Sorry/Not Sorry

Greetings again from the darkness. In the twisted nature of many humans, there is a need for heroes and a corresponding sense of satisfaction as those heroes are knocked from their pedestal of idolization. Louis C. K. may not have been a hero, but as a comedy genius, he had reached the pinnacle of his profession while building a massive fan base. It may seem that five brave women knocked him from the proverbial pedestal, but the truth is ... his own arrogance and behavior did so.

The purpose of this documentary from co-directors Cara Mones and Caroline Shu is not to re-hash the sordid details of Louis's actions, but rather to ask ... what now? Fellow comedian Michael Ian Black eloquently presents his considered thoughts on this, as do others who were more directly involved. The film draws heavily from the November 2017 New York Times article written by Melena Ryzik, Cara Buckley, and Jodi Kantor, each of whom share their view here. There are also interviews with others, including Jen Kirkman and Megan Koester. I believe Abby Schachner is the only one of the original four who were named to appear in the film, however it seems quite clear that Louis C. K.'s tendencies were as well-known throughout the industry as those of Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby. And yes, his defenders make the argument that his actions were nowhere near the level of those two figures of the #MeToo movement.

As has been pointed out many times in these cases, the sexual predator aspect is not the only issue. The abuse of power is every bit as crucial. The film is divided into seven "parts": Louis, Jen, Open Secret, These Stories are True, Abby, Comeback, and Cancelled. In contrast to Weinstein and Cosby and so many others, when publicly confronted with the accusations, Louis C. K. stated, "These stories are true." Much of the fallout was from his fans who went after the accusers on social media. Louis C. K. disappeared from public life for about 9 months before beginning his comeback ... using his history as fodder for joke-telling.

Louis C. K. being 'cancelled' ended when he won a Grammy for his comedy album. He hasn't yet been welcomed back to mainstream Television or Film, but his stand-up tours remain popular. The film serves to ignite dialogue and debate on a tough topic, and we find ourselves admiring those who stepped up to shine the light. Although it cost her a career, respect goes to Megan Koester who states, "I don't want to work with those who blindly ignore morality." It's a statement on which too few of us seem to stand with her. We must each answer for ourselves ... What now?

In theaters beginning July 12, 2024.

Disclosure: I'm a fan of Louis CK.

If Jean Valjean received death penalty after stealing some breads, most people'd be very shocked. Likewise, if a murderer received a very light sentence, most people'd be very shocked as well.

This Louis CK incident in 2017 is a tricky case because opinions of practically all of those permutations exist. And I believe it's hard to determine the exact answer to describe this Louis CK incident. Masturbating in front of coworker, whom usually looked up to him until that moment so was not likely in a position to say NO, could be closer to a murder (or rape) case for some people while it might sound a bit lighter for some people. Likewise, sudden fall from the status of being comic genius after almost 30 years of obscurity could be closer to a death sentence for some people while some people find it is too light considering he eventually started doing comedy agains and eventually ended up on Madison Square.

This documentary is trying to highlight the people who think what Louis CK did is "closer" to stealing breads (or something lighter) than murdering (or something heavier), while highlighting the people who think what he received is "closer" to a death sentence than what he deserved to receive.

This documentary is likely to have hard time finding right audiences because the people who think like Dave Chappelle ("Louis CK incident is closer to stealing breads while he received something closer to a death sentence"), will not get the argument of this documentary anyway, while (in my opinion) there are just not many people who's paying closer attention to Louis CK's activity after 2017 besides of his fans.

American entertainment market is very large. Being on Madison Square seems like he didn't receive any heavy sentence and came back to where he were, but it's probably just because of American market size. It's probably just because, in American market, because it's very large, even though you are kinda dead from mainstream already, as long as you have "some" demographics of people who still like you, you can probably fill up the Madison Square. Well we can still argue "if you really feel sorry, you shouldn't fill up Madison Square even if you can," and yes it's within the range of possible arguments, but it's also within the range of possible arguments the otherwise (I personally think).

One thing I kinda agree with this documentary is highlighting Louis CK's sudden appearance on regular standup venues (because some people indeed feel uncomfortable seeing him), but without that, this documentary is just highlighting some particular opinions out of all possible opinions with subtle criticism on those people... and that's about it.

I have been a huge Louis CK fan for several years. He's the only comic that never fails to make me laugh. When I first heard that Louie was "cancelled" back in 2017, I was of the opinion that #MeToo went way too far. I continued to watch his specials & movies, and I hoped that this "awkward mishap" would be forgotten.

I'm still inclined to agree with that sentiment. Yet now that I hear the testimonies of the women, his special "Sorry" seems so messed up. I agree that he 100% should have used that special to say something truthful & meaningful. Yet instead, Louie just briefly joked about it, grossly mischaracterized what actually happened (assuming the women never consented), and then he moved on to make millions.

I only give 7/10 because, while the documentary was incredibly thought provoking, it doesn't seem to put Louie on the hook to give an actual apology. I would have given this documentary 10 stars if it pleaded Louie to do precisely that. What Louie did can & should be forgiven, in my opinion. I think many of the victims could forgive him too if he properly apologized. But Louie may never actually apologize if people continue to relentlessly attack him.

Don't get me wrong; I feel sorry for all the women that were also attacked for trying to talk about Louie's behavior. The women got it SO much worse, and I'm glad that the documentary gives recognition to that. This documentary seemed like it was just about to bridge the gap; to allow a proper discussion on this polarizing issue. But sadly, it seemed to end on a persecution campaign instead... And yet, I suppose that's Louie's fault because he refused to participate in this documentary... and yet I understand why he may be hesitant to do so because if he says the wrong thing, it could forever end the career that he has left.

The most frustrating thing of all of this is that I KNOW Louie is genius enough to find a way to talk about these difficult issues AND make us cry laughing while doing it. I hope that Louie watched this documentary and doesn't take it the wrong way. I believe that if he knew how the women feel, that he can find a way to properly make amends while making us cry laughing about it. If nothing else, this documentary showed me what a lousy job Louie did on making amends. Louie could be a legend if he would use his craft to navigate this cultural divide instead of hiding behind his jokes & trying to forget it happened. I was glad that he was back, but he can do better than his lousy special. Now, I don't know what to think of Louie if he won't use his comedic genius to make properly make amends.

"Sorry/Not Sorry" covers legendary comedian Louis CK's downfall to his return in recent years. This rating sits in the middle because the documentary does well in how it presents the narrative, great soundtrack, great filmography and organization of the story in parts.

Unfortunately, it does bother me how the Louis CK's gatekeeping of the female comedians into the industry somehow transfers to "all men are evil" narrative. The documentary poses great philosophical questions like "where do we draw the line?", "is there no room for redemption?" but unfortunately leads the audience towards the more pessimistic conclusions about Louis CK. It even goes as far as picking out 10 to 15 second clips of him in various out-of-context podcasts and stand-up specials to portray him in an irredeemable light.

What Louis CK did was bad, and we must forever feel for the victims, but to pair it up with a life-traumatizing event like the actual Weinstein cases is weird. As for these female comedians being "gate-kept", the market makes the industry, not your feelings. It's clear as day how Louis CK's continued success even after these accusations, that his art is valued by the world. Altogether, this was an unfair documentary made by people with a clear agenda against Louis CK, but at-least it was thought provoking.

This documentary reveals that Louies' "apology" was a sham, given that his story now is that the women he accosted were, well, just confused. But with the additional details this film surfaces, it's clear CK knew from the very beginning his conduct was abusive. What he calls just his "kink" or his "thing" ("All of you have a thing too!" -- aw shucks!) is a physiological disorder he should have known to get therapeutic treatment for as a grown-*ss man. But because he was shielded by the industry at large, this abuse went on for the better part of two decades. Now he thrives with his new audience of dopey bros, while the women he demeaned are being re-victimized. The film leaves the audience to contemplate what this all means for our society, especially 7 years after Weinstein.