Larry David Just Doubled Down On Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 10’s Obscure Reference To 84-Year-Old Box Office Disaster

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Curb Your Enthusiasm season 12, episode 9.

The latest episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm – season 12, episode 9, “Ken/Kendra” – includes a callback to an obscure movie reference from season 10 with Larry David’s impression of Raymond Massey’s Abraham Lincoln. The episode sees Larry unwittingly offending his masseuse, catching a restauranteur switching out his health inspection rating, and meeting Bruce Springsteen. During his meeting with Springsteen, Larry mixes up their glasses of water and accidentally infects “The Boss” with COVID.

To make amends with his masseuse, Larry promised to introduce her to Springsteen. So, they sneak into Springsteen’s house, wander into the backyard, and find him recovering from COVID in a back room. While Larry is trying to get a picture of the masseuse with an ailing Springsteen in the background, he notices the movie that a COVID-ridden Springsteen is watching on TV: Abe Lincoln in Illinois, a 1940 biopic starring Raymond Massey as the revered U.S. president. Larry does an impression of Massey’s Lincoln – and it’s not the first time he’s shown off this impression on the show.

Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 12, Episode 9 Calls Back To Larry’s Impression Of Raymond Massey As Lincoln

When Larry sees Abe Lincoln in Illinois on Springsteen’s TV, he can’t resist doing an impression of Massey’s performance. Specifically, Larry impersonates Massey’s delivery of Lincoln’s iconic “House Divided” speech. Abe Lincoln in Illinois covers Lincoln’s life from leaving Kentucky to being elected president. Although it was well-received by contemporary critics, Abe Lincoln in Illinois was a box office bomb. According to the Historical Journal of Film, Radio, and Television, it grossed just $666,000 on a $1,004,000 budget. But it made enough of an impression on Larry David for him to imitate Massey’s performance all these years later.

Larry Previously Impersonated Massey’s Lincoln In Curb Season 10’s “Insufficient Praise”

This isn’t the first time that Larry has done an impression of Massey’s portrayal of Lincoln in an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm. He previously impersonated Massey’s Lincoln in season 10, episode 5, “Insufficient Praise.” In the episode, Larry calls Clive Owen to compliment his performance in a one-man show and Owen doesn’t find Larry’s praise to be sufficient. While they bicker about what constitutes genuine praise, Larry says that his highest praise is reserved for delicious sandwiches and spot-on celebrity impressions.

Jeff asks Larry if he does any impressions and Larry says he can do Raymond Massey as Lincoln. He then launches into a Raymond Massey impression and, once again, impersonates the “House Divided” speech. Larry has been fascinated by American history throughout Curb Your Enthusiasm’s entire run, so it makes sense that the movie he keeps coming back to is a biopic of a president. When Larry was memorizing the Gettysburg Address earlier this season, he should’ve delivered it as Massey’s Lincoln.