Louie - General Discussion

[hoodooznoodooz]

I tried to watch the Louis CK stand-up special and only got through about 8 minutes before deleting it.

The first 8 minutes are probably the weakest. The forklift joke, childhood dog who hated Louie jokes and Everybody Dies jokes are very funny.

[Milburn Stone]

Do planes routinely have bullet holes in them from people firing from the ground? That had the sound of an insider fact that Louis heard in real life from someone who knows. Or did he invent that?

[Ottis]

I enjoy bits of the show, and don't enjoy others. And I have no idea what Louie is trying to say. The one about the sleepover girls was the one that made the most sense to me this season.

 

As a fairly anti-social guy, though, even I thought Louie was kind of a dick to his condo mate. They don't have to drink at 10 a.m. but he can engage more.

 

I was thinking that when Jim fell off the toilet and was lying there with his pants down below his butt, Louie was going to roll him over and make love to him. But the mood abruptly changed when it was revealed that he was hurt badly.  The show is so masterful at playing with audience expectations.

 

 

That never would have occured to me, ever. Make love after barfing in a toilet? To a guy you didn't even want to talk to?

[Milburn Stone]

Part of Louie's* nostalgia -- if not a misogynistic nostalgia, then at least a rather conservative one -- for a simpler time, when men were men, when his middle-aged white masculinity didn't feel so besieged...

 

I was sure the photo of him dressed in a Confederate officer's uniform (It couldn't have been a Union uniform, if his name was supposedly Beauregard) was going to go viral, and then the world would call him a racist a la Michael Richards, and he'd have to apologize, and it'd be a whole thing. I was glad that's not what happened.

 

As for whether fart jokes are funny...Well, maybe. But they're also cheap. I was totally on his side versus Florentine. Comedians who rely on that stuff are hacks, and it's not wrong to try to be better than that. I was sorry Louis apologized.

[bref]

 

As a fairly anti-social guy, though, even I thought Louie was kind of a dick to his condo mate. They don't have to drink at 10 a.m. but he can engage more.

 

He could, but he apparently found the guy repulsive for several reasons. As did I. He was being totally gross with the owner's daughter.

[Lone Wolf]

Oh my God, they killed Kenny! You bastards!

Other randomness:

Defecating into a a toilet tank is a not-uncommon prank. It results in the next guy flushing and getting the exact opposite of what he was trying to accomplish; extra effective if that next guy only peed. IIRC, it's called an upper-decker. That being said, Kenny must have been beyond drunk to think he could get away with those kind of gymnastics, and as others have noted it's not realistic that Louie would've stayed at the bowl while it was going on.

Also, IIRC, Louis is at least part Mexican, so the "sickie" insult may have been an inside joke. Don't recall whether the show has mentioned Louie's ethnicity, but he certainly didn't seem to approve of the reference.

Not my favorite couple of episodes, but as I mentioned last week I think there's some reality depicted re: comedians' lives on the road, and I found that aspect interesting.

[Ottis]

He could, but he apparently found the guy repulsive for several reasons. As did I. He was being totally gross with the owner's daughter.

 

 

I read that differently. He clearly has worked for this club before, and appeared to know the owner and his daughter. And was aware of her disinterested/cold personality (and we learn that the club owner is a dick, and it is clear he and his daughter treat their hired acts like farm hands from the Great Depression, so no love lost there). And he is a comedian. So I think he had, over multiple attempts at conversation, worked up his level of comedic insult to what would normally be an offensive level, but was just him ratcheting it up a notch after being ignored repeatedly. I laughed, and I expected the daughter to crack a little smile at some point. There are situations where those kinds of exchanges have a story behind them, and the fact Louie (the character) doesn't seem to see that does make him seem uptight - which I am sure is what the other guy read right away. People who view the world only one way are exasperating.

Edited June 4, 2015 by Ottis

[Milburn Stone]

He clearly has worked for this club before, and appeared to know the owner and his daughter.

 

I got the opposite impression. When he arrived at the airport, he appeared not to realize that this girl who was there was there for him until she told him.

Edited June 4, 2015 by Milburn Stone

[Soobs]

Oh my God, they killed Kenny! You bastards!

Other randomness:

Defecating into a a toilet tank is a not-uncommon prank. It results in the next guy flushing and getting the exact opposite of what he was trying to accomplish; extra effective if that next guy only peed. IIRC, it's called an upper-decker. That being said, Kenny must have been beyond drunk to think he could get away with those kind of gymnastics, and as others have noted it's not realistic that Louie would've stayed at the bowl while it was going on.

 

Thanks for the info, I think? So, was this the season finale? Seemed short, if so.

[slasherboy]

 Maybe the rumors about his personal conduct are affecting me

 

Could someone fill me in on these rumors, please & thank you?  

 

I didn't realize that was the season finale.  Damn.  There's a season like every 30 years then the season lasts for 18 minutes.  Ok, I exaggerate.

 

I don't try to "get" or interpret these episodes.  I just watch and wonder what's next and am very often, totally surprised.  

 

One of my favorite scenes from the entire season (if not THE favorite) was Louie dancing with the Civil War ladies and then with the man. Very cool.  

 

See ya in 30 years, Louie!

[Lone Wolf]

Thanks for the info, I think? So, was this the season finale? Seemed short, if so.

 

I always say that when a season seems short, that means it was a good. Which I thought this one was.

 

Could someone fill me in on these rumors, please & thank you?

At the risk of speaking for another poster, I think this is what (s)he was probably talking about:

http://starcasm.net/archives/315797

[slasherboy]

Lone Wolf, thanks for that link.  I hadn't heard even the slightest peep about this.  Sadly, it doesn't surprise me at all.  What it does do is gross me out to the nth degree.

[xaxat]

I finally finished the season and one of the things I find disappointing is how Louis is recycling "unexpected" moments. The sudden death of the comedian felt similar to the episode where Parker Posey's character died. And, although she didn't die, those felt similar to the abrupt end to his relationship with the pregnant woman. 

 

The pregnant woman story fell into the recurring "woman meets Louis in an awkward situation and she decides she has to have sex with him" seen with Melissa Leo and Yvonne Strahovski's characters. 

 

The show still has its moments, but it doesn't seem as fresh as it used to.

Edited June 13, 2015 by xaxat

[xaxat]

I know someone who was a manager at the Four Season Hotel in Las Vegas. One day a guy came down to one of their restaurants and asked for a table during lunch at one of their restaurants. It was busy, so they didn't have room and the host told him it wasn't possible and asked if he wanted to make a reservation for later. The guy understood, said no and amiably walked away.

 

That person was Bill Gates. (The host didn't recognize him.)

 

My friend cites this incident to his employees as the reason you treat all customers well. Because you just don't know who will walk through your doors.

 

ETA, I thought Michael Rapaport had the best guest role this season. At first I was worried he was just going to play a version of real life Knicks fan "Michael Rapaport", but he was really good.

Edited June 12, 2015 by xaxat

[ganesh]

I've liked MR in everything he's been in. He's usually playing intense characters and I think he was perfect for this role. What I really liked is that he (the cop) had the self awareness that he's hard to get along with. 

[Primetimer]

A middle-aged man marathons a middle-aged man's series about being a middle-aged man-- okay, we'll stop selling.

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[zxy556575]

Daniel, were you an Indian water bearer, Rudyard Kipling would come to mind. I don't envy your task but will be curious to hear your opinion as things go along.

[AndySmith]

Quote

it lets people feel good about themselves for being aware of racial and class injustice, without demanding they do anything about it

Which makes it the perfect show for today's social media clicktivism society.

[Primetimer]

In the latest installment of Daniel's Marathon Diary, Louie hates: his mom, hecklers, airplanes, how old he is, his lack of self-control.

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[Bretley]

Yes, Pamela's son is named Serge.

[Tara Ariano]

38 minutes ago, Bretley said:

Yes, Pamela's son is named Serge.

It's actually Serg, pronounced "Sir." I'll fix.

[Primetimer]

Season 1 ends in an uncharacteristic upbeat mood, and then it's back to the misadventures of a miserable misanthrope.

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[Primetimer]

Country roads / Take me home / To the place / I belong: Hell.

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[EAG46]

Joan Rivers agreed to be portrayed as sleeping with Louis CK? Damn. She was more game than I ever thought she was. [But I'm still mad at her for all those fat jokes, though.]

[Primetimer]

Louie rounds out Season 2 seemingly under the impression that not enough viewers want to kill themselves.

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[zxy556575]

I remember Louis saying in an interview that he deliberately didn't care about continuity because he's a rebel, man! He doesn't kowtow to network mediocrity! (At least that's how I heard it in my head.) But if he really meant for each episode to exist on its own, he failed at that, too.

Mostly I feel sorry for Daniel having to slog his way through this. I've been morosely re-taking the mental journey along with him -- wanting so much to like the show and giving it chance after chance, but primarily feeling bewilderment, disgust, and very occasionally, mild amusement. I'm afraid it gets worse as the seasons tick by, so the death of optimism is fully warranted.

[Primetimer]

Season 3 adds healthier portions of humour and plot; let's hope it's because Louis C.K. realized it's possible to do that without 'selling out' or whatever.

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[Uncle Benzene]

"(God, I hope no one reading this who's seen the whole series is thinking, "Oh, you poor bastard.")"

Oh, you poor bastard.

[Primetimer]

Louie jettisons episodic television in favour of multi-(multi-multi-)episode arcs.

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[Charlie Baker]

Overall, I think I liked the series more than Daniel did, but those Pamela episodes nearly put me off for good. *shudder*

[zxy556575]

My stomach clenches a little in sympathy for Daniel every time he gets through another season -- like, sorry you're having to go through this, my man.

But for sure there were strong responses, pro and con, to the "fat girl" speech!

[gesundheit]

Oof, the Elevator episodes. That whole Amia arc was something I found incredibly tedious and creepy.

[Primetimer]

If that's all there is, my friends, then let's keep drinking. Let's break out the booze and have a fall.

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[zxy556575]

Comedy is so damned personal, but I really liked Flaked on Netflix. It may slice a little too closely to Louis for you, in that middle-aged-white-guy-burnout way, but I found it to be much more sweet natured. The humor is primarily in the send-up of Venice and So Cal beach hipster culture, if that's a milieu you can identify with and/or find amusing.

[SlackerInc]

I enjoyed this one too (waahh, only one left...I've been savoring them slowly, but since the next one is "Part 2", I will probably have to watch it soon).

I was honestly really surprised though that Louie didn't try to do more to go find that girl.  It was pretty unconscionable that no one else on the train even gave a shit at all, but I thought as a guy with two daughters, he would be more persistent than that.

On 6/1/2015 at 7:56 AM, Milburn Stone said:

Do planes routinely have bullet holes in them from people firing from the ground? That had the sound of an insider fact that Louis heard in real life from someone who knows. Or did he invent that?

I was operating under the assumption that this was total BS, but maybe I'm too optimistic/naive!