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.

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.

This documentary is pushing an agenda that Louis CK's behavior was an open industry secret. This is entirely one sided and at ignores any evidence that this may not be the case.

Instead it spends the first hour talking about what Louis CK did and attempts to cast it as an open secret in the industry. I was actually more convinced before watching this than after.

There are multiple times where scenes are shown where others are asked about Louis CK's behavior and are confused by the question, denying any knowledge.

The documentary presents this as all part of the cover up. This is the first hour of the documentary.

The last half hour is then how he's clearly not sorry enough. How they don't approve of his act and how he doesn't bring sexual misconduct into their act.

It feels like they are demanding he make their trauma part of his comedy routine and it's hard to imagine they wouldn't be complaining if he had.

The only interviews that the documentary crew produced are unabashedly aligned with the agenda of documentary. They didn't attempt to present any counter opinion by anyone in the industry, just various footage clips that were narrated around.

This is a very funny documentary, even though unintentionally.

We all knew before even showing this, that this is picture is paid to via a platinum victim card, with a bunch of attention seekers seeking attention, but what surprised me is the fact that when they were showing clips of Louis CK, it was like a nice montage of Louis CK compilations, and Dave Chappelle bits were he was making fun of them was even funnier, and the funniest thing was when they were showing their face instantly after that, priceless.

Unfortunately, this doesn't last long, they come back to nag on your head, that's why I can't give them the full points.

"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.