For anyone who doesn't know Louis CK is one of the funniest comedians working today. This doesn't always translate into a good show, in fact it did not in his 2006 vehicle Lucky Louie, but I still had reason to be pretty excited. On his second go-round Louis delivered in a big way.
Before I watched I was under the impression that Louie was to be your run of the mill "comedian makes sitcom" scenario. Refreshingly, the format looks to center around comedic vignettes. The show is semi-autobiographical, and interspersed around the vignettes we get to see Louis CK do some stand up that relates to what we are about to see (reminded me of Seinfeld a little, not a bad thing).
The show mirrors Louis stand-up material, taking dark and candid and ratcheting it up to a degree where it becomes surreal. On the pilot we see Louis on a first date going so poorly I could hardly watch. I was on the verge of breaking a sweat within the first sixty seconds.
Strangely the reason I stopped watching Lucky Louie was his strict adherence to his stand-up material in his show. It felt like I was just watching someone turn his act into a play. Now I'm literally watching him act out his jokes on-screen in a very literal way. I can't put my finger on why it is working for me this time, but it is.
I couldn't recommend this show more. In a summer bereft of good comedy this show is a breath of fresh air. It had me laughing my ass off and praying life isn't as bad as the picture Louis paints. Also, if you haven't caught his stand-up before add Chewed Up to your Netflix queue immediately.
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