Louie

Ricky Gervais called Louis C.K. "the funniest comedian working in America today", so it's fitting that Louis should repay the compliment with a guest spot for Gervais on his show. And what a guest spot! Gervais is allowed to do what Gervais does best, say ridiculously sublime and horribly tasteless things while still remaining oddly endearing. Ricky's jokes in anyone else's hands could seem the punch lines of a sociopath. Whether Louis C.K. will fulfill Ricky's pronouncement as "the funniest comedian working in America today" remains to be seen, but he's off to a good start. Each episode of Louis is presented in two vignettes, two seemingly random episodes connected by a greater theme, such as aging, love, death, health, wealth and happiness, etc. And so far, Louis C.K. has surrounded himself with excellent playmates (Gervais, for one). Now let us hope that he takes a cue from Ricky Gervais and keeps his comedy grounded in a painfully bittersweet hyper reality, as opposed to a Jerry Seinfeld/ Larry David world of snarky cynicism. The random quirkiness of his show has already drawn Seinfeld comparisons, but it's pretty obvious Louis has a hope for humanity his predecessors have never had. Louis C.K. (the character) is both a schlemiel and a schlimazel, a loser either way you look at it, but he has a dignity befitting a Ricky Gervais character. And that's a winner anyway you look at it.

I hate giving the 10-star rating because it appears exaggerated and the best I can do to avoid people looking down on the review/plea for people to watch this program is to say, "It's the best at what it's trying to be." I'm not going to use that statement to save my ass here because I'm not sure what this show is trying to be other than honest.

'Louie' is the first show I've come across that I absolutely refuse to let myself wait for DVD to see. It's the first show that I don't sit down to watch with the sole anticipation of having it either cheer me up with comedy or shock me with dramatic twists. 'Louie' is simply something I watch because it feels like I'm gaining life experience from it, which is impressive considering Louis C.K., or at least the Louie character's self-proclaimed life goals are to raise his kids and hold his title as World's Best Masturbator.

It's also impressive considering that I, and I'm sure many viewers, have already experienced nearly every situation this show covers, from being forced out of the house with no plans to being on a date with someone who thinks less of you for doing the right thing despite saying that he/she valued righteousness. So what's to gain from reliving these unpleasant situations every Tuesday evening?

Great shows like Curb Your Enthusiasm bank on this question by allowing the main character to vengefully act on his everyday irritations only to have it bite him in the ass by the episode's end. This way you can laugh at the absurdity while saying, "I know what he's feeling, man," followed by, "but I'm sure glad *I* didn't act on it." It's a winning formula because the audience always comes out unscathed. 'Louie' makes that show look like it's playing too safe (which it isn't, by the way.)

If the Louie character ever acts on his irritations, he does it in a way that almost feels like he's seen Curb, and thus trying to avoid any unnecessary harm while still following his gut instinct. In other words, he's a coward sometimes, just like we are. Curb's Larry David states in interviews that his eponymous character is more like him than he is. Louie is simply Louis, and perhaps, Louis is simply everybody, and PERHAPS that can be a little discomforting. But that's okay, because at least, just like when we look back on mistakes or simply situations that we wish we could have handled differently (so that we could've gotten laid that night), it's almost always hilarious. The difference here is that it's *always* hilarious. . . though it's still unbelievably discomforting.

For that, I'm more than happy to not save my ass on this one. Enjoy chewing on it, critics.

Say what you will about Louis C.K. but his talents as a director, writer and actor are truly incredible. The writing in "Louie" is at times hilariously vulgar and other times touching and sad; there are moments of sincere honesty and other times of complete bizarreness. That is one of the ways the show is truly one-of-a-kind - you simply don't know what you'll get in any particular episode. Aside from that, the acting, directing and cinematography are all fantastic in their own right. If you're not ready to commit to the show, watch Horace and Pete (2016) and you'll be running to see more from this man shortly after. Masterpiece Television. 👏

Louis CK began his career as a writer for various show's like the Ben Stiller Show and Late Night with Conan O'Brien. He also made several surrealist style short films which I highly recommend you look up on YouTube. With "Louie", CK has essentially perfected what he's been working at for over twenty years: short films/comedy sketches.

While the show retains an overarching structure revolving around Louis' daughters and his stand up comedy, the actual content of the episodes can cover virtually anything CK chooses, a sense of freedom he clearly loves. In fact, in a recent interview with Jimmy Kimmel, CK talked about the inconsistencies on his show: how characters appear out of nowhere and then disappear, never to be seen or spoken of ever again. Why? CK lost interest or couldn't think of anything funny to do with them. Other shows require their less interesting characters to have scenes in each episode, forcing the writing staff to jimmy them into the plot just so the actor can have a line of dialogue. CK views this as an unnecessary formality that it's about time television moves on from. I heartily agree.

If you enjoy laughter, watch Louie. If you hate boring, dull characters, watch Louie. If you're fed up with every character speaking like a comedy writer and having their conversations broken up by the requirement of canned laughs so that you, the stupid viewer, will know when to laugh, then watch Louie. Finally, if you like to ruminate on topics like inevitable death, the tragedy of aging, the annoying yet fulfilling requirements of parenthood, and then after much brooding, find yourself laughing at the absurdity of it all, then watch Louie. Because that's the show.

This show as everything else can be compared to other shows but it is its own in many ways. First of which can be said is kudos to Louis C.K. is he greatly underrated and should be a much more respected star. His comedy is genuine and honest and i know it sounds corny but his show feels very real the dialogue and the situations are how real life i think would be. I've heard it be compared to seinfeld but the only comparison is that there are clips of louie doing stand up, the actual show is nothing like it. Also id like to commend FX on giving it time to grow, they are a very good network for that, same with SUNNY IN PHILLY, that show grew into an excellent show. Shows get canceled to quickly. Anyways to sum up. Louie gets a 10/10, its just my opinion.