In 1989,Larry Davidwent from being a stand-up comedianand former writer onSaturday Night Liveto the co-creator of a little sitcom namedSeinfeld, which he formed with another stand-up,Jerry Seinfeld. The series might have been fiction, but it was based on Jerry and Larry’s life, with George Costanza (Jason Alexander) being the stand-in for David,and many characters and stories coming straight from his own reality. AsSeinfeldbecame the most popular show on TV, Larry David was a household name, but at the height of his success,he left the show behind to make a movie calledSour Grapes. It ended up being the biggest failure of his career.
‘Sour Grapes’ Was a Box Office Dud
Larry David was not just the co-creator ofSeinfeld,but he was also the showrunner,the writer of many of its episodes, and even had cameo acting roles. However, in Season 7, Larry David said goodbye right whenSeinfeldwas at the peak of its popularity. So what happened? Did David not get along with someone? Was there infighting with NBC? The answer was rather non-controversial.David simply was ready to do something else creatively.
What he chose to do was write and direct his own feature film. What he came up with was the movieSour GrapesstarringSteven Weber, who was coming off of another NBC series,Wings, andCraig Bierko, best known forThe Long Kiss Goodnight.Sour Grapeswas a comedy, but what wasn’t funny for David and everyone involved was just how little impact it had. The 90s king of comedy had his first film released on July 30, 2025, just a month beforeSeinfeld’s series finale.It came out in only 28 theaters and made a meager $123,000, which was a pretty big fall for the man who had ruled television.
Roger Ebert Was Highly Critical of ‘Sour Grapes’
InSour Grapes, cousins Evan (Weber) and Richie (Bierko) Maxwell go to an Atlantic City casino to play the slot machines.With Richie running out of quarters, he asks Evan for more, and then promptly wins a half million dollars. This leads to the cousins fighting over how much money each should get. On the surface, it feels like aSeinfeldorCurb Your Enthusiasmepisode, but the idea didn’t turn into a good film. Rather than being smart like those two series,Sour Grapeswas filled with weak sex jokes and horrid stereotypes thatone would expect from a lesser filmmaker.If Larry David’s name wasn’t attached, and he didn’tshow up in cameos as three different characters, you would never have thought it was his movie.
The 10 Best Recurring Jokes in ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm,’ Ranked
Pretty, pretty, pretty good!
The harshest criticism, unfortunately, came from the most famous film critic in Hollywood,Roger Ebert.He didn’t hold back in his written review, eviscerating David for turning cancer and racial stereotypes into comedy, and calling it all tone-deaf.Ebert argued thatSour Grapescould have been a lighter comedy if the actors weren’t so glumin their performances. He actually wrote the words, “I can’t easily remember a film I’ve enjoyed less.” Yikes.
The Stars of ‘Sour Grapes’ Were Hurt by Larry David’s Mockery
Sour Grapeswas so bad that Larry David never tried to make a movie again, but he recovered just fine. A year later,Curb Your Enthusiasmpremiered on HBO, anda quarter of a century and twelve seasons later, it said goodbyeas one of the best television comedies of all time.David even made fun ofSour Grapesseveral times on the series, showing that he knew the film was a stinker. Early on, a poster fromSour Grapesis seen hanging in his office before he asks to have it removed, not wanting to be reminded of it. Another episode has his wife, Cheryl (Cheryl Hines), wanting to showSour Grapesto her friends, with Larry begging her not to.The funniest nod of all goes to a Season 3 episode ofCurb Your Enthusiasmin 2002. In it, Larry is opening his own restaurant when he accidentally injures a food critic named Portico (Paul Willson),who looks very similar to Roger Ebert.Portico gives thumbs up and thumbs down in his reviews, just like Ebert, when David breaks the poor guy’s thumbs with a dodgeball.
Roger Ebert laughed it off,saying in a Movie Answer Man Q & A, “Larry David may have been aiming at critics in general, not at me, sinceSour Grapesscored a perfect zero among major critics on the Tomatometer. There is a reason for that.Sour Grapeswas a terrible movie.Curb Your Enthusiasm, on the other hand, is a wonderful TV show.” Who didn’t laugh were the actual stars of SourGrapes. Steven Weber toldCracked, “WhenSour Grapesbecame a punchline onCurb, that was a bit of a blow to me. It hurt me a little bit.” If you’re a fan of Larry David, and you’ve neverSour Grapes, check it out. Is it a good movie? Not really.But it is Larry David being brave and going out of his comfort zone by refusing to take the easy pathand give everyone aSeinfeldclone.
Sour Grapes
