Review: 'Louie' - 'Daddy's Girlfriend, Part 1': Torpedo alert!
Louie goes looking for love in so many places
"Louie" takes the girls out to eat.
Credit: FX
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I've been taking some days off this week, so as I suggested at the end of last week's "Louie" review, I'm going to discuss the "Daddy's Girlfriend" two-parter after it concludes next week. But for those of you who want to discuss fist pumps, Parker Posey, Maria Bamford, fake reality TV shows and everything else from part 1, have at it. We'll have a lot more to talk about next week, as part 2 is my favorite of the five episodes FX sent out in advance of the season.
Alan Sepinwall has been reviewing television since the mid-'90s, first for Tony Soprano's hometown paper, The Star-Ledger, and now for HitFix. His new book, "The Revolution Was Televised," about the last 15 years of TV drama, is for sale at Amazon. He can be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com
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July 19, 2012 at 11:32PM EST Reply to CommentI didn't laugh much at first, but Louie trying to ask out the bookstore girl was first class Louie. Freaking hilarious. He perfectly captured that sock in mouth feeling that's prevented ugly nerds from asking out girls everywhere. Thank you for understanding me, Louie CK.
youngjt80 I was cracking up when books were flying in from all directions during the book store fantasy scene. Great episode.
July 20, 2012 at 2:03PM ESTzzk yeah my fantasies are never that detailed. HA!
July 20, 2012 at 2:47PM ESTberkowit28 A little exaggerated, perhaps, in coming out with the word "vagina" in his spiel of what might be awkward and off-putting when asking her out, though. A little surprising she let that pass, in fact. But that's comedy, often a little contrived, even by a master.
July 20, 2012 at 3:35PM ESTyoungjt80 @BERKOWIT28: I agree. I was a little surprised when Louie said that but she rolled with it so I did too.
July 20, 2012 at 5:11PM ESTJerseyRudy
July 20, 2012 at 12:35AM EST Reply to CommentFirst episode this season that I thought was as good as some of the best from last season. Great stuff.
Hopefully this will be the start of a movement that changes the way people say tyranny.
MRog
July 20, 2012 at 12:46AM EST Reply to CommentMaria Bamford is too damn funny.
Rob She's the funniest comedian around for my money. I was so stoked to see Louie promoting her. And she did a great job...hope she's back in part 2
July 22, 2012 at 7:04PM ESTA Love her. "You're bad at sex." Classic :)
July 24, 2012 at 8:32AM ESTErika Herzog
July 20, 2012 at 4:34AM EST Reply to Comment"you really ruined my night in two ways now" -- so great....
and super creepy walking around his kids school checking out the teachers. dear lord.
can't wait for part two. parker posey is really lovely. i am always so happy to see her in stuff....
gladly I was never a fan of Parker Posey, even in the Christopher Guest movies, until I saw her in "Broken English." Now I love her, and I loved her in this role.
July 20, 2012 at 8:34AM ESTErika Herzog i missed that one. going to watch it this weekend on Netflix -- thank you Gladly.
July 20, 2012 at 9:35PM ESTbut ---> omg, did you ever see PARTY GIRL?
i loved Parker Posey from that movie on. all that stuff about the Dewey Decimal system! in a movie! it totally made moving to new york city make so much more sense to me.
and "Can I have a falafel with hot sauce, a side order of Baba Ghanoush and a seltzer, please?" so brilliant!
Erika Herzog wow, re-watched BROKEN ENGLISH. didn't realize i had seen it before. i didn't really get it the first time i saw it but this time it really gutted me. that Melvil Poupaud is wonderful.
July 22, 2012 at 4:46AM ESTHenry_fool Parker Posey is still smoking hot. Fay Grimm is a good example of her sexiness, and one of two films where she acted out being pleasured by a cell phone's vibrate mode. Sounds silly, but she made it funny and sexy. She does sexy librarian well.
July 22, 2012 at 2:48PM ESTA She was in Parks and Recreation!!!
July 24, 2012 at 8:34AM ESTdamien
July 20, 2012 at 7:12AM EST Reply to CommentLoved the episode. It was so sweet. I'd love to know the name of the song (and performer) that kept getting played when Louie was having his 'frisky' feelings. It had a 50s feel to it, but I'm sure it's a contemorary recording. So hard to fine any info on the show's soundtrack. Thanks in advance.
Geoff Me too. Anyone?
July 20, 2012 at 9:40AM ESTA Me too! I cant find it anywhere! HELP!!!
July 22, 2012 at 12:13AM ESTThomas
July 20, 2012 at 11:09AM EST Reply to CommentThe scene during the credits was amazing. Funny Louie jokes making fun of reality television, and then he immediately makes it profoundly sad when the girl says she just wants to go home. Everything you need to know about Louie in 30 seconds.
Jim Agreed. Great skewering of the lame-brained "reality" junk.
July 20, 2012 at 1:34PM ESTErika Herzog i thought this was sort of flabby, the whole reality show stuff. like Skewering 101. i expect something more from Louis CK!
July 20, 2012 at 9:38PM ESTi really think Louis CK could have skewered a lot of the stuff on reality tv right now in a lot more of an interesting (and funny) way.
this seemed a bit flat and out of place to the show. but maybe it will payoff in the second part?
Jim
July 20, 2012 at 1:38PM EST Reply to CommentLove his daughters. They are at the same time both cute as all get out, funny as hell and yet both are totally different as children are. The older one has Louie's keen observation skills while the younger one has his total goofiness.
Parker: You're not a troll.
NP
July 20, 2012 at 2:07PM EST Reply to CommentI loved the second half especially. I watched it twice, once from Louie's perspective, and once from Parker's. I think anyone that's tried to muster up the courage to ask someone out can find something to identify with, especially if you're as bad at reading signals as I am. I groaned after their second encounter, not just for him, but for me.
And his monologue, while not exactly necessary to win her over, echoes a lot of what I feel as a single adult male. I don't particularly want to sexualize and romanticize every attractive, interesting woman I meet, but at the same time, I want to be in a relationship with someone that is attractive and interesting. But what are you going to do? She was clearly into him, but didn't ask him out. I'm not making generalizations, but I have never been asked out, so I've learned that if I want to date someone, I have to ask them, so that's what I do.
Erika Herzog i am wondering if Louis CK gets as much tail as he portrays on this show. (yeah yeah yeah i know it's a TV show, not his life, but still).
July 20, 2012 at 9:42PM ESTi guess i'm starting to find it a bit shocking how much Louie the character is able to have sex on this show -- especially given how negatively he portrays himself.
i guess it's about how successfully he has the sex. it's pretty much of a horror show most of the time (witness the Melissa Leo segment oh my god). and maybe that is the point. ?
Justine Louis CK the entertainment personna and Louis CK the human being are probably similar but not the same. And regardless of the reality of him, being a celebrity has benefits, such as glazing over all his imperfections. But seriously, I think the shlubby buffoon thing is mostly an act. And a very funny one.
July 22, 2012 at 2:35PM ESTRob Louis has said in interviews around the time the season started that the TV character is getting further and further away from his real life as the series continues.
July 22, 2012 at 7:06PM ESTJim I would think that Louie, maybe at one point in his life, had encounters like this with women. Maybe not so much now though.......
July 23, 2012 at 3:53AM ESTNP I like how my comment about the content of the show and how I relate to it was derailed into a discussion of the show's realism and CK the person vs CK the character /sarcasm
July 24, 2012 at 2:43PM ESTHe's said numerous times: he's using the show to tell whatever stories he wants to tell, with no regard for continuity, unless he feels like it. He'll use the same actor in multiple roles. He'll change how many siblings he has. As far as how much sex he has, (1) I don't think self esteem is correlated with it and (2) you have no idea how much time passes in the fictional world between the character's sexual encounters, so maybe it's not all that frequent (3) maybe not all of them are 'canon' (4) he's been rejected plenty, too, and of the woman he has had sex with:
* One was only interested because he was old and gross
* One was simply horny, and assulted him in the middle of it (and we never hear about their second date, etc)
* One insulted him immediately after
* One divorced him, has a stable job and new boyfriend
Erika Herzog what's up with the sarcasm? i thought what was happening was a conversation of sorts.
July 24, 2012 at 4:29PM ESTpersonally i think part of what Louis CK the public persona and Louie the guy in the show LOUIE are representing -- and playing upon -- is the tension between real life, a real world "just a guy sitting here" (yeah right) and a loose representation of himself and others in these short vignettes. all jumbled up, and somewhere in between.
i like thinking about these ideas, i think it's insanely clever and funny of Louis CK. sometimes it misses the mark completely, sometimes it's just like he's in the muck of it all, and sometimes it's so on the money it is painful -- or painfully funny.
i like how it doesn't have to be a rigid thing. it helps me to read what Louis CK is thinking about when he's making the show but it would also be absolutely okay not to know that. it's loose and crazy and sad and funny and yeah boring sometimes.
and unlike anything i've seen before. so....
NP It still seems like your first comment had nothing to do with my original comment. I talked about this specific episode, how I relate to it, how it makes me feel, and revealed details about my life (anonymously, of course). You came in and talked about "the show's realism and CK the person vs CK the character" and completely ignored every part about this episode except for the sex he had and the badness he felt about himself and how it didn't make sense to you.
July 25, 2012 at 11:05PM ESTWhat kind of conversation is it when I say one thing, you respond with another, and then everyone responds to you? It sounds a little rude in a single-threaded commenting system like this one. So I thought sarcasm was an appropriate response. And yet, I still engaged your points with how I felt (disagreement) and examples from different episodes that backed my interpretation. You are welcome to your interpretation, but instead you hinted about what your thoughts were, without providing any real details or *stuff* to discuss.
Now, I'm not trying to say I have some sort of right to a response. It's not my review, not my site, and not my comments section. The only thing I have here is the top-level comment and ability to respond (which I won't do if you take issue with my tone again)
Erika Herzog dear NP,
July 26, 2012 at 1:17AM ESTi apologize for not answering your comment in the way you seem to require. that sounds like it was very upsetting to you.
if you found my comment rude again apologies. thank you so much for giving me permission to have my own interpretation.
apologies also for not providing any real details or "stuff" (as defined by you) to discuss.
whew! this internet stuff is hard!
erika
AshleyShaefferBMW
July 20, 2012 at 7:27PM EST Reply to CommentLoved the tennis fist pump analog and the scarlett johansson bit. Gotta wonder if he could hit that
keith He totally could.
July 21, 2012 at 4:09AM EST