Louie C.K.’s been digging his teeth into a number of ideas in season three of Louie, from pilgrimages in Miami, to mid-life crises and lots of weird dates (as always). It’s been fun as hell to watch, but it’s definitely been a lot heavier than Louie‘s earlier days. So it was nice to have an episode like ‘Barney/Never’ where Louie integrated a number of great comedian cameos with the hands-down funniest episode of the season so far.
It’s been quite a busy week for me personally (not that anyone cares), so I’m going to keep things brief with some quick bullet points on my thoughts for the episode:
– the beauty of ‘Barney’ is not how well Louie reined in Robin Williams for the few scenes, but how poignantly the message of the vignette plays out almost wordlessly in the strip club. Barney was a man hated by many, but love by so many others – even if they were strippers and titty bar DJ’s. It’s funny how after we die, the people around us are the ones who get some perspective on our lives, isn’t it?
– Never and his mother are a pair of vintage Louie season 1 characters who dip into absolute absurdity at almost every corner, but to hilarious effect. Never likes to eat raw hamburger meat, and Never’s mother is going to have her vagina removed. Somehow, these two developments don’t feel mutually exclusive.
– Children that shit in the tub aren’t going to have many friends. Single mothers of the world, please take note.
– I could make fifteen more jokes about Never, but what I really found interesting in the episode was Louie’s conversation with his agent about Kansas City. It’s a spot-on observation: laid back comics like Louie C.K. don’t play well in cities where life is at a slower pace. In New York, people go to comedy clubs to relax, have a drink, take a break from the busy life. In smaller cities and areas, especially in the Midwest, people go out to be entertained – and that’s why high-energy comics like Dane Cook and that terrible comic with the puppets are so popular out there.
– The radio call-in certainly had its amusing moments, but feels like a joke that’s past its prime. It’s still a relevant point about most FM radio personalities, but I don’t know how much comedy there is to be had in those moments.
– People on the phone call: Opie & Anthony, Amy Schumer, and Jim Norton.
– Nice little cameo by JB Smoove in the end, “I don’t speak African, man.”
– I loved the black-and-white openings and endings. Especially the shot of Williams and C.K. standing on each side of the grave, looking down. Great framing right there.
Grade: A
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After a long day of work, Louie is exactly what I need to relax. The half of the episode with Never definitely reminded me of the first season of Louie. I don’t know who was more odd, Never or his Mother. All I know is the bath tub scene was disgusting. The second time I saw it I honestly stopped it and started playing a different show. Other than that it was a great episode.