Louie

Plot synopsis:
Louis C.K. writes, directs and stars in this show about a stand-up comedian, mostly performing late night shows at small clubs and restaurants. He is a single father living with his two school-going daughters. Episodes focus on events in his everyday life, and are bookended by clips from his stand-up routine. C.K. is the only regular in the show, and even his daughters are portrayed by more than one actor. The style of humor is often sexual and racist, with occasional use of vulgar language. C.K. exercises total freedom in the episodes he creates and there are few boundaries established throughout the show, with episodes dealing with such diverse topics as picking up the kids from school to doing drugs at his next-door neighbor's. Most of his stand-up routines mirror his real life and often have little or no association with the topic of the episode.

Tags: psychedelic

Review:
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.
'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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Louis CK is a genius and he once again proves it by making this miraculously humorous show.The humor is of the best kind - dry and effective, and Louie faces some real problems that are common for all of us at one point - aging and going through tough (but hilarious) changes in life...
His comedy is genuine and honest and i know it sounds corny but his show feels very real the dialogue and the situations are how real life i think would be.
I've heard it be compared to seinfeld but the only comparison is that there are clips of louie doing stand up, the actual show is nothing like it.
While I am not going to sit here and say this is the next Seinfeld, it had certain feelings to it, like the stand up comedy part in the start and the end.
The jokes I would say are more like Curb Your Enthusiasm.I will not try to spoil much for those who haven't seen it, but the show is basically about a middle-aged man who has two children, both girls, and recently split up with his wife.
His character symbolizes Larry David's to a degree, although I don't see his good will like Larry shows time to time, yet he's still a very sympathetic character and one who is easy to get behind.I love the comparisons to Seinfeld and CYE, because I think they are both excellent shows, thus I hope this show can use that type of formula but also be able to come up with some innovative and compelling ideas on its own.
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.
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.
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.
Whether Louis C.K. will fulfill Ricky's pronouncement as "the funniest comedian working in America today" remains to be seen, but he's off to a good start.
No wonder he agreed for the cameo, he must be a big fan!For this series alone Louis C.K. shall be remembered as THE comedy genius of our time and not only for his killer standup specials.
It isn't a word that comes up commonly in mixed conversation, so I guess Louie was trying for shock value, but this would have limited attraction to anyone not brain-dead.In one episode Louie, in his stand up act verbally abused an audience member in a particularly coarse manner.
And if that isn't good television America, I don't know what is..Ps I watch Always Sunny, Curb, Increasing bad decisions of Todd Margret, Arrested Development, and other dark comedies.
But after watching season 5 episode 1 I am done with Louie.
And this is all coming from a guy who loves Louis CK's stand up, his interviews on Stern and the first 3 seasons of Louie.
I would watch S5E2 but I have no hope that this gets any better and I just can't bear the thought of spending 22 more minutes inside Louie's sick, sad mind..
I have real important things to care about, like the way you carelessly destroy the planet while sitting on your butt laughing with shows like these, or the children starving to death while you cruise around with your big car, grease from the burger in your hand spilling on your belly when making an effort to swap it for your ringing new model android phone..
It's less funny and I really hope he gets back like the first season otherwise I might just skip watching it..
Louie C.K. is heir to the throne of Carlin...his stand up is on the level of the all time greats, and he now has a show that really comes off like his stand up act;hilarious, sometimes uncomfortable but always sharp as hell.I like how each episode is it's own stand alone story, sometimes 2 stories...and you never know what you're in for.
The stand up segments in the show are a great icing on the cake too.This is easily the best new comedy on TV and a great vehicle to showcase Louie's talent.10/10.
It's probably the most realistic portrayal of the life of a stand up ever shown on television (Sorry Seinfeld) but unfortunately most comedians are depressed, lonely individuals, who really only bring out the laughs when they're up on stage.
But I have recently discovered an American stand-up comedian who makes me laugh out loud, consistently and uncontrollably, every single time I watch his show.It has taken a while for Emmy Award-winning Louie CK (Comedy Central) to establish himself on this side of the Atlantic, and I only wish it had happened sooner.
Part stand-up show, part semi-improvised sitcom, this is a quite remarkable series, made even more remarkable when you learn that Louie not only writes, performs and produces this show himself, he also directs it and edits it as well.Louie CK shouldn't be anywhere near as funny as it is.
Seinfeld was churning this stuff out twenty five years ago, and by now it should feel stale and repetitious.But there's something about the way Louie CK does it that makes you feel like you're watching stand-up comedy for the first time in your life.
Louis C.K.'s stand-up comedy is also shown throughout each episode.
Louis C.K.'s stand-up comedy is also shown throughout each episode.
This is Louis C.K.'s semi-autobiographical surreal take on his family, his love life, and his stand-up comedy.
like, REALLY good.Funny, well-scripted and I can't wait to watch the whole thing from episode 1..
Louie has so many stand out memorable and down right funny moments its hard to think of any off hand (though the Ricky Gervais doctor character had me falling off my chair and crying with laughter and the Chris Rock cameo had me in stitches).
This touching, personal, and incredibly open window into the life of a 40 year old divorcée living in New York is brutally honest and incredibly, so, so, incredibly FUNNY!If you like your humor intelligent with more than a dose of pure unadulterated filth you'll love this show!.
I watched it though and now i cant wait for the second season.It's different from every other clean-cut polished American series so its not for everyone, if you expect to see something like the other sitcoms that are there don't watch it.All in all in this series its clear that they left all artistic control to Louis CK and he made a fantastic job with everything and finally i love that there is no major casting and that no character except Louie appears in more than 3-4 episodes, this way he avoids all character relationship building scenes that are some times boring for the viewer.
Louie's monologue humor is not funny; it's the kind of stuff that drunk boys might find hilarious, but not people who are serious about comedy.
Not only are you possibly one of the most engaging, talented and funny comedians around at this moment, but you have this likability and watchability that makes a transition from stand up to comedy show utterly seamless.
Louie combines the situational and often crass storytelling of a heightened version of himself that made Curb such a great show with elements of his incredible stand up routine; something that echo's the format of Seinfeld.
---This review was written after watching seasons 1~3---I am not a big fan of stand-up comedy, so it's rare when I find a comedian very funny.
Dark humor, annoying (little) things in life, and with a healthy dose of surreal situations make for a combination I like very much.
I mean, there are still jokes, and funny moments, but the series, starting from the second season, is more of a dramedy than a comedy.
Remember how the TV sitcom "Seinfeld" was considered a landmark because it was "a show about nothing" (or in other words, a show about the little things in life and how a comedian gets his material)?
This show is none other than FX's daring, thoughtful, and hilarious original comedy-drama series, "Louie".
Like "Seinfeld", "Louie" centers on a fictionalized version of a popular comedian which in this case is Louis C.K. He is a recently divorced father who has to raise his two daughters in New York City.
The show, as stated before, basically consists of unconnected story lines and segments that revolve around Louie's daily life tied in with his stand-up performances.
When compared to its obvious comparisons "Seinfeld" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm", "Louie" is a very dark show when you think about it.
On top of the clever comedy involving the boss's broad directions to Louie, the ending stays true to the tone established by this series.
It's not every day a comedy-drama TV series like "Louie" is on the air and I'm all the more grateful for its existence.
I was a fan of Louis CK before this series started, so when I heard about it I was looking forward to seeing it.Well, the first thing I discovered was that the show is not exactly comparable to his stand up comedy.
He does his best, but always saying or doing the worst possible things, but in an incredibly well and sincere way, making it hard not to cringe while watching, while the honesty really gets to you.I didn't see a strong connection to Curb or Seinfeld in the beginning, but there definitely is.
The show's just there and you just keep watching it and a few episodes in, you'll say to yourself "yeah man, that's so true" and it'll probably hit you then what a masterpiece Louis C K has created.
After watching Louie I feel grounded and elevated at the same time.
I know that Louie does it on purpose, as he stated at one point that he did not care for continuity, that he was more concerned with whatever message or laugh a specific episode aimed for, but it does feel like a cop-out sometimes.
after being a fan of that for a while and watching that show i think too deeply into the segments and i hope that's a hidden message in the show and the point of the show that their is a causal audience who can appreciate Louis CK and can get on his wave link.but in saying that their is a massive gain or even more for anyone who is deeply into Louis CK's stand up comedy.
I've re-watched episodes that didn't make complete sense to me straight away over again and some of them have a lot more deeper thought.Like the episode in Season 2 ep9 that episode feature a guy who many fans of Louis CK's comedy love in Doug Stanhope and that episode felt like a legit interaction between friends who have been on the comedy circuit for years and one of them is just as good just not as successful and that feeling came to me.
Chappy Watched: Louie - Season One. I watched three Louie CK stand ups in a row as soon as I got Netflix and I loved them.For quite sometime, I've been interested in Louie and that just grew when I watched his live shows so I finally got around to watching the TV show.Wow. I'm actually very disappointed.I really wanted to like it but I am bored sh*tless watching this.There are barely any laughs in both the drama side and the comedy side, though I do prefer the stand up segments more than the drama part of the show.I think I'll just stick to his stand up shows..
Hope Louie gets some more good stuff in his life..
I have seen the first two seasons of Louie, and I just really love this series.
You notice this especially in the second season, that although probably not as funny as the first, it breathes new life into the series.
It's gotten to the point that it feels like the most sincere comedy series in a very long time, and its most subtle moments don't even hit you until you think back to them..
I like Louis CK and thought Lucky Louie did not deserve the fate it had on HBO.However, This show was not funny, the stand up comedy moments made no sense.
He is a comedian that should be doing straight sitcom shows like the mentioned Lucky Louie.
I found the show quite funny and it made me wonder how close to the character of Louie is Louis CK.
I feel we see a better version of the stand up comedian life than was portrayed in Seinfeld.
Unlike Louie the Character, Louis CK is more than successful as a stand up comedian and actor/writer/producer.
I like Louie's style and his stand up on the show is mostly funny.
That said, this is an incredibly good show.Louis CK is probably one of the best, funniest and most talented comedians working today, along with Ricky Gervais (who has an hilarious cameo by the way), and if you're a fan, this will not disappoint.Usually amusingly awkward and strange, often laugh out loud funny, Louie is a masterpiece of modern comedy.
I saw just Louis C.K's stand up and it was just amazing so I started watching Louie.I just like that kinda of humour.
I have always been a big fan of Louis C.K., which is why I put off watching this and Lucky Louie for so long.I have seen enough bad TV to know that most stand-up comedians do terrible sitcoms and I hate to be disappointed.Wouldn't you know it, this may be the worst TV show a comedian has ever done.It makes Ellen look like comedy gold.I really don't understand how this show is so popular.Even if you aren't looking for laughs, this show has nothing to offer.Just a sad old man wandering the streets and being a bad father.It's not entertaining at all.Maybe C.K. means Comedy Killer?If you feel the urge to watch this crap go watch Lucky Louie instead.That was a real TV show..
definitely funny show but portrays Louie as two different characters.