Reasons We Loved Watching TV in 20129 of 14
How tough is it to make it big? Is it worth the fight? Louis C.K. answers these questions in a three-episode arc on his FX series "Louie (2010)" that managed to mix artistic commentary, a statement of life philosophy and a crash course in showbiz education into a plot that included perfectly utilized guest cameos from Garry Marshall, Chris Rock, Jay Leno and Jerry Seinfeld. In this triptych, Louie gets the biggest shot of his life: an entertainment bigwig tells him that he's being considered to replace one of late night TV's titans. But the offer isn't sugarcoated. He is quite firmly informed that he is getting the shot because he's cheaper and easier to replace, so if he fails it won't be a big deal to the executive, although it will shatter him. But if he succeeds, they'll both be geniuses.
This sends Louie into an existential crisis, and on a journey. Is he willing to risk flying too high? Is sacrificing time spent with his kids, his craft, his comfortable and relatively anonymous life as he knows it, worth the fame and relative longterm financial security that comes with scoring the gig of a lifetime?
The resulting episodes illustrate how the quest to win Hollywood fame is teeming with strange requirements, lies and deep betrayal. Some sequences played like one of David Lynch's fever dreams --one effective mind-trick involves three different actors playing the same role during one delightfully odd scene -- and in case the viewer didn't get that reference, C.K. featured Lynch himself in a pivotal role, a television personality groomer of sorts named Jack Dall.
In the end, C.K. demonstrates that in life, sometimes attaining the stated goal is not the same thing as winning. But in one of the show's best moments, Dall leaves us with a revealing assessment of the entertainment industry in the form of his Three Rules of Show Business.
"Number One: Look 'em in the eye, and speak from the heart. Number Two: You gotta go away to come back. And Number Three: If someone asks you to keep a secret, their secret is a lie. You got that? Good luck."
This sends Louie into an existential crisis, and on a journey. Is he willing to risk flying too high? Is sacrificing time spent with his kids, his craft, his comfortable and relatively anonymous life as he knows it, worth the fame and relative longterm financial security that comes with scoring the gig of a lifetime?
The resulting episodes illustrate how the quest to win Hollywood fame is teeming with strange requirements, lies and deep betrayal. Some sequences played like one of David Lynch's fever dreams --one effective mind-trick involves three different actors playing the same role during one delightfully odd scene -- and in case the viewer didn't get that reference, C.K. featured Lynch himself in a pivotal role, a television personality groomer of sorts named Jack Dall.
In the end, C.K. demonstrates that in life, sometimes attaining the stated goal is not the same thing as winning. But in one of the show's best moments, Dall leaves us with a revealing assessment of the entertainment industry in the form of his Three Rules of Show Business.
"Number One: Look 'em in the eye, and speak from the heart. Number Two: You gotta go away to come back. And Number Three: If someone asks you to keep a secret, their secret is a lie. You got that? Good luck."
PeopleGarry Marshall, Louis C.K.
TitlesLouie, Late Show: Part 1