TV Recap: Louie - "Miami"

Louis C.K.

Welcome to my recaps of season 3 of the FX television series Louie. Join me as I try to dissect what I hope will be another excellent season from one of my favorite shows currently on TV. I think what makes this show work is the ability for Louis C.K. to be self loathing and artful at the same time in unique and clever ways. Also, keep an eye out for my Breaking Bad Breaking Half column set for upcoming Mondays.

We have come to expect the unexpected from Louie. How does he choose to open this week's episode? With some stand-up? A moment with his daughters? No. He has decided to head towards Miami, FL for what is essentially a business trip. We don't actually see him doing much stand-up this week, but what we get is a nice relaxing episode where not a lot happens, and that may be it's biggest benefit.

"Miami" opens with C.K. arriving in Miami and getting situated at his hotel. Once he has done so, he decides to visit the beach and get some sun. While he does, he gets bumped into by several well fit young couples who have no big qualms with their lives. As C.K. decides to lather up and take his shirt off, he notices that the beach is full of fairly attractive couples. With sunblock covering his face in a haphazard way, he heads back to his hotel room to eat a burger and wait until the beach is cleared out.

When he heads back, he notices other physically unfit people roaming the beach, including one in a neck brace. He becomes fine with taking his shirt off, and his chubby, hairy body is out on display. After placing his stuff (keys, shirt, etc), he heads out for a swim. While he is out, he notices that someone is collecting chairs, including his. 

He yells at the man, who is at this point too far to audibly hear him, to leave the chair, but that only prompts the life guard Ramon (Miguel Gomez) to come out and rescue him. After pulling C.K. to shore, he tries to explain the predicament, but Ramon thinks he's just compensating for embarrassment. They decide to introduce themselves and once C.K. reveals that he is a comedian, Ramon enthusiastically insists on coming to his show.

After the stand up show, he runs into Ramon, who showed up. C.K. insists on buying him drinks, to which he orders a Sprite. The two begin to bond and this leads to Ramon chauffeuring around Miami. Ramon claims that C.K. hasn't really seen Miami, and this is proven the case quite effectively. In a montage, we see them visiting colorful slums and city folk who don't look like the attractive couples on the beach. Everyone seems happy, and C.K. even gets to chase some chickens at one point.

At a big get together, Ramon introduces him to all of his friends and family. This goes over well, though C.K. is reminded that he has a show to do that night. In a scene where Ramon's friend drives him around, there is a sense that C.K. is having the time of his life. This is the happiest that he's ever been and when he comes to say goodbye, he tries to explain that he was glad he was rescued from drowning, even if he wasn't drowning.

Even though he has a flight headed back home the following morning, he decides to stay an extra day. He calls his ex-wife Janet (Susan Kelechi Watson) to see if she can watch the kids for a few extra days. When he reveals that he met someone, she doesn't seemed concerned and encourages him to stay as long as he would like. However, the point that it wasn't a woman never became accepted by her. She knew he hated Miami and therefore assumed that it had to be a woman.

The next day, he meets up with Ramon and they begin to talk. It is soon revealed that Ramon thinks that C.K. is coming onto him. However, C.K. just admits that he likes him as a friend. It ends awkwardly, but they have the impression that they had a great time together.

It ends with the only substantial piece of stand-up in the whole show. In relation to the preceding scene, C.K. is back at the Comedy Cellar (the other bits were shot at a different location) and trying to explain why white males are the only ones concerned about being called gay. He notices that women or gays don't care to be mislabeled and that this is a fairly masculine issue. He also notices that he cannot use the word wonderful freely, as in "that strip club was wonderful." If he does, he would have to add an effeminate accent.

The episode ends with a behind the scenes look at how the rescue scene between Ramon and C.K. was actually shot. 

Left to right: Miguel Gomez and C.K.

After I felt that last week's episode was too weird and relied too much on a gimmick, I felt that this week's gimmick was properly built up. While it is obvious that C.K. finding Ramon to be attractive would be the obvious outcome, it is done very subtly and therefore comes across as the ultimate heartbreaking moment of the episode. We see C.K. being happy, and immediately he is considered to be gay.

I also really enjoyed this episode because we see C.K. out of his element. In a scene where a woman (Haley Higgins) steals one of his strawberries while he is sitting in a patio, he manages to make a strong statement about his thoughts on Miami. He finds it to be a hostile, shallow place and people think that they can just steal his strawberries. It is a good enough reason to understand why C.K. doesn't like this city. He does a convincing job of making it seem out of his league. It also sets up very well for the second half in which Ramon shows him the other side to Miami, which looks fascinating and interesting. 

This is also an interesting episode because he sparingly uses stand-up. He teases at it twice, but only allows for one big set piece to define the episode. That is what I like about the show. It mixes up it's elements and if the stand up doesn't work, it doesn't go in. 

This isn't necessarily an unpredictable episode, but it was a lot of fun. It almost felt like a commentary on how C.K. is not meant to fit into the glitz and glamour world of Florida. Even his chubby body seems to be an embarrassment. Of course, the fact that he is a comedian is the only reason that he is accepted. This may be the most solid commentary on Louis C.K. as a performer without just coming out and saying it.

Favorite moment: Easily the scene where Ramon rescues C.K. from the water. It is such a simple misunderstanding, but the way it plays out is great. Even while C.K. tries to explain his situation, Ramon is playing the hero. Even though he acknowledges C.K.'s charm, he still has some of that vapid nature to him at this point that makes the second half a surprise when he takes him around to the slums to chase chickens. It is a wonderful scene and it also is a nice touch that they showed how the scene was shot over the closing credits.

Rating: 4 out of 5




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