As Larry and Jerry Seinfeld work on a reunion special for “Seinfeld,” they notice that their secretary Maureen (Jillian Bell) often shows up to the office wearing a shirt that reveals her, as they put it, “muffin top.” Larry confronts Maureen about her attire, so she quits — much to his delight. However, when Julia Louis-Dreyfus finds out what happened, she demands Larry patch things up, which he begrudgingly agrees to do. While at Maureen’s house, Larry goes to the bathroom and accidentally splashes urine on a Jesus painting, causing Maureen’s mom (Marianne Muellerleile) to believe the image is crying and, therefore, a miracle.
“The Bare Midriff” is another example of Larry having a problem with someone, but then he mishandles it at every step. There’s also a hilarious subplot about Maureen’s mom thinking that Larry resembles her deceased husband, which comes into play later when she interrupts an argument between Larry and Richard Lewis with her car. One of the best qualities of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” is its use of narrative irony, wringing jokes out of its plot, and “The Bare Midriff” is a classic illustration of this. At the beginning of the episode, Larry criticizes Maureen for her bare midriff, only for that midriff to save his life when he nearly falls off a building and needs something to hold.
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