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Hercules Laughs Plenty At CK’s New FX Sitcom LOUIE!!
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I am – Hercules!!
A dark new FX series from actor-comedian-screenwriter Louis CK, “Louie” is a sitcom home run, teeming with all kinds of startling laugh-out-loud moments. Blending stand-up and scripted situational content much in the manner of early “Seinfeld” episodes, the project offers inspired work from an unusually facile comedy brain.
Strip away the stand-up (which would be a mammoth mistake) and the show much more closely resembles “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”
CK, who wrote and directed “Pootie Tang” for the big screen back in 2001, serves as sole writer and director on at least the first four episodes of “Louie,” and he is credited on several episodes as editor (!). CK clearly has more tools at his disposal here than he did with HBO’s funny but short-lived live-audience sitcom “Lucky Louie,” which helps along the guffaw-per-minute quotient. (Hot actress Pam Adlon, who played CK’s wife on “Lucky Louie,” is a consulting producer and gets laughs as a wine-loving single mom in episode four.)
The series is highly autobiographical, following a newly-divorced 41-year-old working comic in New York with two young daughters. The now-42-year-old CK has two daughters by artist Alix Bailey, whom he divorced in 2008.
The stand-up segments are enormously funny, the rest only slightly less so. In the first non-stand-up segment, a field-trip school-bus breakdown in Harlem prompts CK to quickly seat the school’s darker 7-year-olds by the bus’ windows.
Future episodes co-star equally edgy former “Tough Crowd” regulars Nick Dipaulo and Jim Norton, also very funny. (A fight scene with CK and Dipaulo famously escaped onto the Internet recently, which some somehow mistook as a real incident. I’ve hidden a funny piece of dialogue from the scene in invisotext.)
NICK DIPAULO: Why don’t you eat out Obama’s asshole?
LOUIS CK: I would. I’m not gay, but just to be part of history.
I even love the series’ theme song, a remake of Hot Chocolate’s “Brother Louie” that unfurls as CK wanders Manhattan, trying to avoid eye contact with the camera that stalks him. The final lyrics we hear are “Louie Louie, you’re gonna die,” which fit this project like a potbellied bodyglove.
The New York Times says:
… It takes a while for “Louie” to find its own voice, and while it is at times a crude and offensive one, it is not without a strange wit and under-the-radar appeal. Louis C. K. is a comedian’s comedian, but that shouldn’t prevent audiences — mature and immature — from appreciating his work.
The Los Angeles Times says:
… age suits his comedy, which is rooted in an awareness of physical decay and unavoidable loss in a way that's both depressing and freeing. (That is what comedy is for, I suppose.) … Not everything in "Louie" works equally well — it is strenuously weird at times, and it will generally test your tolerance for the white heterosexual male's joking unease with everything not white, heterosexual and male. But it isn't dull, and it feels original and honest. C.K. himself does aspire to being a better, fairer human, or at least to understanding how he fails at it. …
The Chicago Tribune says:
… What's marvelous about "Louie" is that it approaches those situations with a wry, original wit that makes them fresh and funny again. "Louie" may dwell on the disappointments and compromises of middle age, but the show itself is a winner. … it's a pleasant relief to watch the show deftly sidestep tired sitcom cliches. And Louie is smart enough to make a lot of jokes at his own expense -- he's not unaware of how it looks for a relatively privileged guy who drives a luxury car to complain about his life. …
The Washington Post says:
… succeeds with a morose and fatalistic sense of hilarity. The first episode sputters a bit, but the second and third episodes are worth watching. It conjures some of the same discomforts of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and some of the absurdity of "The Sarah Silverman Program"; it also makes "Seinfeld" reruns look like "Barney & Friends." … intelligently harnesses the dark cloud that follows a truly funny man everywhere he goes.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:
… Like "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Louie" traffics in comedy of the uncomfortable as the sad sack Louie gets into one pathetic scrape after another. The show is more of a tragi-comedy than an out-and-out comedy. … Often profane and occasionally offensive, "Louie" won't be to every viewer's taste, but it's a more interesting show than many with a definitive point of view.
HitFix says:
… "Louie" is very, very good. It may even, based on the four episodes I've seen, be great. … "Louie," while it has elements of other comedies from both movies and television, doesn't feel quite like anything I've seen before. As a TV critic, I find that exciting. But as a plain old fan of comedy, I'm even more excited by how painfully funny this show is. …
The Boston Herald says:
… In his best moments - which are rare - this sad-sack performer suggests the bastard child of Jerry Seinfeld and Sylvia Plath. …
The Boston Globe says:
… “Louie’’ is an uneven series — although it’s far more original than C.K.’s HBO effort, “Lucky Louie’’ — and I hope more peripheral characters recur and develop as they have on “Curb Your Enthusiasm.’’ The show has potential in the way it treads some of the same ground as “Men of a Certain Age,’’ as Louie grieves his youth and yet tries to move forward with the second half of his life. As brash as his material can be — a fierce argument between Louie and his friend Nick DiPaolo, for instance, that ends in the hospital — a melancholy mood nonetheless hangs over the show. It gives “Louie’’ a heart.
USA Today says:
… give it time, and you may find yourself recalling moments that struck you as clever and amusing — like a disastrous encounter with a blind date, a bathroom and an impatient customer; or a discussion about homophobic slurs that is in turns funny, honest and then funny again. You may even like Louie himself, who is far more appealing here than in HBO's Lucky Louie, though that disaster set the bar perilously low. …
Variety says:
… The format proves uneven, but after watching four episodes there's a lot to like in "Louie" -- beginning with using "Brother Louie" as its theme song -- though most of the best stuff comes following the so-so pilot. … a savvy addition to the channel's macho bullpen, even if the show thus far provides less cause to celebrate than, say, a new puppy.
The Hollywood Reporter says:
… deserves to catch on, though it's back-and-forth style might make it a tougher sell to viewers, at least initially, based on the "Seinfeld" example. … Viewers often come to FX with the expectation they will be challenged by new perspectives on traditional genres. If enough of them take that approach, Louis C.K. will find the mass audience that has eluded him.
“Rescue Me”: 10 p.m. Tuesday. FX.
“Louie”: 11 p.m. Tuesday. FX.
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Only wish this was on HBO...
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Louis CK is one of the best stand up comics working today. He's been a great writer for a long time, from the Dana Carvey Show, Chris Rock Show, to Lucky Louis. I think this will be a home run for Louis CK and the network.
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Watch them both, I will. Louis CK is one of the funniest people of all time, despite being remarkably serious about the craft of comedy.
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is the voice of "Bobby" on King Of The Hill
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I remember watching that show trying to figure out if it was some kind of meta experiment in being bad or if it was just plain bad. Turned out to be the latter.
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This has been a weak Summer for entertainment so far, at the box office and on TV. Same for the penultimate season of Rescue Me, which precedes this.
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After the episode where he did a full frontal nudity shot. That is an image that I can't unsee. Damn you Louis CK!
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Lucky Louie was hideously unfunny. Why would anyone give this guy another show? Amazing.
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But the praise so many comedians and critics have for him is so out of proportion. Minus the hype, he comes across as just another random middling comic. Not so bad, not so good.
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And it was one of the ugliest things I've ever seen on television. I watched the whole series because everything, from the lighting and aesthetics, to the characters themselves was so unrepentantly, fascinatingly ugly. Not very funny, but it was like looking into a very mundane version of hell.
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No review? No mention? Or did I miss it? Regardless, Rescue Me is back. Best news of the day.
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Funniest man on earth. I say that fully aware of the hyperbolic nature of such a statement.
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Jun 29, 2010 11:30:45 AM CDT
His 'jerking off in the cellar" bit is f'ing hilarious
by grandmufftarkin
Some of you may not find CK as funny as other comedians, but for those of you in the same stage of life as he is (married/divorced, kids, annoyed with people in general) his bits are goddamn genius. Look for his bit on youtube about his wife catching him wanking in the basement. "Do you think of me when you do that?" "Are you high? Oh yeah, my wife, ohhhhh. Put it in the hamper not on top if it, you idiot, ooooh so hot."
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are like the KKK. I respect their right to exist in a free society, but I certainly would never want to be around them.if you can watch this video and not find it funny, I hope you and I never have to have a conversation in real life, because you are a sad human. http://tinyurl.com/cou86z
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FAIL LOUIS CK, FAil
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Jun 29, 2010 12:51:20 PM CDT
Anytime Herc calls someone "edgy", I know to stay away
by coughlins laws
Another failed sitcom...
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Jun 29, 2010 12:58:28 PM CDT
BadMrwonka, all that clip proved was Conan is a horrible
by coughlins laws
interviewer and Louis CK can come up with amusing premises but has really horrendous delivery of his lines. He's simply not likable. Watch Jerry Seinfeld or George Carlin on how to do observational comedy...
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Jun 29, 2010 1:00:00 PM CDT
But, he learned well from Conan. When you're a failure
by coughlins laws
at comedy, go on a cable channel so when your ratings are horrible, they won't cancel your show and call you a failure...
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about time. It's only because they drilled the commericals into my head that I shall watch too!
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If you're a fan at all of Louis CK, then you SHOULD have liked "Lucky Louie." It was basically much of his stand-up act in sitcom form. Just because it had no production values at all didn't detract from it, but rather enhanced the comedy.
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vacation. some of us work and get up early. 11 pm indeed!
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Both of his shows have spelt his name as LOUIE, while he actually spells his name LOUIS. Seems like it'd just be confusing for non-fans, but does anyone have an actual answer?
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Somebody give him some NyQuil, stat!
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because he goes by Lou-EE SEE KAY and not Lou-IS SEE KAY?
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Oh, so it's an idiot thing. Thanks.
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Lucky Louie was scummy looking and great. If you didn't like it, that's your failure. It was a noble show. Coughlin laws is a faggot, like always, especially in this talkback where he obviously doesn't know what the fuck he's talking about. Louis CK has horrible line delivery? Whatever the fuck that means, troll. People laugh at his shit, so I guess the line delivery is decent. He just doesn't appeal to your faggy sensibilities.
Coughlin, Herc owns your soul. You are his biggest fan. You are a consistent contributer to his talkbacks. You help his talkbacks stretch into the hundreds with you're irrelevant, trolling, shit posts. Herc loves you. You blow him daily. -
and Joey from Friends. Just sayin...
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Lots of talent at NNHS in the '80s
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Normally, I'd be all excited for it's premiere, but it took a massive dip in quality halfway through last season. Which is really unfortunate because it looked as if it had bounced back after a lousy season four.
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Jun 29, 2010 7:35:51 PM CDT
I've seen alot of LouisCK's stand-up and he's just not that
by coughlins laws
funny. He is very overrated. True, his audiences laugh. But I wouldn't put him in even the Top 20 Stand-ups working today. He's just not great. His delivery is very droll and he's just not likable. It's not just me that thinks that. It's obviously most people considering how unsuccessful the guy has been...
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I don't know how CK keeps getting chance after chance. Or what kind of pictures he has of some executive sucking dick but this pervert isn't funny.
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Oh yeah, you're totally right. He's no Dane Cook.
But seriously, who do you think is funny? Drop some knowledge on us, oh Thurgood Marshall of comedy. I mean, scads of young comedians point to Louis CK as their inspiration, but surely you know the craft far better than they. -
Words. Stole. Mouth.
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just FYI, Coughlin's Laws was convinced McCain was going to win THE NIGHT OF THE ELECTION. reasonable logic isn't going to persuade him of anything. his opinion is fact, as far as he's concerned.
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...first episode kinda meh, but card table scene to open second was great.
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One of the best stand-ups ever but he just can't seem to write a coherent sitcom. It's more interesting than funny, kind of like Hung on HBO. By the way, I urge everyone to just ignore Coughlin from now on until he goes back to his fantasy-world where his opinion is somehow relevant.
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As a big fan of Louis CK's standup I have anxiously anticipated the premiere of this show since January, back when it was supposed to start in March. Tonight's two episodes proved the wait was not in vain. LOUIE is a darker SEINFELD for a more depressing age. The worst thing that can be said about this show is that it "copies" SEINFELD. But I say, lots of comedians "copied" SEINFELD in their own way to get a syndicated sitcom. Seinfeld and his show defined 90s TV. LOUIE maybe "copies" the form of SEINFELD in that it begins and ends with Louis's standup and has a real life plot story in between. No comedian (drewcareytimallengeorgelopezjimbelushi) thats had a show could pull off Seinfel'd style. Louis CK can, cause he's the best comedian of right now. LOUIE like SEINFELD is a show about nothing, but the nothingness is this bald divorced guy's life. LOUIE is like SEINFELD if the main guy had no friends, depressing. LOUIE is worth fucking watching cause the man behind it is fucking hilarious, and finally has the best possible outlet for his comedy. Watch it fools!!
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Naked old lady is hilarious, "Pig...PIG...pIg!"
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Agreed, that card table scene (and the one at the close) was fantastic.
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....have you seen them?
show is casually funny -
I met some ex-girlfriends and they are all disgustingly fat now and made me so happy that I've never been married and never had kids and I actually still have freedom and a life unlike everyone my age group (late 30's)....
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Hopefully this show takes off
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Who are the 20 funnier working comedians than Louis C.K.? I'd just like to know because I die laughing at some of Louis' stuff, so surely my head would explode at your number one pick. I'd also like you to try to come up with 20 just to prove what a full-of-shit prick you are.
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Jun 30, 2010 9:06:06 AM CDT
Well, I don't have a number one, but I'll give you 20 I think
by coughlins laws
are funnier: Brian Regan, Lewis Black, Gilbert Gottfried, Demitri Martin, Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, Dave Attell, Jeff Foxworthy, Ron White, David Cross, Dane Cook, Jerry Seinfeld, Dennis Leary, Nick DePaulo, Greg Giraldo, Katt Williams, Patton Oswalt, Dom Irerra, Eddie Izzard, Ricky Gervais, Dennis Miller, Norm McDonald, Ray Romano, Howie Mandel, and I'm sure I could come up with a few more I find funnier...
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Jun 30, 2010 9:07:43 AM CDT
As far as someone being funnier because they influenced
by coughlins laws
others, that argument doesn't hold water. The influencer isn't necessarily better than the influencee... Would you consider Lenny Bruce funnier than George Carlin or Richard Pryor? I wouldn't...
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Jun 30, 2010 9:11:22 AM CDT
Here's a couple more: Larry Miller, Bill Maher (when he's not
by coughlins laws
being a total political douche), Jon Stewart, Paul Reiser, Billy Crystal, Don Rickles, Garry Shandling, Jay Leno, David Letterman, Robert Schimmel...
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All though some are a stretch. Jay Leno is not that funny and I don't think Dennis Miller or Billy Crystal has done any stand up in years. None the less, it's hard to argue with his list of 20.
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I think we're done here.
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Jun 30, 2010 9:57:12 AM CDT
OK, you don't like 3 guys on my list. What about the rest of it?
by coughlins laws
The point is, Louis CK is very overrated. He gets alot more praise than he deserves. He only appeals to a very small niche of people. I'm sorry it hurts your feelings. As far as Larry the Cable Guy, where exactly do you see his name on my list?
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Paul F. Tompkins, Brian Posehn, Pablo Francisco, Mitch Fatel, Zach Galifinakis, Steven Wright and Jim Gaffigan.
Not to say CK is not funny, I just have to agree that there are alot funnier out there. -
..probably because Foxworthy was on my mind and how much I can't stand that redneck shtick, of which Larry delivers in spades. Regardless, there's no point to this discussion since you don't find his style funny, and others do. Many in your list also have a "style" that some will find unappealing (Gottfried, DePaulo), but to question "who's funnier" is a no-win argument. Regarding his "lack of success," I would say that 3 standup releases in 3 years, plus his own show, is pretty successful.
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and more shows than Louis CK. Sorry, you lose...
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THAT argument doesn't hold water. Would you like me to give you about a thousand examples of this?
And for the record, I really like Louis CK's stuff. Me, personally. I don't feel like he has more or less recognition or success than he deserves, and I'm sure he'd be the first one to agree with that. I can see why some people would find his material off-putting or offensive or even unfunny. But he strikes a chord with my set of sensibilities and never ceases to get a laugh out of me.
Anyways, my two cents. -
of times I saw him I laughed. But there is no there, there. He had 3 or 4 failed pilots and the 3 or 4 movies that they gave him to star in did so poorly that he can be called somewhat of a failure now. But at least he earned the chance to get all those projects going. He was by far the most successful stand-up of the mid to late 00's. Louis CK has a cult following at best...
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Dane Cook and Denis Leary have both stolen material from Louis CK....so they think he's funny.Patton Oswalt and a handful of others have stated that they believe Louis is THE best touring comedian out there now. he's a funny dude.
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Is quietly more talented then most any comedian listed by Laws. He wrote, directed, and EDITED the two great episodes that aired last night. CK is a stone's throw away from being an auteur, while Jeff Foxworthy is a fucking game show host. No shame in that, but it's obvious some of your choices are meant to short change CK, who is obviously funny and talented beyond 90% of his peers.
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I think that's often the sign of a great comedian personally. I miss Lucky Louie, I'm surprised it took this long for him to develope another show (especially considering neither show was exactly high budget).
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Jun 30, 2010 2:52:34 PM CDT
He also wrote and directed Pootie Tang. Defend that...
by coughlins laws
As far as other comedians saying he's great, that's fine. However, just because a comedian is funny, doesn't mean they have good taste. Have you ever seen The Aristocrats? Comedians laugh at different things than we do. It's very odd. However, you're obviously missing the point. Louis CK is WAYYY down on the list of top comedians. That was the only point I was trying to make...
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channels, when he caught my eye. He related a story when he was being chased speeding in his car by a gun toting freak. There was more humor in that short two minute story then in a lot of comedians whole sets. Why? Because he made it feel real. You got caught up in it because of his delivery and style. And because it was based in real behavior, not overdone comedic bullshit.I didn't care for his role at all in Gervais' movie, and found him mildly amusing in Parks & Rec. But give his character his own voice, like last nights FX episodes, and he really took off.But comedy is subjective. I still find the most I-wet-my-pants funny of current comics is Brian Regan's bit about the butterfly exhibit..
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Jun 30, 2010 3:06:08 PM CDT
I heard David Patrick Kelly is playing a shrink in this.
by banditdarville
That alone will get me to watch ("Childhood Traumaaaa! Come out and Play-yaaay!") Also, I hope some of the previous posters acknowledge Lewis Black as one of the greatest stand-up comics working today.
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Jun 30, 2010 3:16:51 PM CDT
Yeah, I forgot about that movie. He wasn't in the least
by coughlins laws
in that movie. He's just not likable. He even admits he doesn't care that he's not likable in an interview recently. He's done enough with his carreer to get a show on FX, but I wonder if Herc is going to show his extremely low ratings every week like he did to Leno but refuses to do now that Leno is dominating Letterman again....
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in the least. But I guess you guys got the point...
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Some funny stuff but other stuff the timing/delivery was just off. I hope it gets better. There's definitely potential. Although it has the issue that all of the characters are not only miserable but ugly. Not even TV ugly but straight ugly. That's a difficult combination to sell. Nobody wants to see ugly people lead miserable lives.
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Who left you alone on your grandchildren's computer in the first place?
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than you, instead of engaging them in conversation, you tell them to leave. You're such a winner...
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Sort of like you pointed out, comedy is subjective, and it's fine that you don't find CK funny or worthy of his own show. The issue is when you prattle on about how Dane Cook or Jeff Foxworthy are hands down funnier, as though it's a no-brainer. You're not up for a conversation, just pushing buttons.
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I thought I was about to see something along the lines of Lucky Louie and It's Always Sunny. Instead it was a bleak indy comedy. Louis likes to slap people in the face early on in his work, but he did it in a different way here. I really can't even describe it. Watch it and see what you think.
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the real problem is that you don't make ANY differentiation between your opinion, and absolute, empirical fact. none at all. it would be interesting, if it weren't so sad.no offense, the fact that you don't like Louis CK is a vote for him being a good comedian, in my book.
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I was crying with laughter, my wife shugged and walked away.
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