Fri 29 Jul 2011
Things We Love: Louis C.K. On The TV Show ‘Louie’
Posted by Mikey Fresh under life beyond rap , quotes[7] Comments
There’s few new shows on TV that I actually watch now-a-days. I mean I still watch Seinfeld re-runs… But Louie on FX is probably on top of my “must see TV” list. Awkward ass comedian Louis C.K. stars as Louie, a divorced father of two cute daughters that are actually smarter than him on the show (or at least less awkward) living in New York City. There isn’t much action on the half hour program but ridiculous real life situations and Louie’s inability to grasp human concepts make for a hilarious time. Vulture did a dope write-up on the last night’s show, check it out below.
With a show as tonally erratic and narratively elastic as Louie, it can be hard to find themes connecting one episode to the next. But after last night’s installment, I think we can safely divine at least one central idea for season two: Namely, that Louis C.K. really has it in for the homeless. In the last month and a half, he’s shown them losing their heads in traffic, getting abducted by the government, and, in last night’s opening “Subway” segment, washing their asses in public.
continued after the jump…
Though I’m guessing it’s not his intent to be cruel, C.K.’s bum-bashing has become a weirdly insistent, quickly diminishing go-to punch line. What happened to the upbeat portrayals of homelessness — your Fisher Kings, your Oscar the Grouches?
But that’s hardly the biggest problem with “Subway,” the mercilessly whimsy five-minute short that opened last night’s episode. It starts out innocently enough: Louie descends underground, where he quietly observes the sights and sounds around him — the violinist playing for change, the wise-ass teenager trying to pick up a girl on the 2 train. As with much of Louie’s depiction of NYC living, the subterranean world feels instantly familiar, yet exaggerated just enough to get across the city’s ambient magic. Suddenly, though, the screen goes black and white, the music turns somber, and Louie’s locked into a heroic fantasy sequence in which he uses his jacket to sop up a mysterious puddle on one of the subway seats — an act that earns him a fist-pound and a blow job. Then it’s over.
Huh.
Look, I get that C.K. pretty much has complete control over this show, and that his independence is one of the reasons Louie is so singular and great. But couldn’t someone at FX have maybe sat him down and gently pointed out this whole opening, with its Woody Allen/Fellini daydream and first-year-film-student black-and-white switcheroo, is a bit precious? And that it’s going to take away from the second part of the episode, which, by the way, is one of the best segments of the season thus far? And that five minutes is a very long time to roll your eyes?
(Read the full article at Vulture)

July 29th, 2011 at 11:16 am
Ok go at a great show for a 5 minute opening bit?
The quirkiness is kinda what make this show besides telling truths is louie’s own darkly tormented & hilarous way
Reminds self never to read anything on vulture again what a bunch of over zealous hipsters
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ironic Reply:
July 29th, 2011 at 5:19 pm
absolutely agree…i think the author totally missed the pick-up line of the teen as well. he tried to pick up a girl based on his academic prowess, now that’s some different and refreshing shit to see on tv…the best show on tv, for sure
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July 29th, 2011 at 12:38 pm
Seinfeld re-runs, aye?
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July 29th, 2011 at 1:06 pm
he had a show on hbo a few years back called lucky louie , and it was ridiculously funny , shit was way ahead of it’s time. but it offended the wrong people and got caned. check that show out.
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Patrick Reply:
July 29th, 2011 at 8:28 pm
yeah lucky louie was the shit, sometimes the wife in that series is in this one as in last nights episode. But i agree with miss info Louie is a mad good show also
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July 29th, 2011 at 1:23 pm
Yo, when Louie missed that ‘take a bath’ comment from Pamela… I thought I was crazy because I heard her say it too; and then when he realized it… Hilarious, cause that’s exactly how furious @ himself he should have been.
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July 29th, 2011 at 2:56 pm
is it me or is there some kind of paralell between this “Woody Allen/Fellini daydream and first-year-film-student black-and-white switcheroo, is a bit precious?” and 40′s production style?
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