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| Left to right: Sarah Baker and Louis C.K. |
Welcome to the return of TV Recap on the FX comedy series Louie. After over a year off, Louis C.K. returns to TV with one of the most innovative, funny, and disturbing shows on TV. Join me as I chronicle season four's highs and lows and see just where he winds up next. His irreverent take is sure to keep you laughing and with back-to-back episodes, double your pleasure on a weekly basis with recaps every Tuesday and Wednesday unless specified. So join the fun, watch some of the most innovative TV out there and bring your own thoughts into the discussion.
If there is one thing fascinating about this episode of Louie, it is the conversation that it has ignited. Largely based around the final seven minutes shot in one continuous take, Vanessa (Sarah Baker) takes Louis C.K. to town on "pandering" to fat people. It has raised questions on what exactly obesity and attraction share with each other, if at all. If one were to skip to the end and simply watch it (above), the thesis would be there and you'd be right in the loop. However, is the rest of the episode as great as the conversation it launched? Yes.
The episode opens with C.K. walking off the stage after a set at the Comedy Cellar. During this time, he runs into Vanessa's, who wants to go out with him. He claims to not be interested in that he is tired and needs to take a rest. He resists her flirtation and instead heads out with Robert Kelly. During their time together, they come to the conclusion that they are fat. They decide that attending the gym is the best option. But first, Kelly suggests a bang-bang: eating two meals back-to-back at different restaurants. When the waitress tries to interfere, it only makes C.K. realize how foolish this whole thing is.
Back at the Comedy Cellar, C.K. gets off stage and runs into Vanessa. After getting snide remarks from Jim Norton, C.K. decides to go out for coffee with her. The two are having a good time trading stories about family deaths. When they go for a walk afterwards, things get harrowing when C.K. claims that Vanessa is not fat. This launches her on a rant about how she wants to be accepted for who she is and not have to worry about her weight. The segment ends unresolved with C.K. telling a joke in which every punchline ends with "So did the fat lady."
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
If there is one episode likely to stand out in the entire Louie echelon when its series eventually concludes, it is "So Did the Fat Lady." This is largely because it is an episode with a message and a not very defined way of going about it. The show has tackled some hard issues before, but the great aspect of a great Louie episode is that it is challenging. Sometimes that simply means that there has to be an underlying theme. In this case, it is the rules of attraction and what we do in our own personal ways to achieve that goal. By presenting it through multiple incarnations, the series allows itself to better understand not only the self, but the perception and understanding.
In the stand-up comedy, the lines are less defined. While the humor is surface level in the grand scheme, there is a lot to dissect. It is how women treat men. C.K. jokes about how they give men hugs in order to get around more sensual tasks. This is later evident in the way that C.K. essentially hugs his way out of going on a date with Vanessa. It is an applied situation that is subtle, but only adds weight to the comedy integration, which has been an effective tool of the series since the beginning. It is why this series is leaps and bounds more ingenious than even its closest comparison Maron, which uses the monologue-plot interconnection as well.
Then there is the overall feeling of being fat. C.K. turns down Vanessa not because of her charm. She has plenty of that. In fact, she is rather liked by some people there for being fun and a boisterous. Maybe her comedic sensibilities is a little off putting, but that is only the surface, as her intentions are pure. Even Dave Attel likes her, which is something. Even her lack of back story isn't missed in helping her sympathetic in the final act.
We've seen C.K. date every other type of woman possible and it is exciting to see him go after this one. She opens up and the results are staggering, mostly because it isn't edited. All of the eerie silence and stuttering lines are on screen, representing a vulnerability that comes out in a fantastic way. It bubbles until it explodes, leaving us on a joke that is entirely absurd about fat people. It reflects how hard it is but that at the end of the day, some ideals are integrated too far into our personality.
Then there is the inevitable food addiction and the denial that some people face. The bang-bang scene is essentially an excuse for the show to feature people eating food. It also is meant to reflect how C.K. is himself a hypocrite by wanting some ideal beauty while not doing much about it. He claims that he will, but never does. Yes, we saw him get into "shape" technically in a Rocky-esque moment last season, but he hasn't been consistent on his own. Either way, this simple gesture has in fact made the episode a well rounded attempt at a bigger theme. It manages to play the same role as an after school special, but far crasser and with more profound modernity. Thus, Louie is back and still capable of offending and provoking, often in the same thought.
The episode opens with C.K. walking off the stage after a set at the Comedy Cellar. During this time, he runs into Vanessa's, who wants to go out with him. He claims to not be interested in that he is tired and needs to take a rest. He resists her flirtation and instead heads out with Robert Kelly. During their time together, they come to the conclusion that they are fat. They decide that attending the gym is the best option. But first, Kelly suggests a bang-bang: eating two meals back-to-back at different restaurants. When the waitress tries to interfere, it only makes C.K. realize how foolish this whole thing is.
Back at the Comedy Cellar, C.K. gets off stage and runs into Vanessa. After getting snide remarks from Jim Norton, C.K. decides to go out for coffee with her. The two are having a good time trading stories about family deaths. When they go for a walk afterwards, things get harrowing when C.K. claims that Vanessa is not fat. This launches her on a rant about how she wants to be accepted for who she is and not have to worry about her weight. The segment ends unresolved with C.K. telling a joke in which every punchline ends with "So did the fat lady."
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
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| Left to right: C.K. and Robert Kelly |
In the stand-up comedy, the lines are less defined. While the humor is surface level in the grand scheme, there is a lot to dissect. It is how women treat men. C.K. jokes about how they give men hugs in order to get around more sensual tasks. This is later evident in the way that C.K. essentially hugs his way out of going on a date with Vanessa. It is an applied situation that is subtle, but only adds weight to the comedy integration, which has been an effective tool of the series since the beginning. It is why this series is leaps and bounds more ingenious than even its closest comparison Maron, which uses the monologue-plot interconnection as well.
Then there is the overall feeling of being fat. C.K. turns down Vanessa not because of her charm. She has plenty of that. In fact, she is rather liked by some people there for being fun and a boisterous. Maybe her comedic sensibilities is a little off putting, but that is only the surface, as her intentions are pure. Even Dave Attel likes her, which is something. Even her lack of back story isn't missed in helping her sympathetic in the final act.
We've seen C.K. date every other type of woman possible and it is exciting to see him go after this one. She opens up and the results are staggering, mostly because it isn't edited. All of the eerie silence and stuttering lines are on screen, representing a vulnerability that comes out in a fantastic way. It bubbles until it explodes, leaving us on a joke that is entirely absurd about fat people. It reflects how hard it is but that at the end of the day, some ideals are integrated too far into our personality.
Then there is the inevitable food addiction and the denial that some people face. The bang-bang scene is essentially an excuse for the show to feature people eating food. It also is meant to reflect how C.K. is himself a hypocrite by wanting some ideal beauty while not doing much about it. He claims that he will, but never does. Yes, we saw him get into "shape" technically in a Rocky-esque moment last season, but he hasn't been consistent on his own. Either way, this simple gesture has in fact made the episode a well rounded attempt at a bigger theme. It manages to play the same role as an after school special, but far crasser and with more profound modernity. Thus, Louie is back and still capable of offending and provoking, often in the same thought.
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