Louis C.K. is arguably the world’s leading comedic mind. His Standup seems to get better and better with each performance, and even at 49, he’s yet to peak. He’ll release a special that seems like the funniest thing ever that can’t possibly be topped, but lo and behold, he’s back a year or two later to top it. That pattern continues with his latest, the first of two original specials he’s bringing to Netflix, simply entitled “2017.”
The special opens quite beautifully. Whereas a lot of standup specials drag out an overlong opening, like Eddie Murphy’s “Raw,” which features a taped sketch and audience interviews, or Kevin Hart’s “What Now?” which has an entire subplot where he’s a James Bond-style spy, “2017” opens right before the show.
C.K. is waiting to go on, mentally preparing (which we can see coming through and it’s mesmerising), and when he’s ready, he tells the lighting guys to turn the lights on. He smiles as he hears his fans go wild as they realise he’s about to go on, and it’s a touchingly genuine moment, before he walks onstage and gets right on with the jokes.
The material is classic C.K. stuff
While C.K. departs from his usual casual attire of a black t-shirt with jeans and opts instead for a suit, his comedic genius hasn’t changed. It’s still his same style and sensibility, evidenced by the nonchalant way he opens with his opinions about abortion and how the views on either side of the fence are either than having an abortion is “killing a baby” or “like taking a sh*t.” After that, you pretty much know C.K.
is back.
One of the strengths of “2017” is that it isn’t bogged down in politics. Its title may suggest a study of current events, but that’s not C.K.’s style. With Trevor Noah, Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers et al offering their satirical take on President Donald Trump on a daily basis and Alec Baldwin coming back time and time again to play him on “SNL,” all while the actual President himself is getting most of the laughs, there’s very little room for a fresh take.
If anything, it’s refreshing that C.K. has performed an hour of standup this year and didn’t mention him once. And this is even despite the show having been performed in Washington, D.C.
Throughout the entire set, there isn’t a single bit that isn’t going anywhere or doesn’t work or pay off in some way. C.K. is able to spin any bit or story into comedy gold, just in the way he says it.
There’s a bit about a vet giving his insane dog Prozac, one about how the weakness of Achilles’ heel could’ve been easily avoided, one about using a urinal trough when you’re a young boy at eye level with grown men’s penises, one about a special feeling he gets from watching “Magic Mike.” It’s all hysterical and unforgettable; you’ll be laughing for days.
C.K.’s comedy mixes the intimate with the satirical
C.K. tells stories from his childhood and his adolescence, and as usual, stories of being a single parent raising two kids. He also covers bigger topics, like transgenderism and Christianity’s chokehold on the culture of the world and ISIS terrorists and the plot holes in Greek mythology. And it’s the way he combines these two types of comedy (the deep and intimate and personal, and the big and bold and hot-button), just like he’s always done, that make him a truly unique, innovative, and brilliant comic performer.
“Louis C.K.: 2017” is available to view on Netflix now. Watch it. You’ll be in tears laughing.
