A Funny Guy Runs Out of Ideas

Larry David was the co-creator of Seinfeld, one of the best sitcoms ever. He's also had his own show on HBO, Curb Your Enthusiasm, something I've seen maybe twice and was unimpressed both times.

David has always played it close to the edge, but he may have finally run out of good ideas and gone far, far over the line:

Comedian Larry David pushed the mocking of religion and Christian belief in miracles over the edge in the latest episode of his HBO series "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

On Sunday's installment, David's character urinates on a painting of Jesus Chris, causing a woman to believe the painting of Jesus is crying.

The president of the Catholic League Bill Donohue responded to the episode saying David should "quit while he's ahead," and that the show is proof that the comedian's best years are behind him.

"Was Larry David always this crude? Would he think it's comedic if someone urinated on a picture of his mother?" Donohue said in a statement released Monday. "This might be fun to watch, but since HBO only likes to dump on Catholics (it was just a couple of weeks ago that Sarah Silverman insulted Catholics on "Real Time with Bill Maher") and David is Jewish, we'll never know."

During Sunday's episode, David, who created, wrote and produced "Seinfeld," visits a bathroom in a stranger's home and splatters urine on a picture of Jesus. Instead of wiping it off, David leaves the restroom. Minutes later, a woman enters the bathroom and concludes that Jesus is crying before summoning her mother to the bathroom, where both women kneel in prayer.

"When David and Jerry Seinfeld (playing himself) are asked if they ever experienced a miracle, David answers, "every erection is a miracle," Donohue's statement continued. "That’s what passes for creativity these days."

There have been lots of "artists" who have tried to make a point by denigrating Christian symbols. The NEA funded a piece for which this episode is named in which some idiot put a crucifix in a jar of urine. Another smeared elephant dung over a picture of the Virgin Mary. Not much creativity there.

And I will admit, I've had lots of fun with stories of people worshiping odd objects because they appeared to have a picture of Jesus or the Virgin Mary on them, and this episode could have been done just slightly different and been perfect satire. It's too bad David can't recognize where the line is.

And it's probably a good thing that only a small percentage of homes have HBO.