Clear History (2013)

Like John Wayne, or more obviously Bob Hope and Woody Allen, Larry David has a basic character he has refined and plays in nearly all of his work, namely that of a fussy, self-obsessed, socially awkward, sabotager of self, and HBO's surprisingly big modest scale comedy Clear History is the perfect vehicle for him, pun intended. David plays Nathan Flomm, a veteran advertising man who has gotten in on the ground floor of a California based company hopping to put out the first affordable mass market electric car in America. However Nathan has a falling out with his boss Will Haney (Jon Hamm, showing again that ultimately what he wants to do is comedy) over the latters decision to name the new car after his son Howard. Nathan doesn't think that Howard's an appropriate name for a car and says so loudly, ultimately agreeing to take up Wills offer to by out his share in the company before the vehicle is released. Needless to say given the kind of movie this is 'The Howard' is tremendously successful (I'd drive one) and Nathan has lost out on the Billion dollars he would have netted on his former share of the company.

Extremely embarrassed at being known as the man who foolishly lost out on a billion dollar investment at the 11th hour, Nathan goes underground, changing his appearance (early in the film he sports wild hair and a massive beard), and reinvents himself on Martha's Vineyard with the  new identity of Rolly DaVore, he gets a job as the care taker of an older women and becomes surprisingly well liked by the locals. Only after 10 years on the down low it looks like Rolly/Nathans old life might come back to haunt him, when his now multi-billionaire former boss decides to build a massive mansion on the Vineyard. At first Rolly thinks he's going to have to pick up an leave again, but when he catches a late night showing of the movie The Fountainhead (for whose protagonist Will's son, and by extension electric car model are named) Nathan gets the idea of blowing up the mansion, thus driving Will from the island forever.

Nathan via the agency of his best friend Frank (Danny McBride) recruits two locals  to blow up the mansion, Joe Stumpo (Michael Keaton) and "Rags" (Bill Hader) who are rednecks and particularly resentful of Will for building on what was once Stumpo family land. However they need both a fuse and an in at the site, which results in Rolly having to purchase the former from a shady Chechen named Tibor (Live Schreiber, unaccredited), and quit his job with the old lady to get the latter, guilting Philip Baker Hall into giving him a job on his construction team because he once found the mans lost dog years ago. On the job site Rolly accidently strikes up a friendship with Wills young trophy wife Rhonda (Kate Hudson), who seems unhappy and who Rolly convinces himself is romantically interested in him. What better way to get back at Will then to steal his wife out from under him thinks Rolly, but Stumpo and Rags have their hearts set on blowing the mansion up, and Tibor is after Rolly for more money for a fender bender he had with the formers Howard, while simultaneously the Chechen is courting Rollys newly slim friend Jennifer (Eva Mendes), and Rolly also just must know if the rumors he's heard about his ex-girlfriend Wendy (Amy Ryan) and members of the soon to be visiting band Chicago (who provide the movies sound track) are true. The awkward thus escalates until it ends in a perfect self defeating crescendo.

This is a  fun, satisfying comedy, which while boosting a large all-star cast, thanks to the fact that its a cable TV vanity project doesn't have to try too hard, which relives it of the kind of financial pressure which makes so many comedies opt for the safe and routine. Clear History is not routine, rather its a lightly quirky little gem of a comedy. ***