Louie

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. 👏

Seinfeld revolved around a stand-up comedian constantly sabotaged by the catastrophic social faux pas of himself and the people inextricably involved in his life, intercut with performance sets by the actual comic. So is Louie. But where Seinfeld was purportedly "a show about nothing," Louie is a show in which from moment to moment, you can safely expect nothing. Not only does Louis C.K. straddle the gaps in social protocol and everyday confrontations we all understand, but also the extremes of comedy and tragedy. It's a gallows comedy, in which we can find ourselves laughing in elation at the both wry and surreal absurdity of one moment, then clenching our chair arms in both tension and incredulity at moments of agonizing pain and even at times a true sense of impending brutality.

There is no continuity from one episode to the next, or even from one vignette to the next. Each episode is comprised of usually two scenarios book-ended by stand-up sets by Louie, which may or may not turn out to be part of one of the scenes. It's the direct inversion by an observant everyman's misanthrope of the TV sitcom. Whereas every sitcom we've ever seen has one essential soundstage, an ongoing play-like farce that runs before two cameras, all the same characters show up and everything not only works out but is just the same as before by the end, each week Louie will give a stream of consciousness an unsystematic narrative silhouette almost invariably a sequence of encounters with characters who enter and exit, yet very few ever return. Some actors and actresses return in different roles. Louie's mother is at one point played by an old woman as an appalling malignant narcissist and in another episode a humble, warm-hearted young working-class woman.

The show is written, directed and edited by its star, and he creates a visually realistic look and atmosphere for his small stories, captured quite cinematically. In the God episode, arguably the boldest, most powerful episode, he injects solemn amber tones, almost I dare say comparable to Gordon Willis' work on the Godfather films. There is a considerable proliferation of long takes in which two characters will share dialogue that sounds and feels no less real than that which we'll share with someone tomorrow. Sometimes, he's bold enough to prolong a single, stationary take in which nothing is being said on-camera, but all the action that affects the character in the shot is occurring off-camera, and in that very single take, we're carried seamlessly and steadily from deadpan absurdity to genuine terror. Then comes the cut: Life goes on; nothing's really that big of a deal. Simply put, each week, C.K. delivers one or two of the most powerful and memorable short films you may ever see.

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.

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.

Louis C.K. has found his voice. He's always been unaffected, without gimmicks, both as a stand up and as a comedic actor, but he now speaks and acts with near elegant confidence. His old HBO show "Lucky Louie" was original, edgy and often hilarious, but it was basically a sitcom, and even though it thoroughly mocked its own premises, it felt constrained by its traditional format. He was also quite raw as an actor and his rhythm was often awkward and rushed. But this latest project has him portraying a much more genuine version of himself and it takes its sweet time setting up and delivering its original punchlines. The humor now is very organic, arising not from slapstick absurdity but from honesty of character. Integrity is a word that just might pop up in a more competent review.

Like Seinfeld who inter-cut his show with staged fragments of his live routine, Louie uses his nightly club sessions to vent his daily frustrations, but the mood and feel is very different because Louis C.K. is not just riffing on airline peanuts and oddly buttoning shirts. He's also describing his complex, often extreme reactions to being alive. His carefully argued opinions on the inane and demoralizing nature of modern urban life are brilliant. Taboos are the targets at which the better comics aim their lacerating wit most emphatically, and the taboo that Louis mercilessly eviscerates most is fatherhood. If his frequently profane and sinister comments on parenting weren't so poignantly true and uncomfortably familiar they'd qualify as grounds for denial of custody. His honesty in expressing just how tedious, cold, and bland so much of his waking time actually is only works to heighten the comedic impact of his concise eloquent rants. His pacing and timing are at expert level now, as he has relaxed into himself; his aging, decaying, disappointing self. That's the kind of truth that "reality" TV could never pick out of a police line up.

The supporting players are all sensational and equally genuine. His friends, cohorts, and sociopath side kicks are marvelously candid and natural. Together they have some of the most entertaining, informative and enlightened discussions on life's more sensitive subjects. And they do it while exchanging great dick jokes. Pamela Adlon, who played his tough, often stressed working wife on the old HBO show, joins him again but now as a more crass and disillusioned fellow single parent. And the recurring visits of Ricky Gervais' maniacally demented doctor are sublimely outrageous, positively some of the most excruciatingly intense laughter I've ever experienced. That pudgy Brit is deranged!

What else can I add to this near solemn memorial I've contrived for this most enjoyable, most satisfying show? Just the fact that it is without a doubt the quickest passing twenty two minutes of quality comedy I've ever enjoyed. Yeah, it flies by way too fast.