Unlucky Louie
I wanted to like HBO's first sitcom "Lucky Louie." I really did. I saw star Louis C.K. interviewed on "The Daily Show" and was cracking up at his jokes about his kids. This guy had a twisted view on domestic life - like male Roseanne Barr.
Louie is a part-time auto-mechanic who is constantly struggling to make ends meet and to make amends with his family, nurse Kim and daughter Lucy. Louie's co-worker Mike and his wife Tina (Laura Kightlinger) never seem to face the same problems with money or sex. And Louie's attempts to befriend the African-American family that moved in across the hall, usually ends up with racist jokes and Louie offending them.
The concept of the show is great; film in front of a live studio audience and mercilessly mock every traditional sitcom convention. Instead the joke quickly runs thin. It's one thing to point out how unfunny sitcom humor can be; it's another not to bring new jokes to the genre.
The best part of the show is the underrated Pamela S. Adlon, who plays Louie's frustrated wife Kim. She was the best part of the horrible movie "Bed of Roses" with Christian Slater and Mary Stuart Masterson and is best known for her voice-over work ("King of the Hill"). She is also the one person in "Lucky Louie" who can act. Some of the most unintentionally funny parts of the show comes from watching her act while her co-stars stumble over lines.
As is the case with most sitcoms these days, Louis C.K. is using his show as a way to showcase his stand-up and the routines of his nightclub friends. Jim Norton, Rick Shapiro - all funny at Caroline's after the 2 drink minimum, look and sound awkward in front of multiple cameras when they can't pace around a stage with a mic. And the rants about drugs and sex that cause drunk college kids to explode with laughter don't translate to a sitcom format.
Delivering few laughs, "Lucky Louie" is missing an opportunity to rip into traditional sitcoms that hasn't been done since "Roseanne." And with an average of 1-3 laughs per episode, I'm better off watching a re-run of "Roseanne" on Lifetime.
Louie is a part-time auto-mechanic who is constantly struggling to make ends meet and to make amends with his family, nurse Kim and daughter Lucy. Louie's co-worker Mike and his wife Tina (Laura Kightlinger) never seem to face the same problems with money or sex. And Louie's attempts to befriend the African-American family that moved in across the hall, usually ends up with racist jokes and Louie offending them.
The concept of the show is great; film in front of a live studio audience and mercilessly mock every traditional sitcom convention. Instead the joke quickly runs thin. It's one thing to point out how unfunny sitcom humor can be; it's another not to bring new jokes to the genre.
The best part of the show is the underrated Pamela S. Adlon, who plays Louie's frustrated wife Kim. She was the best part of the horrible movie "Bed of Roses" with Christian Slater and Mary Stuart Masterson and is best known for her voice-over work ("King of the Hill"). She is also the one person in "Lucky Louie" who can act. Some of the most unintentionally funny parts of the show comes from watching her act while her co-stars stumble over lines.
As is the case with most sitcoms these days, Louis C.K. is using his show as a way to showcase his stand-up and the routines of his nightclub friends. Jim Norton, Rick Shapiro - all funny at Caroline's after the 2 drink minimum, look and sound awkward in front of multiple cameras when they can't pace around a stage with a mic. And the rants about drugs and sex that cause drunk college kids to explode with laughter don't translate to a sitcom format.
Delivering few laughs, "Lucky Louie" is missing an opportunity to rip into traditional sitcoms that hasn't been done since "Roseanne." And with an average of 1-3 laughs per episode, I'm better off watching a re-run of "Roseanne" on Lifetime.
posted by The Couch Critic at
9:45 PM
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