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Louis C.K. 2017

Louis C.K.

Netflix · 2017 · 74 min

A sharp-dressed, high-tension stand-up set from Washington, D.C.

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Louis C.K. walks onto the stage at Washington, D.C.’s DAR Constitution Hall wearing a tailored suit, signaling a shift in presentation from his usual casual black t-shirt. He starts the show by jumping straight into a divided argument about abortion and suicide, challenging the audience’s comfort level right from the jump. This performance captures the comic at the peak of his pre-hiatus fame, operating with the supreme confidence of someone who had just secured a massive Netflix deal. He moves through observations on the global dominance of the Christian calendar, his daughter’s misunderstanding of 9/11 deniers as people who hate the number eleven, and the slow, shared decline of elderly married couples. While some critics and long-time fans felt the hour lacked the deep vulnerability of his earlier self-produced specials, the set remains a highly polished display of misdirection and tension. The performance peaks with an extended confession about his obsessive, yet incomplete, viewing of the movie Magic Mike, ending with him walking off to the expensive sounds of Led Zeppelin.

The set list

6 bits

  1. Abortion debate

    Opens the special boldly discussing abortion, arguing both sides while stating that abortion is either shitting or killing a baby.

  2. ISIS decapitations

    Muses on whether ISIS executioners prefer severing heads with lush hair over bald heads, miming a soldier disappointed to present a bald head like a bowling ball.

  3. Rescue dogs and drug treatments

    Describes discovering the personality of an adopted rescue dog and acts out an impression of a dog sedated on heroin costing $400 a day.

  4. Christianity's dominance

    Argues that Christianity clearly won the battle of religions because the entire world counts time using the Christian A.D. calendar system.

  5. PSA about texting while driving

    Jokes about a sad father holding a sign showing the text 'yeah, sure' that killed his daughter, questioning if the text was replying to a request to kill the kid.

  6. The closer (spoiler). Show it

    Arousal from watching Magic Mike closer

    Discusses his unexpected arousal watching the film Magic Mike, pondering if he might be gay but concluding he is too old to enter the dating scene looking the way he does.

How it plays

Tone
Melancholy, grim, cynical, darkly funny, and raunchy.
On stage
A grandiose schlemiel who combines sharp confidence and authority in a tailored suit with sad-sack self-deprecation and mortifying disclosures.
Pace
Characteristically ragged yet executed with precise timing, rhythmic control, and physical engagement.
About
abortion, suicide and depression, pet ownership and rescue dogs, religion and Christianity, marriage and the afterlife, sexuality and Magic Mike

What the critics said

Praised as an artful, intellectually stimulating, and death-defyingly funny performance, though noted for its exceptionally cynical, grim, and edgy tone.

In the room: Sold-out capacity crowd of over 3,700 people responding with involuntary laughter, loud cheers, and palpable flutters of unease.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: imdb.com, allmovie.com, vulture.com, indiewire.com, pastemagazine.com, exclaim.ca, en.wikipedia.org.

Backstory

First of two standup specials for Netflix, recorded following his work on Louie, Baskets, and Horace and Pete, performed in a tailored suit in Washington D.C.

Details

Released
Taped
DAR Constitution Hall, Washington
Runtime
74 min
Where
Netflix
Director
Louis C.K.
Honors
Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys
Topics
Before
Live at Madison Square Garden (2015)
After
2017 (2017)

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