Louie - General Discussion

[ganesh]

But my question:  did this guy really treat Louie all that much worse than Pamela does?

 

Pamela loves Louie and has said so on the show. In the last episode, she was at his show and genuinely laughing at his act. She's not someone he hasn't seen in years who then decides he knows more about Louie's life's work than Louie does. Just the fact that he was saying Louie wasn't really funny means he doesn't really get Louie's act. I think Louie being insulted is fair.

 

I don't punch my friends, but I goof around with people I've known a long time. Run up behind them and tap them on the opposite shoulder. When I was younger, my roommates that I've known for years would try to block me in the hallway.

 

But he's an adult in his late 30s/early 40 acting like he's 22. You don't do that anymore. Especially if you know it's hard for you to make friends and you really want to make a friend. 

 

On the other side, he was right. Don't tell someone you will hang out with them if you don't mean it. That's not fair either. 

 

I liked the opening scene, but I think the shop owner was actually being short sighted and as a result not smarter than Louie and doing herself a disservice. For one, I find it bizarre that she wouldn't want a customer spending a lot of money. She doesn't know anything about Louie. He could be a millionaire. Ok, so you're closing. Why not say, "I'm sorry, I'm closing. Why don't you come back tomorrow and I'll be happy to talk to you about the pots."

 

It's fair that the 'customer is always right' is kind of outdated, but that doesn't excuse one from bad manners. Secondly, since she's 24, she probably knows people post a lot online at places like yelp and really one bad review could potentially put a dent in sales. So, the extra 30 seconds of courtesy wasn't worth it? I don't think she was nearly as smart as she thinks she is. What happens if the economy goes bad again? People tend to not buy luxury cooking items. Is she selling necessities as well?

 

Larry David did this a lot on his show but often he'd strike back and even though it usually resulted in chaos I found it more satisfying that he at least spoke up.

 

Larry is his own worst enemy though because he just can't let things go. Although, I think he is usually right. That scene in the hospital would have been a complete explosion.

 

They could not find a better actor to play the cop imo. 

[DiegoBurger]

Larry is his own worst enemy though because he just can't let things go. Although, I think he is usually right. That scene in the hospital would have been a complete explosion.

 

But this is exactly why CYE is so great - that version of Larry acts out the fantasy of standing up to all the bullshit that most if not all of us has. He has said in many interviews that he loves playing the CYE Larry because it is so freeing to be so confrontational all the time. Louie, on the other hand, never has shown himself either in his show (unless it is a fantasy sequence) or even in his stand-up, that he wants to take on the assholes of the world. He would rather figure out their motives and find the humor in that or in his discomfort but he's not on a mission to right every annoying thing.

 

LOVED Michael Rappaport but he did not age well. He was such a scrawny kid in Do the Right Thing.

[ganesh]

I got no problem with CYE. Like I said, Larry is usually right when he's calling people out. IRL, most of us can't be bothered. 

[DiabLOL]

 

 

Louie's brother, Robbie, invites him over to his house.

 

[Fisher King]

What a day in Louie's life. Go to a funeral for your uncle that isn't even dead,  then gets to spend even more time listening to his brother's issues. Then is attacked by a lunatic. His daughters laugh at him for being beat up by a girl, and then there's Pamela acting out a sort of fetish BEFORE she breaks up with him.

 

Just another day for Lucky Louie.

[hoodooznoodooz]

What exactly did Pamela do to Louie that was so intimate?

I laughed when Pamela asked him to dance and Louie said, trying to sound like a woman, "Oh, my goodness. I don't even know you."

[msani19]

 

What exactly did Pamela do to Louie that was so intimate?

She fingers his butt.

At first I thought she had a strap-on but the finger makes more sense. I shouldn't be thinking about it that hard though....

I laughed after she breaks up with him and he reveals his mascara-streaked face. Since the episode seemed to be speaking to stereotypical gender roles, I got a big kick out of the mascara scene, how many times have we seen that with a woman being shown as hysterical.

[ganesh]

I thought she pegged him too, but yeah, you can just shove that in. 

 

What do you do though? If Louie hauled off and smacked the woman, she'd call the cops. If anyone saw him, he'd get beat up for real. 

[Muffyn]

Michael Rappaport was excellent in this.  He really owned the role.  I liked the storyline of someone so desperate to be liked that they are over bearing and off-putting.  So he tells Louie he is an ugly and unfunny; that's the way to make him want to spend more time with you.  I've known people like this.  I feel sorry for them but there is only so much you can take.

 

Unfortunately hipster store owner rang a little too true to me.  I live in a neighborhood that is rapidly changing.  It is amazing how many of the newer businesses don't bother treating the older residences (i.e., over 30) with even a modicum of civility.  

[cpcathy]

Yeah, he could have never hit her without really suffering the consequences.

 

Louis never fails to surprise me. This show is so unlike anything on television, whenever I see the disclaimer at the beginning stating there will be violence, language and sexual situations, I feel happy because I'm watching a "grown up" show.

 

As soon he Louie started yelling in the bedroom scene, yes, I knew what Pamela was doing. And yay, no more Pamela (at least onscreen). She's just too cruel.

[ganesh]

When they cut to her, and she was just laughing, it was really funny.

 

I feel bad for Louie when the woman was starting with him. No one else stepped in to help or say anything. I actually wish they spent more time on that then going to the Pamela story. 

 

Tact won't ever be her strong suit, but she was right: Louie is always going to be trying to push more of a relationship on them. She was rather clear about that in the restaurant and Louie just goes right back to it. 

[ganesh]

You have to figure that's going to catch up with them. Everyone gets older. Louie's not one for retorts, but I almost wished he'd said, "I have two daughters. Thanks. Now I know I can raise them to not be like you." 

[DiabLOL]

I also thought she fingered his butt but then I got a little nervous about that huge lip balm she was using in the next scene. 

 

I also wish they'd focussed more on the getting beat up story line as well. It reminded me of the episode where he refused to fight some assholes in a donut shop during a date and the woman wouldn't sleep with him after. 

[DiabLOL]

Seriously. What are the odd that if you own your own store at the age of 24, especially in a place like Manhattan, it's because your PARENTS bought it for you? See her in a year or two when reality kicks her in the teeth. You don't run a successful shop because you cater to only young people. You're not running a night club. That scene didn't make the least bit of sense to me other than some weird abstract masochistic musing inside Louie's head but then again I HATED last year's "fat girl" monologue too, so.

[Fisher King]

I just couldn't tolerate the shop owner.  

I'm in total agreement about how great M. Rappaport was. He throws every grain of emotion into his roles. His character was so annoying. I couldn't blame Louie for wanting to get away from him, forever. And the knitting tag at the end was great.

[ganesh]

She could have been a super overachiever and gotten a grant/funding to open the shop. She didn't say anything about actually making a profit. (As a side note, this is why bakeries who won't cater gay weddings mystify me. So, you're saying you don't want to make money? Ok.) Similarly here, Louie said he was going to buy a bunch of stuff and spend nearly $2000. You don't want $2000 because it's from an older guy? 

 

Parallel: there's a high end liquor shop literally 100 yards from where I live. It's moderately pricey, the owner makes no bones about it. But *everyone* who comes in is greeted by name. He tastes all the wines and personally helps anyone for as long as it takes. He knows what beer I like, and if it's not there, he suggests similar ones. In single owner shops of any kind, who turns away business? I still think the point of the scene is that people need to let go of their hang ups. Previously, Louie could have gone off on Judy Gold in the hospital, but just walked away. Here, like I first said, the owner could have been like, "I'm closing, I had a hard day. You know how it is. Come back tomorrow?"

 

I think hanging out with the cop was kind of on Louie though. He clearly didn't want to. He could have gone to the bathroom and called Pamela to call him later with an emergency to get out of there. 

[ganesh]

For the donut shop though, those were teenagers. iirc, Louie followed the kid home and the dad smacked the kid around right in front of Louie. 

[DiabLOL]

Yes they were teens and he did follow one home to talk to the parents. His date was really turned off by his unwillingness to fight back and he was all why should I get hurt? The feel was similar to me last night with more amplified exploration of gender/sexuality tropes. His eyes with the running eyeliner! Why did he almost immediately become a Southern Belle? He kills me!

[Milburn Stone]

I think hanging out with the cop was kind of on Louie though. He clearly didn't want to. He could have gone to the bathroom and called Pamela to call him later with an emergency to get out of there. 

 

I don't really feel like it was on Louie, because he was making a calculus any reasonable person might make. He was weighing how much he really didn't want to be with the cop, versus how things might spin out of control in a really awful way if he dared to tell the cop to back off. Many situations this season have been about how terrible (in some cases, life-alteringly terrible) the consequences of confrontation might be, versus the consequences of avoiding confrontation; why those moments have been relatable is that every sensible person faces situations in real life that force running that calculus.

 

There are un-sensible people who seem not to have the gene that triggers running that calculus. (Or else they run it, and it comes out in a different place.) Oftentimes those are the people who end up in jail.

Edited May 3, 2015 by Milburn Stone

[Fisher King]

His eyes with the running eyeliner! Why did he almost immediately become a Southern Belle? He kills me!

 

It was quite funny, but I was still a little shaken up by the woman beating the crap out of him early on. I'm accustomed to how this show is apt to take sharp & bizarre turns at any time but the violence really stunned me, and that fight scene seemed to last forever.

 

What was Louie's girl name? Jonertha? lol

 

It's too ironic how Louie was laughed at for being "beat up by a girl" and then Pamela takes that up a few notches to makeup & gender role-playing. Only Louie would take the intimacy of ass-play experimentation as a reassuring sign that Pamela was ready to get serious about their relationship.

 

Sorry, Louie. She doesn't want a ring on THAT finger.

[Lone Wolf]

I also thought she fingered his butt but then I got a little nervous about that huge lip balm she was using in the next scene.

My initial and subsequent thoughts exactly. I think she used her finger, but she's the kind of personality who wouldn't think twice about asserting her alpha-ness and then nonchalantly using the instrument of dominance for its intended harmless purpose. Karma (or Pamela) is catching up with Louie for that quasi-rape situation last season.

What do you do though? If Louie hauled off and smacked the woman, she'd call the cops. If anyone saw him, he'd get beat up for real.

 

 

Yeah, he could have never hit her without really suffering the consequences.

I think he got a shot in. Just before they went down on the sidewalk they kind of clinched, and he took a quick look around and then threw an awkward right to her head. Next POV, she was he on top of him, whaling away.

You're both right, though - it was a lose-lose for him regardless.

 

 

What was Louie's girl name? Jonertha? lol

Jornatha. That's a - that's such beautiful name. What is that? Is that Danish? Is that like Swedish?

Louie in makeup was too creepy for my taste, but I get the point, and one of the things that I like about this show (and Louis) is that they both push boundaries and take me out of my comfort zone. I doubt that I'll ever re-watch this ep like I do some of my other favorite shows, but I'm glad I saw it.

Edited May 3, 2015 by Lone Wolf

[Soobs]

 

As soon he Louie started yelling in the bedroom scene, yes, I knew what Pamela was doing. And yay, no more Pamela (at least onscreen). She's just too cruel.

Let's hope so. There's edgy and interesting and then there's just annoying and to me Pamela falls into the latter category. Even her break up talk "go find yourself a nice girl you can marry and cheat on" was full of false bravado. She's so fearful and defensive that she just comes across as a bully. They aren't taking the character anywhere that's interesting to me.

Edited May 4, 2015 by Soobs

[Fisher King]

I'm guessing there will be less Pamela now and I'm okay with that, but I don't want her completely gone. Maybe she can pop up now & again as a true friend with hard-but-honest advice for Louie. Minus the putdowns.

Edited May 4, 2015 by Fisher King

[Flannery Tanner]

I generally hate Pamela and the way she treats Louie, but here I think she was in the right. Her timing maybe wasn't great, but breaking up with him was the kind thing to do. He was never going to be happy with the sort of casual relationship she wanted. And she wasn't an asshole about it either, which surprised me.

[possibilities]

Jane goes to the doctor.

Louie has nightmares.

 

-----

I liked this one. The nightmares were awesome.
 

[Irlandesa]

I kind of hated it.  It was just weird in ways that weren't funny or interesting to me.

 

And it says something that I knew the minute that woman started crying that she'd end up fucking Louie...because that just seems to happen all the time for him.

[benteen]

Charles Grodin looks EXACTLY like Joe Biden.

 

I did laugh at Louie's Clockwork Orange freakout.

[possibilities]

Louie's sexuality is dead to me, so I just tune out everything that has to do with that. It's not funny or interesting or hot or emotionally moving or anything else worth seeing, as far as I'm concerned, so I just pretend it isn't happening. I kind of forgot that he went back to "be a man" and do chores for his damsel and then fuck her. I related to the nightmare parts, though, because they were just weird and I've had some weird nightmares in my day.

[zxy556575]

I don't want to hear about anybody's damned dreams and certainly don't want to watch a show about them. I always like Charles Grodin, so there's that. "Drink a glass of water."

 

Otherwise, can't you just pick up a small aquarium and move it? Empty out some of the water if it's too heavy, have two people lift, carry it to the new location and plug the filter in again?

[cpcathy]

My hubby told me you do have to empty it out and take out the fish to move it.

 

I kind of hated it too, but I'm not keen on episodes of shows that are like fever dreams, didn't like it on my beloved Sopranos, don't like it here. The best part of the episode were the scenes with the daughters. Louis is so natural with them, they may be the only kids on TV who seem like actual kids.

[ganesh]

The episode wasn't the best, but it was good for me just because of the interactions with the kids. 

[Lone Wolf]

I always like Charles Grodin, so there's that. "Drink a glass of water."

Otherwise, can't you just pick up a small aquarium and move it? Empty out some of the water if it's too heavy, have two people lift, carry it to the new location and plug the filter in again?

I've kept fish - to move a tank that size from one room to another, I'd have taken out enough water to keep it from sloshing over and gotten a buddy to help me lift it onto a 4-wheel dolly. One person moving it alone would have had to pretty much empty it. 

Great seeing Grodin again. I was afraid that he wasn't going to be curmudgeon like he was when Louie had the back problem, but there was a touch there - "I am looking at her" (half shrug).

 

The best part of the episode were the scenes with the daughters. Louis is so natural with them, they may be the only kids on TV who seem like actual kids.

 

 

The episode wasn't the best, but it was good for me just because of the interactions with the kids.

Totally. I loved seeing Jane walking with her hand through Louie's arm. To paraphrase Holden Caulfield, seeing kids do grown up things like that kills me. And Jane playing with the doorbell and the kids laughing at Louie's snoring in the cab were so true to life that it could have been improv.

Did anyone else listen to the words of that song during the closing montage? "I dream of dying babies, and why do they smile? I hate those dying babies, why don't they just die? Their smiling faces give me diarrhea. Please die you smiling babies, in my diarrhea." Jesus. A lot worse than his dreams, and even more disturbing because the tune was so cheerful. But perfect in the context of the plot.

Louie putting the blanket over Micah's mom's head, completely covering her up.

"Those people are food."

Edited May 8, 2015 by Lone Wolf

[Lemons]

I kind of hated it.  It was just weird in ways that weren't funny or interesting to me.

 

And it says something that I knew the minute that woman started crying that she'd end up fucking Louie...because that just seems to happen all the time for him.

 

Agree.  I think the show is trying too hard this season.  I like the normal interactions with the kids and with Louie in typical NYC places like Deli's, cabs and walking the streets.  I did like the way he resolved the nightmares though.  It's just the nightmares that were annoying.

[peeayebee]

I liked it. The nightmares were freaky, esp that red guy who would jump out and bite Louie. 

 

Jane is such a crackup. It's impossible to know when she's telling the truth and when she's just be fantastical. 

 

I did notice the end song and its weird lyrics. I would like to know if the song was written for the show or already existed.

[bennyblue]

The scene at the Dr. was perfection to me. I love that he was listening intently to Jane go on and on, he would have cut Louie off almost immediately, and then just made very dry old school no nonsense responses. I would have hated if he ordered a bunch of tests or wanted to send Jane to a specialist. Also love how he is always eating when Louie is trying to talk to him.

The scene at the Dr. was perfection to me. I love that he was listening intently to Jane go on and on, he would have cut Louie off almost immediately, and then just made very dry old school no nonsense responses. I would have hated if he ordered a bunch of tests or wanted to send Jane to a specialist. Also love how he is always eating when Louie is trying to talk to him.

[CMH1981]

Great episode, any episode where his daughters are a part of the main story makes the episode even better.

 

I loved when Lily flipped the whole lecture on Louie, that was great and such a teenager type thing to do.  I was convinced we would find out she was actually texting her friends and she just read up about the play before they arrived to get some type of understanding on what she would be seeing.  It was still disrespectful to the actors and others in the theater to not be paying 100% attention.   Lily is such a great teenage character on tv, compared to other shows. 

 

So i'm guessing the play was created just for the show?  If so...wow Glenn Close and John Lithgow.  Michael Cera...still a horrible actor.

 

Jane's sleepover, wow.  So how many kids did Louie end up w/ at the house that night and why in the hell would have them come around noon for a sleepover, that's just insane especially in a NYC apt.  I was concerned Louie thought two large pizza's was going to be enough for all those girls.

 

We found out Pamela misses Louie, which is great b/c I love the two of them together.  When Louie got the text, I was hoping he was going to invite her over to help out w/the girls, but instead he decides to turn it into phone sex that ends horribly, but of course Pam finds it hilarious that he is trying to do it while hosting a sleepover.  So now that we know Pam is seeing someone else, do we think she was seeing this person during the time she was still seeing Louie and that's why she ended things?  

 

Loved seeing all the girls going crazy in the police station and them eating up Louie's brothers story...I knew it was going to be something lascivious in the end.

[jbrecken]

The weird names of the girls were great - Shasta, Afghanistan, Tranquilitay!

[zxy556575]

For some reason I keep trying and trying with this show even though I don't like it and never have. Louis trying to have phone sex while a bunch of kids are careening around unsupervised in his house AND he's expecting a pizza delivery ... I'm out. I'll try to make it for good this time.

[CMH1981]

 

Louis trying to have phone sex while a bunch of kids are careening around unsupervised in his house AND he's expecting a pizza delivery ... I'm out.

 

Yeah, but we know, and Louie knows that it was a bad idea, but b/c Pam is so fickle regarding their relationship, or lack thereof, he saw an open chance and he took it.  He knew Pam texted for a reason since it seems they have had no contact since she ended the friendship/relationship, he saw an opening and knew how strange her proclivities were and decided to make the most of an awkward situation, hell even Pam got a chuckle after realizing what predicament he was in.  I so want them to be together.

[Fisher King]

Loved it. Everything was awkward, unlikely and funny.

[ganesh]

A goat. Ok, Bobby. I figured he got arrested for soliciting an escort.

 

Louie's reaction when the girls were all psyched to go to the police station was perfect. Ok, then. Let's go!

 

I don't really have a problem with Louie trying phone sex with the girls over. It's not smart, but Louie is rather desperate when it comes to Pamela. Plus, I mean, it's not like parents don't have sex when their kids are home. I'd be surprised if no one in the history of humanity had a quickie at a kids' party even. 

[Irlandesa]

Ha.  I remember reading a letter to an advice columnist (maybe Dear Prudence) where someone was upset because a girl at a sleepover walked into the hosts' bedroom because she wanted a glass of water and found them having sex.  The girl's parents were very upset and felt that she should have been called right away.  The party hosts felt it was no big deal.  Very differing opinions on the ethics of having sex while there were other children over. (The parents shouldn't do it, they should have locked the door, the girl should have knocked...etc.)

 

At least Louie was making sure that no one would walk in on him when he boarded the door.

 

I am a bit like lardonia in that I can't quite quit this show.  Unlike lardonia, I actually did like it at one time but last season soured me on the show.  That said, this was probably my favorite episode of the season. I liked the all-star play.  I liked the sleepover interruptions from Pamela to his brother.

 

The one thing that struck me--and maybe I misheard--but did his brother call Louie at 8:00 p.m. and he could get freed from jail if Louie showed up by 9:00 p.m.  He then goes into the other room and all of the girls were asleep?  At 8 p.m.?  Oh heck no.  Has Louie never hosted a sleepover?

Edited May 15, 2015 by Irlandesa

[ganesh]

It looked like the girls were all set up for bed but were watching tv too. So it wasn't like Louie was expected they were actually going to bed, but just got everything set up for bed. 

[stormy weather]

I thought we'd got rid of Pamela once and for all, and instead. Why, show, why? She is insufferable and I really don't understand why Louie puts up with her!

I loved the girls' reaction when Louie told them "get up, we're going to bail my brother out of jail". I know it's a paradoxical situation, but as an 8-year-old I would have been pretty excited too for such an adventure at 8 PM (read "middle of the night" in children time zone).

Oh and also Shasta's "but my parents are together" line was a great, great moment.

[scrb]

Pam says it's gross that Louie tried to have phone sex while babysitting the girls for a sleepover.

 

Yet she was sneaking the call in from her bathroom while another man was in the bedroom.

 

Maybe that's not gross, but it's shady.

[Hecate7]

It's fair that the 'customer is always right' is kind of outdated, but that doesn't excuse one from bad manners. Secondly, since she's 24, she probably knows people post a lot online at places like yelp and really one bad review could potentially put a dent in sales. So, the extra 30 seconds of courtesy wasn't worth it? I don't think she was nearly as smart as she thinks she is. What happens if the economy goes bad again? People tend to not buy luxury cooking items. Is she selling necessities as well?

 

The shopkeep doesn't want her other customers, and potential customers, seeing an old nerdy guy using the stuff she sells. It's kind of like cars or clothes. Snobs see it on someone they think is poor or gross or a loser, and they don't want that product.  The "cool" car or outfit stops being cool if your Mom has one. That was the real issue here.

[Lone Wolf]

I loved when Lily flipped the whole lecture on Louie, that was great and such a teenager type thing to do.  I was convinced we would find out she was actually texting her friends and she just read up about the play before they arrived to get some type of understanding on what she would be seeing.  It was still disrespectful to the actors and others in the theater to not be paying 100% attention.   Lily is such a great teenage character on tv, compared to other shows.

Between that and the dressing down that he got from the shop owner in the last ep, I think Louis is making a comment about the increasing irrelevance of the Boomers and about the dangers of that generation taking the Millennials at face value. Both points hit home with me as I was offended by the former and assumed that Lily was texting during the play.

 

Jane's sleepover, wow.  So how many kids did Louie end up w/ at the house that night and why in the hell would have them come around noon for a sleepover, that's just insane especially in a NYC apt. I was concerned Louie thought two large pizza's was going to be enough for all those girls.

I counted 8 faces when he opened the door after hanging up with Pamela. Two large pies would equal 2 slices per kid. Plus he probably had chips or something to go with. As for the start time, I'm sure that was Jane-driven. She probably wanted to start the party ASAP and Louie, wanting to give her the best party he could, wasn't going to fight her on it.

 

"What is raped?"

"It's just bad. It's a bad thing. Bad things. Financial thing."

"Someone robbed my bunny!"

Loved that they all got sundaes. Even the cab driver.

Edited May 18, 2015 by Lone Wolf

[ganesh]

That cab driver earned it. 

[Ottis]

Found this episode to be much more relatable than the past two. Louie still finds ways to do dumb things (talking to a visiting kid about her parents divorce? No), but at least it was within the realm of possibility, and you could empathize.

 

My favorite part was when the obviously uninterested cop told Louie the one guy was on a break, and Louie replied, almost gleefully, "I can wait!" knowing the effect the 8 girls would have in a police station.

[peeayebee]

I enjoyed this ep, esp everything after Bobby called Louie to bail him out. The girls being so excited, the cab driver, the havoc the girls wreaked in the police station, Bobby's amazing fake story, the recreation of that fake story, the ice cream, the real story. A lot of fun.