★★(2 out of 4)
I couldn’t curb my enthusiasm. That’s how much I yearned for this to be great. The idea of the glorious grinch that is Larry David blundering tastelessly through 250 years of American history struck me as inspired lunacy. So when the jokes that didn’t land started to close in on the ones that did on HBO’s “Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness: An Almost History of America,” I didn’t despair. Not me. I got a grip on my expectations and learned to savor the good stuff from Larry and director and “Curb” alum Jeff Schaffer. It had to be better than the cage match folly staged on the White House lawn. And it is dear subscriber, count on it, even from the man who ran Mocha Joe out of business out of pure spite.