Maureen Ryan gets it right in the Huffington Post when she states Louie is "One man's quest to hang on to his optimism and his curiosity and even his joy, whatever indignities life throws at him."
John Powers on NPR also captures the essence of Louie's uniqueness with the following:
...Louie is ultimately in pursuit of big game — the flow of life in its dizzying elusiveness. More than any TV comedy ever, it's all about capturing moments of truth and freshness, be it the pleasures of bantering with your kids, a misinterpreted gesture of friendship toward someone you meet on the road, or the sudden recognition of the deep sadness burning within someone you've been finding utterly delightful.
I like the unpredictable nature of the show where one moment you have a huge belly laugh and the next you are uncomfortable in your own skin. The whipsawing keeps you interested and curious for more. And Louis C.K. does not come across as a polished anything. He is truly a regular guy still fascinated with the workings of the world.
Here is Louis C.K. writing on his website last December after successfully selling a comedy download via his website:
So it's been about 12 days since the thing started and yesterday we hit the crazy number. One million dollars. That's a lot of money. Really too much money. I've never had a million dollars all of a sudden. and since we're all sharing this experience and since it's really your money, I wanted to let you know what I'm doing with it. People are paying attention to what's going on with this thing. So I guess I want to set an example of what you can do if you all of a sudden have a million dollars that people just gave to you directly because you told jokes.
So I'm breaking the million into four pieces.
The first 250k is going to pay back what the special cost to produce and the website to build.
The second 250k is going back to my staff and the people who work for me on the special and on my show. I'm giving them a big fat bonus.
The third 280k is going to a few different charities. They are listed below in case you'd like to donate to them also. Some of these i learned about through friends, some were recommended through twitter.
That leaves me with 220k for myself. Some of that will pay my rent and will care for my children. The rest I will do terrible, horrible things with and none of that is any of your business. In any case, to me, 220k is enough out of a million.
I never viewed money as being "my money" I always saw it as "The money" It's a resource. if it pools up around me then it needs to be flushed back out into the system.
After giving most of it away, he is using the rest to pay the rent and take care of the kids. Not to buy a huge house in California. He is the real deal, while also being very, very funny.
Update: After watching the first two episodes it is clear Louie will encompass more of the weird and unusual. His blind date "sexual encounter" in the second episode left me shocked and confused. So far we are not seeing a combative Louis C.K. facing the women in his life. Instead, he is being blown around and taking cover until it (or she) passes. The only two women in his life right now offering any stability are his daughters. If this season continues like this, he will certainly need their sanity and humor to make it through.
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