Louie is ostensibly a sitcom, but it doesn’t always go for laughs. There are some episodes that have none whatsoever (season one’s “God” is a great example of this). “So Did the Fat Lady” has some very funny parts, courtesy of guest star Sarah Baker, but it’s one of those Louie episodes that doesn’t go for laughs, and it is immediately one of the show’s best episodes ever.
Baker plays Vanessa, a cute, funny, waitress at the Comedy Cellar who by her own admission is overweight. She asks out Louie not once but twice, and is rejected both times. Only after she’s quit and offers Louie her playoff tickets to a hockey game does he ask her out for coffee. And they have a wonderful time! They meander around New York, making each other laugh and talking about Louie’s kids. She makes an offhand comment about how hard it is to date as a fat girl in her 30s, to which Louie immediately replies, “You’re not fat.” Her disappointment is palpable, and the monologue she segues into is one of the rawest, most honest deliveries of any I’ve seen on TV.
Look, I really like you. You’re truly a good guy, I think. So I’m sorry. I’m picking you. On behalf of all the fat girls, I’m making you represent all the guys. Why do you hate us so much? What is it about the basics of human happiness, you know? Feeling attractive, feeling loved, uh, having guys chase after us, that’s just not in the cards for us. Nope, not for us…How is that fair? And why am I supposed to just accept it?
It goes on (I’ve embedded the video below, because it needs to be seen). Give Sarah Baker approximately a billion Emmys. Give some to Louis as well for the writing. I’m sure there’s going to be a thinkpiece on Jezebel later this week about how Louis C.K. isn’t the right person to start this conversation, but fuck that, this is a conversation that needs to be started.
If you’re one of those people who makes women feel bad about themselves because they’re not some 90-pound American Apparel model, read this next part closely: Fuck you. And conversely, if you’re a woman who has ever been made to feel less than beautiful by a man – fuck him! He’s not a man, he’s a coward. That’s what body shaming is, it’s a cowardly act.
“So Did the Fat Lady” deserves recognition as one of the best episodes Louie ever has or ever will produce, even if it runs for ten more seasons.
Louie often structures its episodes like vignettes or short films, and “Elevator” was no exception. Much like “So Did the Fat Lady,” “Elevator” felt like a very confessional episode for Louis CK. It was, ultimately, a discussion about fundamental human decency.
The first half of the episode found Louie’s daughter Jane walking right off the subway before it departs, which leads him and Lilly on a mad dash to get back to the station to get her. Jane is nonplussed by the situation, but Louie explodes. “This isn’t a dream! Bad things happen! Little girls get taken and they never come back!” His delivery is less angry than hysterical, and one wonders if Louis was imagining his real-life daughters in this situation.
The second half involves Louie’s neighbor (Ellen Burstyn) getting stuck in an elevator. Louie keeps her company while the super calls the fire department; he goes to her apartment to get her medication; and he returns to her apartment to wake her niece, who is justifiably terrified of some strange man in her apartment, and she yells at Louie in some Eastern European dialect.
At the end of the day, Louie’s neighbor is rescued, and her contrite niece comes over to thank – and apologize to – Louie with pie. The message is simple: if you’re wrong, apologize. If someone needs help, help them.
“So Did the Fat Lady:” 5 Stars
“Elevator:” 5 Stars
Total Episode Score: 5 Stars
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