Louie: The Complete Second Season Disc 2 11/15 Blu-ray (Rental)

Product Description From the uproariously unrestrained mind of comedian Louis C.K. comes the year’s most outrageously original comedy! As a newly-divorced, well-meaning father raising two young daughters, Louie struggles to cope with his strenuous mid-life shake-up, and his stand-up comedy provides a gleefully warped reflection of his hectic, everyday reality. There are disastrous first dates, indecent proposals, high school bullies, booze-addled play dates—and more. Featuring stellar guest stars such as Matthew Broderick and Ricky Gervais, Louie is unfiltered, off-kilter, and hilarious! Amazon.com The brilliance of Louis C.K.'s semiautobiographical sitcom came into focus in just the second episode, in which a caustic poker game among comedians turned into a trenchant discussion of homophobia in comedy, with Louie himself uncomfortably on the hook for things he's said. Every episode of Louie has moments like this, when what's funny peels away to reveal surprising insights into human behavior. Louis C.K.'s humor cuts through social illusions in the tradition of George Carlin and Lenny Bruce, but with a unique sense of ruefulness; Louis C.K. doesn't seem angry so much as perplexed and frustrated. He tries to get motivated but sags into an orgy of ice cream and marijuana. On a date, he faces a teenage bully and ends up humiliated--and then he follows the boy home, where he ends up sitting with the boy's father, commiserating about parenting. Even scenarios that could be fodder for conventional gags, like going to the dentist, end up in strange places; under the influence of the dentist's gas, Louie hallucinates talking to Osama bin Laden and convinces him not to be a terrorist. Much of the comedy revolves around Louie's status as a divorced dad with two daughters. Arranging play dates, buying a dog, and trying to give the girls moral lessons are all opportunities for chaos, embarrassment, and examinations of the subtle but potent social forces that shape our lives. It's a little ridiculous to argue that comedy or television can be important, and Louis C.K. would probably scoff at the idea--but truly, Louie feels kind of important. And at the same time, it's really, really funny. --Bret Fetzer