In his HBO sketch series "Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness," Larry David takes a trip through history, putting his stubborn and grumpy personality into some of America's most important times.He fights in the trenches of World War I, messes with George Washington during his Farewell Address, and tries to help Rosa Parks on a Montgomery bus—though for the wrong reasons, of course.
The show is made by Barack Obama through his and Michelle Obama's Higher Ground production company.
So it makes sense that, in the final episode, Obama was invited to look back at one of the most important moments in his presidency.Not the killing of Osama bin Laden, the Iran Nuclear Deal, or the legalization of same-sex marriage.Nope, something even bigger and more defining: the time he caused a big media storm by wearing a tan suit at a 2014 press conference about ISIS.(This choice even got its own Wikipedia page and was criticized by lots of news outlets, including the New York Times, GQ, and Fox News.)
Obama first appeared in the show to help introduce it.
But when the show's creators, Larry David and Jeff Schaffer, asked him to appear in a sketch, he and Higher Ground's Ethan Lewis came up with the idea to revisit the tan suit incident."From the very beginning, my dream was to close the book on the tan suit once and for all," Lewis says.
Schaffer and David then created a funny, revisionist take on history, similar to "Curb Your Enthusiasm." In the sketch, Larry (playing himself) is to blame for the fashion mistake.
Obama is preparing for the press conference and has a mango smoothie on the Resolute Desk.When Larry asks to take a sip, Obama says no to avoid "old lips" on the straw.When Obama finally leaves the Oval Office, Larry sneaks in to steal a sip and ends up spilling the smoothie all over the navy blue suit Obama was planning to wear.When Obama returns, Larry tries to distract him, saying, "I think you should wear the tan suit to the press conference.It's casual Friday." Obama agrees, tries on the suit, and Larry comments, "Prettay good… prettay… prettay… prettay… prettay good." He warns Obama, "People are going to be talking about this for a long, long time."
Schaffer told Variety that directing Obama was one of the coolest things he's ever done.
"It's so cool being around him.You feel smarter and better, somehow, by just being in the area," he says."He had some great improv stuff.His comic timing was impeccable.He was a good actor, not just because he was a former president, but as an actor."
Schaffer, who has worked with David since the "Seinfeld" days, found it amusing to watch Obama give notes to the older comedian.
"The funny thing was watching him go, 'Larry, you're coming in late!' He was the president, so he's used to telling people what to do.Larry was in the odd position of being told what to do, which never happens on a Larry set."
The most nerve-wracking part of directing a former president?
"It was the first thing: What do I call this man?" Schaffer says.
"I'm directing and things are moving fast, and I have to remember, 'Sir, let's do that one more time.' Or, 'Hold on, Mr.President.' I didn't want to screw things up and go, 'Hey, Barack.'"
The Oval Office set was designed by Michael S.
Smith, the same person who redesigned the real White House room in 2010.Smith made sure everything looked exactly like it did when Obama was there.When Obama walked in, he said, "This is unbelievable.It looks just like it was when I was here," Schaffer recalls.The detail even extended to Obama's on-screen aide, who was played by his real-life Director of Oval Office Operations, Brian Mosteller.
Schaffer says the most surreal part was talking with Obama during the four-hour shoot.
"You're just sitting in the Oval Office with President Obama, hearing him talk about stuff," he says."He's got some funny theories." One of his most memorable ones was, "No one should be using ketchup after age 12.That's a child's condiment.It's just sugar.Use mustard!Use an adult condiment!"
Lewis, who joined Higher Ground in 2022 and works in non-fiction and sports, agrees: "The banter was phenomenal.
Being a fly on the wall in that room was incredible."
Although Schaffer praised Obama's acting skills, Lewis doesn't think the former president is in a rush to add more credits to his IMDb page.
"President Obama doesn't have a great desire to make that career pivot, but it was very fun [to watch him act], and I'm glad it worked out for the show," Lewis says.
"Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness" was supposed to be a seven-episode series celebrating the 250th anniversary of America.
But Lewis and Schaffer would love to keep going."I think it's done well, and we all have a lot of fun making it," Lewis says."Ultimately, that'll land at the feet of Larry and HBO to keep going, but I'd love to do it."
Though, for Obama's own good, maybe he should spend some time away from David.
"The president said, 'I have fun being annoyed by Larry, and when we get together, I realize I start sounding like him,' " Schaffer says."Larry is sucking him into his black hole of negativity."
