New Years Eve

Funny, clever, beautifully shot
Louie CK is the best comic working today and his one-man show (he writes, directs and stars in it) just keeps getting better. Great guest turns by Melissa Leo and Parker Posey and writing that is sharp and poignant without veering into sentimentality. Each episode is like a self-contained short narrative film, beautifully shot and scored with a jazz soundtrack, Louie's not afraid to take risks with his writing and his casting and delivers something unexpected each week. Highly recommended.

Not for everybody but I *really* appreciate it
I look forward to each new episode in Season 3. Part of what I like about this show is how it balances Louis as a really sincere and loving father (even when he is giving his kids the finger behind their backs when they p*** him off) with his no-holds-barred adult life, filled with odd people who often have bizarre sexual tastes. Some of the later episodes are playing less for laughs and more for very intimate portrayals of the complexities of true intimacy with another person and the sometimes-very-thin wall it shares with perversity. The two episodes showing him meeting and going on a date with the marvelous Parker Posey were beautifully rendered (she should get some sort of big old prize for the way she transformed her role in a special way I know I've never before seen on a small screen). My wife is not a fan at ALL: he curses around his kids (they take no offense and hardly seem to notice) and some of the almost-always-sexual situations are over the top, but hey this is Louis...

The Real Deal
I know that "Louie" is billed as a comedy, and that some people may be turned off on some of his episodes because they don't make you bust a gut laughing every second of every minute. As a viewer, though, you need to keep in mind that this is as close as anyone is going to get to a "stream of consciousness" from a comedian.

The very nature of a comedian's talent is to take the slices of life we all endure, and then distill the essence of the experience so that we can then identify with it and laugh at it as a shared experience. That's what comedy is -- laughing at our shared experiences -- and that's what makes Louie CK so funny: he does this (seemingly) like second nature.

It's not second nature though, because to be genuine, the distillation process must come from real, dark and sometimes sad experiences and memories. I, for one, am glad to know that Louis CK is out there, and am in constant awe of the way he can show us both sides of the coin -- both the...

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