaches an oncoming car. It’s Brian (Brian Palermo). Earlier that day, Brian dropped one of his golf balls near Larry, but Larry didn’t pick it up because he deemed it “maybe a little closer to [him].†As a result, Brian angrily refuses to help Larry. When Larry returns to his car, Cheryl (Cheryl Hines) asks, “So, how’d it go?†Larry stares blankly ahead and responds, “Good … Pretty good … Prettyy, prettyyy, prettyyyy, pretty good.â€
His mental health
Episode: “The Thongâ€
Season:Â Two
Larry wants to stop going to therapy after seeing his therapist, Dr. Weiss (John Pleshette), on the beach in a thong, so he tells him, “I think I’m all better.†Dr. Weiss expresses his surprise. Larry responds, “I’m feeling pretty good. Prettyyy, prettyyyy, prettyyy, prettyyyyy, pretty good.â€
His marriage with Cheryl
Episode: “The Survivorâ€
Season:Â Four
After ten years, Larry and Cheryl are renewing their vows (Cheryl’s idea). Larry doesn’t know what to say. The rabbi tells him to speak from his heart. “Things have been good,†he starts. “It’s a very good … relationship … ten years. Pretty good! It’s prettyyyy, prettyyyy, prettyyyy, pretty good.â€
A man dating a woman who previously had been a lesbian
Episode: “The Bowtieâ€
Season:Â Five
Marty Funkhouser (Bob Einstein) introduces Larry to Dan (Josh Cooke), the new boyfriend of Marty’s lesbian daughter, Jodi. Impressed that he was not intimidated by the fact that she previously had been with women, Larry says it is “fantastic, great news.†“Pretty good,†he adds with a double finger point. “Prettyyy, prettyyyy, prettyyy, pretty good.â€
The fit of his father’s smoking jacket on Hugh Hefner
Episode: “The Smoking Jacketâ€
Season:Â Five
Invited to the Playboy Mansion, Larry runs into Hugh Hefner, flanked by two of the three Girls Next Door, wearing a smoking jacket. Larry gets his dad’s smoking jacket out of the car to show Hugh that he has an identical one. Hugh, despite saying it is a knock-off Roselli, asks to try it on. Larry thinks the jacket looks “pretty good†on Hugh. “Prettyyy, pretty good.â€
Not having to go to the bathroom anymore, now that he’s dead
Episode: “The Endâ€
Season:Â Five
Larry dies after giving Richard Lewis his kidney. In heaven, he mentions to his guides (Dustin Hoffman and Sacha Baron Cohen) that he noticed he hasn’t had to go to the bathroom since arriving and wonders if that is going to continue being the case. If so, “that’s gonna be prettyy good … prettyy good.â€
Chocolate cake in the shape of a giant penis
Episode: “Meet the Blacksâ€
Season:Â Six
After trying a piece at Marty Funkhouser’s house, Larry and Cheryl want to get the same cake for a party they are having for the Blacks, a New Orleans family displaced by a recent hurricane. However, once they realize the cake is from an erotic bakery, they decide to not serve it at their party. Jeff (Jeff Garlin) did not realize it was an erotic bakery and brings the cake, which is shaped like a giant penis, to the party, and horrifies the Black children. After the party, Larry is eating a giant slice alone in the kitchen when their mother, Loretta Black (Vivica A. Fox), approaches. She asks, defiantly, “How’s the cake?†With cake in his mouth, he mumbles, “Pretty good … prettyyy, pretty good.â€
Having a wing at the NRDC
Episode: “Anonymous Donorâ€
Season:Â Six
At the opening of the NRDC, Larry sees the signage that reads “Wing Donated by Larry David†and is excited. “Never had a wing before!†he tells Cheryl. “That’s pretty good … Prettyyy good.†(Of course, moments later, he sees a wing donated by “Anonymous,†and it’s a whole thing.)
His general mood this evening
Episode: “Freak Bookâ€
Season:Â Six
Larry is attending Ted Danson’s birthday party (he got him a coffee-table book about freaks). He approaches a bartender wearing a bowtie. The bartender asks how he’s doing. “I am doing …†he says. He then ponders the question, and with a little point of the finger, responds, “… pretty good. Prettyyy, pretty good.â€
A doctor’s vibe
Episode: “Vehicular Fellatioâ€
Season:Â Seven
Larry wants to break up with Loretta, so he sets her up with an appointment with a doctor who encourages people with cancer to leave bad relationships. Afterward, while driving with a visibly angry Loretta in the passenger seat, Larry says, “I got a pretty good vibe from that doctor. Prettyyyy, prettyyyy, prettyyyy, pretty good.â€
That Susie is taking his assistant
Episode: “Foistedâ€
Season:Â Nine
After she misses two days of work because she was constipated, Larry wants to fire his assistant (Carrie Brownstein), but feels like he can’t because her uncle molested her many years ago. He realizes his only option is to foist her on someone else, like Jimmy Kimmel foisted her on him. Lucky for him, he runs into Susie (Susie Essman), who tells him that her company Soaps On is really taking off and she needs to hire an assistant. He says she can have his assistant (“best I ever hadâ€) since he’ll be in New York working on his new musical, Fatwa! “I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders,†she tells Larry. He responds, “Me too.†Susie walks away and shouts “Fantastic!†in celebration. Shouting toward her, but mostly talking to himself, Larry says, “Pretty good! Prettyyy, prettyyyy … pretty, pretty good.â€
The fatwa declared against him
Episode: “A Disturbance in the Kitchenâ€
Season:Â Nine
After Larry does an impression of the Ayatollah on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the Ayatollah issues a fatwa against him, forcing Larry to live in hiding and wear a disguise when outside the house. He then seeks out Salman Rushdie, who winds up telling him about all the good things about a fatwa. First, of course, is fatwa sex. But there is also the ability to use the fatwa as an excuse to not do things you don’t want to do, like pick someone up from the airport. “You know what’s happening?†Larry asks Salman rhetorically. “I’m feeling pretty good! Prettyyyy, pretty good.â€
A scone
Episode: “Artificial Fruitâ€
Season: Ten
In developing his store to spite Mocha Joe, Larry seeks out the pastry chef responsible for the best scone he ever had. Chulu (William Stanford Davis) hasn’t baked for years, but decides to make scones again because of a similar hatred of Mocha Joe. He whips up a batch for Larry. Larry takes a bite. “Well, whatcha think?†asks Chulu. Larry pauses and smiles. “Pretty good! Prettyyy, prettyyy, prettyy, pretty good.â€
There being two Larry Davids
Episode: “Elizabeth, Margaret and Larryâ€
Season: Ten
Larry is getting lunch with Richard Lewis. Jon Hamm is also there, because he is shadowing Larry to prepare to play a character like Larry in a movie. Jon points out how much of the hummus Richard ate, saying he went way over his “appetizer allotment†and that they each are supposed to get a third. Richard asks who makes up these rules, and in unison, Larry and Jon say, “It’s an unwritten rule.†“There’s two Larry Davids,†Richard says, putting his head in his hands. “Pretty good!†says Larry. “Prettyyy, pretty good,†adds Jon.
Lobster
Episode: “Irma Kostroskiâ€
Season: 11
The waitress (Jessica McKenna) at the country club says there is a special: fresh Maine lobster with drawn butter and lemon. Larry says that sounds “prettyyy, prettyyy, pretty good.â€