Louie (Louis C.K.'s show on FX)

During the opening credits of the show, some guy flips off the camera. There was a young, NYU-looking kid -- spiky hair and just real contrary. He was walking with some real "yeah fuck everything" type guy. I was eating the pizza and I saw them, and I was already thought 'Jeeesus.' I think they saw a camera and they saw people making a sincere effort in something... So one of them went 'YEAHHHH' and he flipped off the camera. And I remember that moment very well because I was eating pizza and I watched him flip off the camera and I could tell by the angle that we caught it. And I thought -- when that happened, I knew we were gonna be on TV. Because that was when we were shooting the pilot, and it was a test. For some reason I remember seeing that and thinking, 'That's just meant to be. That's gonna be in the opening credits. It'll be fuzzy because I fucking know how the camera works. It's gonna be a little fuzzy because it's out of the depth of field and people are going to see it.' I just knew. That was just a sign to me. That we were going to get to be on TV.

From here: http://www.thecomicscomic.com/2010/11/in-paley-center-chat-louis-ck-reflects-on-the-guy-who-flips-him-the-bird-in-the-opening-credits-of-f.html

louis contains ~multitudes~ imo, he is everyman but he is no man

He just uses the everyman as a trojan horse. The guy has made more insightful comments about class, race, sex, parenting, blah blah blah then just about anybody I can think of in the strangest ways. Sometimes he's obvious and blunt, other times there's layers upon layers. This has all been discussed above so I don't think it needs to keep being mentioned, but if people think he's just Jim Belushi or a shock jock, I can't imagine you've seen enough.

I'm kidding, my last comment was a toss-off joke. He's not like that fat guy from King of Queens, he's sharp, insightful, and dare I say, sardonic.

Dell - I the feeling that your introduction to Louie was his FX show. If you care, check out any of his three stand ups and I think you'll get a better impression of what he's all about. The FX show is almost a completely separate beast - like an art project run amok.

ok, thanks. i've seen some brief clips of his standup act. i will investigate more

Also I will say apropo of nothing that I actually find Louis kind of attractive

me too.

i think the best comedians are situated outside of "average guyness". as a result they are afforded an outsider's perspective which readily translates into humorous observations and all that attendant crap which = funny

and yes, i do think he's being somewhat disingenuous about his avg schlubness/schlubitude. i don't believe that he is truly that much of a meat and potatoes boobs and sports illustrated budweiser and poker salt of the earth guy or whatever he is supposed to be

and yes i do find having pretensions to be avg. to be repulsive in its own way . but that's my own personal problem and i shouldn't let it prejudice my estimation of his merits as a comedian. but i do.

and i do find him to be kind of gross and creepy. not sure i can even put my finger on what it is about him. he just seems kind of... unwholesome. not in a "why can't he be more like the osmonds or the waltons?" kinda way, but just creepy. i don't know.

also it seems like he wants to have his cake and eat it too, like, in the episode i saw there is a scene where he is sitting around playing poker with his buddies, and a bunch of them are kind of ribbing the one dude who is gay, and then that dude explains the upsetting associations that he has with the word "faggot", and then we see louis waxing remorseful as he realizes the wider implications of his lighthearted past attempts at humor involving casual homophobic elements...but before the scene is over his one buddy continues to make all these lame jokes making fun of gay sex. so basically louis sets himself up to look like this guy who has learned this Important Lesson about being more empathetic and sensitive or whatever...but then meanwhile he still has managed to get all of the potentially offensive jokes in...i just think it's kind of weird and i don't know, narcissistic, (painfully oprah-esque, even) like, "look at me learning this important life lesson about how to treat people or be more aware of their feelings, watch me evolve, people". it just seems overcalculated and disingenuous somehow, which maybe is the aspect of him that i find kind of creepy. i feel like his entire schtick is phony. the average guyness, the "RAGE", the self-loathing sadsack "look at me as i just keep getting myself into these awkward life situations, gee what a loser i am", the token stabs at didacticism. it all plays as insincere to me. and much worse, NOT FUNNY!

― dell (del), Tuesday, July 5, 2011 8:05 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

this kinda characterizes how i felt about chris rock for a while. i did find him very funny long ago, and then hated him for a while, and i guess now i've made my peace with chris rock. he's very talented as a stand-up. but the energy of his presentation always used to chafe with what i saw as the safeness of the way he dealt with a lot of ~tough issuez~

(i think i was really into hicks around that time, who didn't really try to soft pedal anything. that's another guy i went through the love-hate-acceptance stages with. he was super talented too, but i think his die-hard fans make it hard to appreciate that nowadays.)

oh and louis ck owns. i havent seen the show yet but ive been meaning to, im sure i'd love it. its funny that someone just linked to a piece about him on a site called thecomicscomic, because thats what his rep was before he went next level - the comics' comic, the guy other stand-ups could always agree on.

i also think he's cute! i feel like we're signing a petition or something. one of my sisters does, too, for the record.

i am really excited to watch this new season of his show, but i don't have hbo or whatever and can't afford $32 on itunes so i guess i will wait

It's on FX, which is basic cable.

Oh god I find him pretty repulsive physically but I think that has to do more with the fact that he looks almost exactly like the person I dislike most in the world than with his actual looks.

xposts yeah, to my mind bill hicks was kind of a weird case. mostly brilliant delivery which transported some of his cornier material into realms where it possibly had no business being.

Also I will say apropo of nothing that I actually find Louis kind of attractive

me too. ― don't believe the HYP (get bent)

I...debated taking that position the one time I saw the show. Finally veered away due to facial hair but it was a near miss.

^^^^ yes

guys, the goatee, it's not good

http://www.google.com/search?q=louis+ck&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&safe=active&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1280&bih=827

i like his nonplussed and one-eyebrow-raised facial expressions.

He actually looks so much like this person I can't stand that I prefer to listen to his audio rather than actually watch stand-up shows because having to look at him sort of ruins it for me and I think he's really great otherwise.

having seen louis ck clean-shaven, i feel like the goatee was a good move for him

I'd prefer a full beard - I just really hate goatees.

if u ever watch Ricky Gervais passion project shitshow 'The Invention of Lying' you can see him without a goatee and it's just a bad choice. I think he's kind of cute with it too, but, like, if you were a mom

The Invention of Lying was so bad

what are you trying to say

xp

lol

He probably is cute! I think I'm just biased.

i think if i were a girl id have a crush on louis ck

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/MSNBC/Sections/TVNews/MSNBC%20TV/Maddow/Blog/2010/07/louisck.jpg

yeh, he looks hella better w/more of a full beard

he is esp. cute as the cop dating amy poehler in parks and rec imo

/mom

I was watching his show over at my parents' house last summer and tried to draw some of his facial expressions - he looks kind of like a friendly muppet - on the Gimp-type program I was goofing around with on my mom's iPad. I flashed it at my dad during a commercial break and he got a look on my face like he'd just caught me doodling MRS. TIM PAWLENTY in pink shimmer gel pen on a black notebook page

haha. he is so expressiony!

expressive, i guess, is the real word.

Del that picture - MUCH BETTER!

He should keep that up.

I flashed it at my dad during a commercial break and he got a look on my face like he'd just caught me doodling MRS. TIM PAWLENTY in pink shimmer gel pen on a black notebook page

― A B C, Wednesday, July 6, 2011 3:29 PM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark

lol

otm about friendly muppet!

that photo has a very "ilx wdyll" vibe

kind of like if the belush was sad when Mary Hansen died

i think part of the attraction is cuz he reminds me a little of my other half, who has a goatee and is similarly "ehhh guys i dunno" about the state of the world.

said other half always cracks up when he sees louis in the opening credits, shuffling down the street and munching diffidently on a slice.

i always imagine that he looks a little sick and gassy after the slice but i think it's my imagination and uh life experience imposing that narrative

nah yr otm, he inhales it

He has the best wry grin. He's cutest when he's laughing.

worth repeating cuz I always think about this when I see the opening:

i know that pizza place, it's at the west 4th street stop and it is TERRIBLE pizza... perfect indicator of how little he respects himself and a great nod to a new york state of mind where you're like "fuck i gotta eat something... oh man, this is expensive... oh man this is terrible... oh i can't even finish this... fuck it, gotta go... when am i gonna figure out how to feed myself like a grown up instead of feeding myself shit... oh fuck, i'm so late" etc ad infinitum
― predeep natsvitika (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, January 11, 2011

ha, that ain't just a new york state of mind

yes, especially as a prelude to drinking

lol eating shitty food when yr hungry... ny state of mind

typical new yorkers, thinking they invented everything..even laziness

louis is ABOUT a nyc state of mind; it is SET in nyc and generally revolves around situations that can only take place in nyc; that's the show, not me being provincial

what does that even mean

"we do things a little different here"

new yorkers may not have invented late night pizza but i feel certain they invented the "free topping", i.e. creating a thick layer of cheap parmesan, chili flakes and oregano by shaking the jars for a good five minutes