Louie: Elevator part 1

May 14, 2014 4:37 PM - Season 4, Episode 4

Louie helps a neighbor.

And his girls are growing up so fast!
The first part is continuing to play with the dreamy feel of this season until Louie shakes us awake, first gently and then violently.

posted by bleep (12 comments total)

bleep: “Louie shakes us awake, first gently and then violently.”

That was the one thing that really bugged me in this episode. I wound up fast forwarding through the waking scene because I just couldn't take the awkward. It just doesn't seem like an actual thing actual people would do. Surely not before spending a minute or two ringing the bell or banging on the door first, even if you do have the key.
posted by ob1quixote at 12:04 AM on May 15, 2014

Did anyone recognize that the woman on the couch was Eva from Stranger than Paradise?
posted by cazoo at 8:05 AM on May 15, 2014

So if the Elevator Storyline is going to be six episodes long, does Louie end up dating that woman from the couch? It would seem a normal TV trope would be Louie dating the younger woman but since he likes to throw everything on its ear maybe it'll be about Louie just being good friends with the older woman and they'll ignore the younger woman in future parts?
posted by mathowie at 9:53 AM on May 15, 2014

I thought it was hilarious that after all the hinting that the whole thing was a dream he literally shakes his daughter by the shoulders and screams that it's not a dream, it's real, people get hurt. Still though, I have dreams all the time where I positively declare that it's not a dream. I had a dream last week where I saw a plane crashing so I called 911 but I told the operator that I might just be dreaming, it might not be a real plane crash.

Anyway, when it comes to Louie getting with hot chicks, that's not the kind of thing he turns on its head that much. He really just likes pretty ladies, even if they can barely communicate.
posted by bleep at 10:47 AM on May 15, 2014

I like works where the author identifies a stand in for the audience. Or works where I can imagine that happened. I think here Jane was a stand in for us. Louis as the auteur, is trying to take us somewhere, and there are rules we have to follow for that to be successful. It ties in to the heckler thing too - the audience has to believe that's what's going on on stage is real. If the rules get broken, he has to back for us and it's stressful for him and boring for us.
posted by bleep at 10:52 AM on May 15, 2014

The older woman trapped in the elevator was Ellen Burstyn, and we barely saw her in this first part, so I have to think she'll be part of whatever storyline moves forward.

I loved the moment that Louie shared with his ex-wife outside of her apartment - that panic / fury / relief in silence. You don't see that often with divorced parents on TV, but it was nice.
posted by gladly at 11:30 AM on May 15, 2014

I loved the moment that Louie shared with his ex-wife outside of her apartment

I also love his casting choices. Has Louie CK ever talked about that in interviews or posts? His ex-wife is black, the building super is somewhat disabled, his brother in the bang-bang sequence in the previous show looked like a big Samoan dude. It's all make believe storytelling on television so it doesn't have to make sense, but I love that Louie is hiring non-mainstream actors into these roles and not making a big deal about it.
posted by mathowie at 11:39 AM on May 15, 2014 [1 favorite]

I was wondering if he cast that actress because he wanted to separate the character from his actual ex, or if he just thought the actress is fantastic and wanted to cast her,or some combination or some other reason.
posted by bleep at 11:50 AM on May 15, 2014

I've always thought it was just a joke - the mom's black, Louie's white, but the kids are completely white.
posted by Buckt at 8:30 PM on May 15, 2014

I read an interview where he said he cast the ex-wife specifically because it would be hilarious and weird for the audience, since the kids are so, so white.
posted by Etrigan at 4:11 AM on May 17, 2014

his brother in the bang-bang sequence in the previous show looked like a big Samoan dude.

Robert Donlon Kelly is pure Boston Irish (but he's appeared as three different Latinos in the Law & Order franchise, so you're not the only one who thinks he's differently ethnic).
posted by Etrigan at 5:29 AM on May 17, 2014

I've seen the first three episodes of the Elevator arc.

What is going on? How can a TV show be this good? This 6-episode arc is essentially a little Woody Allen movie, and it's outstanding!
posted by painquale at 5:44 PM on May 20, 2014 [1 favorite]