Lucky Louie (and now Louie)

Started by Ravi, June 09, 2006, 12:42:41 AM

0 Members and 3 Guests are viewing this topic.

Reel

Thank you everyone for not jumping down my throat when I said I still like Louie and will support his future projects. This has all been a weird grieving process, because the man himself isn't gone but his career as we know it is. When Harvey Weinstein was ousted it felt like a good thing, I've never sensed a trace of likability in that man and for too long he's set the bar for what supposedly 'great' cinema is. Kevin Spacey, sure I really love a handful of his movies, but I was willing to let that go in a split second when the news broke. Louie is much more near and dear to me, I was introduced to him by his "comedy central presents" special as a young teen. That was before his whole "dirty" phase, but even then I could see a really brilliant mind at work. Later in my teens I started listening to the "Opie and Anthony" show where he was a regular guest in the mid-2000's and I couldn't believe the outlandishly offensive shit he was saying. It was the polar opposite of that "comedy central presents", it made me think "is this how all comedians talk in their private time?" From there, I discovered "Louisck.net" in it's infancy, back when he would just use it to blog and post video diaries. Reading through that, I thought "Wow, this guy really does not give a FUCK," and he seemed to need a constant output of what was going on with him personally, regardless of who was listening. So, when he finally 'broke' I was nothing but happy to have seen him go through all these amalgamations of his identity to finally find one that the public could accept. Then, when he shot to "best comedian of all time" status, I couldn't help but kind of resent all of the glowing praise, because most of his fans got to be introduced to the 'fully formed' Louie, when I'd been watching the trajectory of his career for years prior. It felt like when your favorite indie band gets a radio hit and suddenly everyone's on board when you were with them all along.

With 'Louie' and 'Horace and Pete', he excelled far beyond just being "Mr. Funny Man" and became really inspiring to watch as a filmmaker. Breaking so many formulaic rules of TV shows and practically creating a new medium. He set the gold standard for how I would want to someday work if given the opportunity, complete independence with as little studio input as possible. At a certain point, when he started getting all these major actors onboard, my admiration turned to pure envy. "How the fuck did he figure this out? Now he's comedy royalty and working with him gives you a huge boost in your career, all from what? Just from being unabashedly honest onstage?"

Then, comedian Jen Kirkman mentions on her podcast that a certain "Very famous, balding comedian" made advances toward her in a creepy way when they worked together. She gives us enough of a description to know that it's Louie, but doesn't go into detail about what transpired between them, just that it was very uncomfortable to have a married man who's work she admired approach her in this way. It stirs up so much controversy that she takes the episode down, but goes on to clarify on "The Nerdist" that what happened was nowhere near a sexual assault, and she was never touched, cornered, or forced to do anything. It was the things he said to her that made her feel uneasy about how this public figure carried out his private life. You can listen to an excerpt here:




So, with that, it's plain to see she's not lying about this. There's nothing for her to gain, career-wise in bringing it up, but with all the accusations against Cosby floating around at the time, she must've felt it necessary to say "hey, it's not just this revered old guy no one likes anymore who's into weird shit like this. It's possible that your favorite comedian, who can seem to do no wrong right now, is up to some stranger stuff than he's willing to reveal about himself onstage." Does that make her Judge, jury, and executioner on the matter? Not in the slightest, she's just bringing up an occurrence that seemed 'off' and went beyond mere flirtation into more sordid territory.

Then, looking for other potential accusations, you don't have to go far in your google search to find this Gawker article posted in 2012, which is much more damning as it's relaying a specific event that's made it's way through the comedy grapevine for years. Suddenly, the picture Kirkman was painting loses it's vaguery and we have a clear description of the kind of thing he might be up to. Is it rape? No. Is it threatening and scary and sad? Very. Now we have an image in our heads that's hard to unsee and far too easy to believe.

Then, the New York Times article sets everything in stone for us, and there's no turning back on our perceptions of this man. Though we were willing to believe the accounts at first, now we have names, dates, places, and descriptions so that it's undeniable. Louie himself can't even deny it anymore and breaks his silence the next day.

What am I supposed to do with this as a fan? Well, I go back to square one, sifting through his "Opie and Anthony" appearances where he was at his most unbridled and honest to see if he ever hinted at being a pervert on this scale. Here's what I found:

Louis admits to making his dog lick cream cheese off of his penis, and exposing himself to his retarded neighbor, at age 11:



This clip disturbs me possibly even more than the accusations, and he was a CHILD:



So, these stories tell me that we're dealing with a man who was sexually fucked up long before his comedy career, and could possibly be using his stage persona to reckon with this kind of behavior. Just yesterday, I decided to watch the first season of "Louie" in search of more hints he may have dropped. In just the first 3 episodes, there are 3 instances of characters exposing themselves or being asked to:

Episode 1: Louie arrives at his dates apartment, where her neighbor exposes herself to him



Episode 2: Young Louie encounters a girl he likes in the woods who asks him to "Whip it out" ( he doesn't )

Episode 3: Louie strips down at the doctor, who laughs at his penis and invites the nurse in on the joke ( 3:00 )



I find the last clip the most unsettling, because of the demeanor of the nurse, who seems to have been tricked into looking at his penis for the acting role. Even if he was wearing a "cock sock", he's the most exposed you could be without being fully naked and obviously gets off on women seeing him in the nude, even if his body is unflattering.

Then, lastly, watching his latest Netflix special "2017" (by far the weakest hour he's put out ) he ends it on a note of considering his own gayness because of how he plays 'chicken' with the movie "Magic Mike" whenever it comes on TV. He finds himself extremely aroused by it, but is afraid to finish the movie because he thinks making it to the end will mean he has to admit to himself that he's gay. It struck me, watching it after everything has come out about him, that it's not his potentially being gay that turns him on about it, but the fact that he's an exhibitionist and wishes he could be up onstage showing off his body like that.



Needless to say, I'll continue to watch his work but will never be able to make that distinction between his "art" and reality again.

wilberfan

I'm really enjoying this forum, but it's also a little intimidating.  Many of you guys (and gals?  Are there any women in this forum?) a just fucking awesomely articulate.  This post is a perfect example.  This deserves to be an op-ed in the NYT, or otherwise more mainstream than this place.

I was thinking about Louis just yesterday.  And the blacklist in the 50s.  And wondering if these shamed individuals will, when the public mood changes from white hot (to merely red hot?) whether some of them will end up working behind-the-scenes (a la The Front).  I also wonder who will be the first suicide (which happened during the blacklist). 

Sobering times.

polkablues

That was really well thought-out and well stated.

To me, irrespective of my personal affinity toward the work of any particular abuser, it's all about where these guys go from here. I believe in change and rehabilitation, but the key to all of it is accepting blame, understanding the issue, and actively taking concrete steps to atone and improve. And if they're unable or unwilling to do all of that, the loss of one artist's future work is a very small price to pay to the ultimate goal of eradicating the systemic inequity and abusiveness of the industry as it currently stands.
My house, my rules, my coffee

Reel


Alethia

 Just realizing that's not the full set I listened to yesterday. Was it taken down? If so, I can upload it here later when I return home from errand-running.

Drenk

I'd like the full set. The few minutes that Reelist posted aren't that funny to me: I know he's in a weird position but I can still feel the denial in his jokes. He can joke about everything, apparently. Can't he joke about his issue, too? Without making it less serious—joking about serious issues is what he's capable of doing.
Ascension.


Drenk

Seitz suffers from a weird "please, young!Liberals, love me!" syndrom.

https://www.vulture.com/2018/12/louis-c-k-comedy-set-true-self-kevin-spacey.html


I listened to the set: and it felt like a fake new set, I had hard better versions of these jokes before. But I'm confused by the reactions; now that C.K is a sex offender—in our "hearts" at least—he also became some right wing dude? The trans joke is kind of stupid *and* easy: Chapelle found a way better way to joke about trans people, and since he released four shows you could see him commenting in his mistakes, clarifying, while still being funny. But did Seitz forgot Horace and Pete? Now C.K is entirely unaware because of the bad joke? The Parkland one is the punchline of a whole bit about young people and I think it works.

I'm confused. The C.K's "brand" wasn't wokeness and it doesn't become false wokeness. Its "brand" if you want to call it that way is still present in the new set: some kind of absurd bitter provocation. The question is: Is it aimless? It can be. You can apply provocation to everything. These questions always existed with C.K and if you want to re-evaluate then do a serious job and question not only how the new context reveal something about C.K but how it can blind you to what was always there...

I thought that the "retarded" part was clever, for exemple, even if, once again, the subject is presented in an absurd and provocative way.
Ascension.

Jeremy Blackman

I've only listened to part of this but am not entirely convinced he's pandering to conservatives.

However, I think his edginess is less fun when you know he's an actual creep.

Drenk

The thing is that YouTube directly linked me to alt-right videos celebrating C.K after I listened to the new set—not that the alt-right needed the "outrage" of "snowflakes", but the bad faith of the articles make them so easy to be seen as "reverse FOX news". It's as if the dumbest narratives from each side always finds a way to be forced on everything.

I agree. It was difficult to hear him talk about sex. It was always clear that he had issues, but it was easier when I didn't know what those were.
Ascension.

©brad

The gender identity joke was hacky and lazy. The Parkland bit was just not funny. I can't think of an artist I used to love and now loathe like this.

He's done. Like Dennis Miller done.

BB

This kinda material is a stress response. Go back and listen to the things he would say on Opie and Anthony toward the end of his marriage. Mean-spirited and hacky in the same way. I'm not sure if it's intentional pandering (he's always held some conservative views, especially toward young people) but his remaining audience will surely reside more on the right. What leftist would support him publicly, particularly when he's serving up bad takes like this? 

Wouldn't it be a fascinating turn of events if he winds up some Blue Collar Comedy Tour-esque populist hackjob? One of the most celebrated and critically acclaimed comics of all time? I think there's a decent possibility. 

Alethia

I like the set in general but I honestly felt his best days as a stand-up were behind him post Chewed Up. He got too famous and therefore comfortable. It was his development as a writer-director I was most inspired by, especially Horace & Pete.

Drenk

I Love You, Daddy was so bad that I hope that Horace & Pete was the best he had to offer. Because, yes, he's done in the sense that he'll probably won't be able to do anything else of that scale now. Or maybe in ten years with unknowns actors. Filmed with an iPhone Jaguar.
Ascension.

Kal

The most annoying thing about that Soundcloud is whomever recorded it or whatever that person closest to the audio laughing non-stop like a knucklehead. I was not laughing at most of it and it stressed me out that this dude is laughing uncontrollably and the laugh is louder than Louie...

If you listen to the entire set, the Parkland joke and the other stuff people are making a fuzz about are less noticeable and seem more like his usual material. Lazy, not funny, but also not new. He always offends people on purpose and uses politically incorrect words. It's what he does. George Carlin did this too and depending on the context, you don't get mad at their intention. We definitely live in a more sensitive time where it's harder to do that, but also given what happened with him I would have hoped his comeback would be a little more mellow and sophisticated, like a Louie movie or even an episode or a short film or something where he goes back to showing what a great writer and director he can be, even when directing something so simple.

This just didn't do it for me, but again, I don't know if watching it without the incredibly annoying laugh of this guy in my ear would have made a difference.