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| 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.
After a week off, we feel more charged than ever to finally see what happens in "Late Show Part 2." To catch you up, Louis C.K. appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and suddenly his career is skyrocketing. After a meeting with a CBS executive (Garry Marshall), he is contemplating whether or not to take the leap on account of how it with greatly change his life. The follow-up tackles that issue in a more profound way.
The episode begins when C.K. meets up with wife Janet (Susan Kelechi-Watson) to discuss the plans. He tells her all about how David Letterman could be retiring and that if Jerry Seinfeld doesn't fall through, he could get the gig. However, he expresses reluctance because he is afraid that he will lose his time with the kids. Janet doesn't take the grief and instead argues with him over the issue. She demands that he takes it, as his stand up career has been building to it. She is also not about to be the scapegoat for C.K.'s reluctance, which is the feeling that comes across.
After jogging around New York City, which eventually defeats him, he takes a trip with his manager Doug (Edward Gelbinovich) to the offices of someone that was recommended by the CBS executive. After a chat with the secretary (Joan Porter), they finally come face to face with the man who will help shape C.K. for the gig: Jack Dall (David Lynch).
With very little hesitation, C.K. introduces himself to Dall and without much context, Dall tells Doug to pick up a placard from the side of the room. Dall pulls out a stopwatch and after moments of silence, he tells C.K. to read the joke, which is dated and lacks a real authentic punchline. This bothers C.K., but the fact that he couldn't just read it and say "We'll be right back" at the end gets under Dall's skin. He is also angry that C.K. cannot tell a single joke in under a minute and fifteen seconds. He tells C.K. to practice and come back on Wednesday for further rehearsals.
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| Jay Leno |
It is Jay Leno, who is just calling to thank C.K. for helping him out last week. This conversation dives into C.K. asking personal advice on if he should take the show. Leno says no, on account that he wouldn't be hip anymore. Also, he makes the point that it is possible that the two of them would not be friends anymore. This is the first of many moments in this episode where it feels like career espionage is going to happen from C.K.'s peers.
On the other side, he meets Chris Rock at a diner and discuss the position. Rock is more encouraging and wishes him well on his journey by saying "Don't fuck it up." He also claims that Leno is lying to him and that everything will be all right. He considers the competitive aspect to be a war and that it isn't pretty. However, he is nonetheless enthusiastic and wants C.K. to smarten up.
During rehearsals with Dall in what looks like a backdrop from Johnny Carson days, they practice the opening monologue segment. C.K., not knowing what to do, fumbles the introduction to the point that Dall does a practice run. With C.K. looking on a nearby monitor, he can imagine the cheers and how natural Dall has the routine down. Still, when C.K. performs, he is dull and uninteresting. This is partially due to the dated placards with jokes written on them, which Dall forces on him because he's not ready for fresh ones.
While Dall thinks that C.K. has improved, he still thinks that he has a ways to go. The final conversation is about his look. He needs a suit and tie and brill cream. He needs to look like the traditional model and not one who walks around in his underpants. C.K. is against that, but Dall is enforcing this on him as a necessity to get viewers to tune in.
C.K. also goes to a gym to get into shape. After talking to a coach (Isiah Whitlock Jr.), he gets a pair of shorts and boxing gear and is in the ring. He is terrible at it, but is nonetheless encouraged to come back and keep practicing. The episode ends with C.K. turning on the TV and listening to a reporter (Maria Menounos) discuss how Chris Rock is now up for the position, leaving C.K. with a feeling of defeat.
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| Left to right: David Lynch and C.K. |
Looking ahead, I am glad to report that this isn't the finale of the "Late Show" arc. We still have Part 3 coming up next. I am so glad that this is the case because it would have been terrible to end on this note. However, as a middle piece, it feels more fitting and in a way is helping to build on the tension established last week. Will C.K. get the job and forever have his life changed? This is as close to suspense as Louie has ever gotten, but it is an apt one at that. Most of all, the idea that C.K. doesn't want the job if it sacrifices his identity is a nice theme that could only have worked with the previous two seasons establishing his persona.
It is also nice to see that the show is making expansive arcs that are hopefully a sign of the show wanting to take on longer stories. I personally am still a fan of the show occasionally turning into an hour long show, as most segments don't feel emotionally satisfying by the time the credits roll. Here, I feel like there is more to say, but we have to wait for Part 3. It is more exciting because this could hypothetically be a real world situation. For example, just look at Jimmy Fallon, who has since become a late show icon to a tech suave generation.
Also, this may be getting into surreal amount of great cameos. While I have complained before about the appearances overpowering the story, it feels like you need these larger than life personas to play these positions or else they would feel like an average Louie supporting character. We had the brilliant Garry Marshall last week and now they have outdone themselves with one of the most intriguing misleads of all time: David Lynch.
How did they get surrealistic cinema director David Lynch to agree to this? While it isn't a stretch to assume that Lynch is a nagging perfectionist, for him to exist in a world of stand up and comedy is another thing. Still, he manages to do it so well that it would be hard to imagine anyone but him playing this character. While I would have loved to see more Marshall, this is a perfectly acceptable addition to the universe, and hopefully will be around in Part 3.
This is a solid episode, and if anything feels like the biggest commentary on the Late Show Wars, which Chris Rock referenced. This is of course the time when Conan O'Brien was axed from the Tonight Show in favor of Jay Leno's return. Nothing better sums up the satire better than when Leno called C.K. and discussed how he wants to jeopardize C.K.'s career by manipulating him not to take the job. It is dark and intriguing, and only play soff the assumption that we all have of Leno: a desire to be the dominant figure no matter what. A pacifist comedic equivalence of Daniel Plainview if you will.
However, this build up has been intriguing and I cannot wait to see how it all wraps up. My big concern now is if the show will finally take the plunge into formula. As I have noted before, the one thing that gives the show its edge is that it is inconsistent in narrative week to week. While I dig the hour long stories, the more traditional beginning-middle-end episodes just lack the appeal that the segmented shows have. I worry that this show is evolving into a Larry Sanders Show parody if it goes down this road. However, with my faith that C.K. will provide some tricks up his sleeve, this may not be the end of unconventionality.
Also, they have been building up cameos so well that I am curious to see how Part 3 will go. Will Rock become the front runner for good? Will we get some cameos from Jerry Seinfeld, or better yet, David Letterman? It would be great if this whole arc snuck in every late show host currently working right now. That would seem pretentious, but if you gave me Letterman next week, then maybe this will be the best Louie arc ever.
The only issue could be that there felt like some padding in this episode. We want to know how it affects his children, but the scene in which Jane spots a shoplifter at the grocery store felt out of place. It was funny, but contributed nothing to the story. Maybe this is building to something, so I am not ready to write off bits that felt inessential at the time, but may show C.K.'s last grasp of normalcy.
Favorite scene: The one in which C.K. and Dall are on the sound stage in front of the curtain going over rehearsals. I have always fantasized about seeing those moments and to see a parody of it was really nice. We also get a sense of how awkward it must be for C.K. to try and be the new host. However, none of this gets any better than the moment when C.K. looks over to Dall and asks for more current jokes only to have Dall say "You're not ready for them." That says more about how cruel this business is than any backlash. It isn't as brilliant as Garry Marshall's cameo last time, but it is still pretty brilliant.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
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