Season 2, Episode 2
The freedom that comes with being cynical
“I’m just sick of living this bullshit life.”
The quote above just about sums up Louie better than any other sentence ever could. Despite the rather positive message that last week’s episode gave us, Louie is a show that is deeply skeptical about all aspects of life, which should come as no surprise given the bitter, broken man who both created the show and is at the center of it. This give C.K. a certain amount of leeway in the kids of characters he can depict on his show. Takes tonight’s episode for example, which depicted two separate dates for Louie, both with woman who were frankly broken and/or shitty. Janice only went out with Louie on the off-chance that that could provide her future fame, and Delores, who clearly doesn’t like Louie, is only using him to fulfill her sexual kinks. Normally such depictions would get a show in trouble, and C.K. would be facing various accusations of misogyny, but in the world of Louie, where everyone is fucked-up and awful, these women are placed on an equal plane, and C.K. gets to avoid such allegations.
I don’t mean this as some sort of accusation that C.K. is trying to pull a fast one over our heads, that he’s only creating this cynical world so that he can work out his frustration with women or something. He seems like too intelligent of a guy to buy into such backwards thinking. (Not to mention it would be ironically cynical for me to think such a thing.) Only bring this up to illustrate what kind of show Louie is, something that can be demonstrated further by looking at two moments so dark that they walked the thinking line between “funny” and “horrifying”. In “Bummer” it was watching the bum get run over and his head roll away, and in “Blueberries” is was the slow realization that Louie was helping Delores live out her weird sexual kink, that was quite possibly brought on my molestation.
There dark, disturbing moments, to be sure, but the way these dark moments turn to comedy say a lot about how C.K. views the world; if you think the world is total shit, then your art tends to reflect that by depicting just terrible, shitty moments. Yet for those of who have our own shitty moments in life –and I’m pretty sure that’s just about everybody – there’s a real truth to the version of reality that C.K. depicts, one where life just sucks and there’s not much we can do about it except either complain – which almost get Louie laid with Janice – or just resign to the fate that we are given – which is ultimately how Louie ends up sleeping with Delores.
Louie can be many things during an episode, or even during a season, but it’s this singular, cynical vision that holds it all together and allows C.K. to deliver the variety of moments that he does. There is a little bit of cynicism in every single person, and by tapping into this market, C.K. can makes stories that speak to the audience, no matter out foreign the subject or how surreal the execution. If the main theme of Louie is that “life is bullshit”, C.K. manages to touch on that theme with every single episode, but in a way where it never gets old.
Quotes, Etc:
Apparently co-credit for the story goes to Pamela Adlon, a producer and occasional star on the show. Huh.
On his Daily Show appearance on Tuesday, C.K. broke down just why farts are funny. Just watch it:
“I’m always on my back, and that’s for her benefit.”
“It was pretty bad last time. I hope nobody pisses in my face today.”
“I don’t know what your deal is, but do you want to go out sometime?”
“Do you want to have intercourse now?”
“Vagatine?” “Yes, my vagina’s irritated.”
“You want me to spank you?” “Yes, daddy, please.”
“Have you thought about middle schools?”
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