The Only Movie Directed By Seinfeld Creator Larry David Was An Absolute Disaster

In Larry David's 1998 comedy bomb "Sour Grapes," Richie Maxwell (Craig Bierko) is just finishing a vacation in Atlantic City with his cousin Evan (Steven Weber). Richie has nearly run out of money, having gambled his budget. He's down to one quarter. On the way out of a casino, he asks Evan for 50 additional cents so he can throw it into a 75-cent slot machine. Evan agrees. A single pull on the machine wins Richie $436,000. This immediately leads to a feature-long argument over who has the legal and moral right to the winnings. Richie was both the one who decided to gamble the money and the one who pulled the handle, but Evan was the one who loaned him the quarters to make it possible. Evan argues that he is at least owed two-thirds of the jackpot.

This leads to a series of increasingly bleak scenarios that prove how horridly desperate both men are. Richie keeps all the money while the oncologist Evan, trying to elicit panic, lies to Richie, saying that Richie's dying of cancer. Comedy? The dilemma will also lead to a cancer patient accidentally getting both of his testicles amputated. Double comedy?

"Sour Grapes" was roundly trashed by critics, who described it as off-putting, unfunny, and otherwise too reliant on toxic human pettiness to be amusing. Roger Ebert infamously gave the film zero stars, writing, "I can't easily remember a film I've enjoyed less. [...] 'Sour Grapes' is a movie that deserves its title: It's puckered, deflated, and vinegary. It's a dead zone." Overall, "Sour Grapes" only has a 27% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes (based on a mere 15 reviews) and made a paltry $123,000 at the box office.

It's curious that David made "Sour Grapes," as he had previously proven his universally beloved comedy chops on the hit series "Seinfeld," which was still airing at the time (although David had left the series in 1996). What happened?

This may be a nerdy complaint, but "Sour Grapes" even gets its title wrong. David seems to think the phrase "sour grapes" refers to being a sore loser. The phrase, in fact, comes from one of Aesop's fables, wherein a fox cannot reach some grapes growing on a vine. Rather than continuing to try and get them, the fox gives up, reasoning the grapes were sour anyway. It's a story about justifying one's failure, not being a sore loser.

Despite David's involvement, everyone stayed away from "Sour Grapes," with the general consensus being that it's too bitter and cruel to elicit laughs. This may have stemmed from a wider misinterpretation of "Seinfeld." The series, one might recall, originated with the observational humor of Jerry Seinfeld, who mined jokes from everyday occurrences most people can relate to. He also tapped into elements of quotidian pettiness that we all sometimes fall prey to. The "Seinfeld" TV show upped the pettiness, making sure each of its four leads (themselves based on real people in David's life) were all shallow, horrible individuals. "Seinfeld," however, did present them all as perhaps relatable, so some might've made the mistake of thinking they were lovable and human.

"Sour Grapes," in being a feature film, cuts right into the darkness of David's ethos, sidestepping the "Seinfeld" relatability and giving audiences only the shallow pettiness. It's similar to "Seinfeld" only in its philosophy. Without a certain degree of self-awareness, "Sour Grapes" plays more like a tragedy. Everyone can see only how pathetic and hateful the lead characters are.

On one of the DVD audio commentary tracks for David's HBO series "Curb Your Enthusiasm," David (who plays himself on the show) explains that the set decorators logically put a "Sour Grapes" poster on his office wall. David asked that the poster be taken down. He didn't want to be reminded of the artistic and commercial failure he was involved with.

Needless to say, David hasn't made a film since.