HALLOWEEN

Louie

Season 2 (2011)

Okay, bear with me on this because I know I am super late to this party.  But Louie is a really excellent show.  It’s one of those critical darlings that has long been on my radar but that I ignored; I really only knew Louis C.K. from his recurring role as a sweet but eccentric cop on Parks & Recreation.  Then this week I noticed that the show had been added to Netflix and I watched an episode, not for its own sake but because I had heard that one of my favorite comedians, Maria Bamford, guest starred. 

In a word: wow.  Hilarious, moving, real—this show is deserving of the praise. Each episode is like a brilliant little film with a gorgeous, jazzy score; Louis C.K. is superb (both as an actor, writer and director) and the guest stars are incredible.  I’ve only watched five episodes and so far Parker Posey, Joan Rivers, Maria Bamford and Chloe Sevigny all turned up and turned in amazing (and very funny) performances.

So how excited was I to discover there was a Halloween episode?!  And luckily it matched the high quality of the other episodes I’d watched.   Like much of the show this episode is split into two segments, so “Halloween” only makes up about 15 minutes.  But it does a little with a lot.

It's Halloween time in the city

Louie is taking his two daughters (one of whom is in blackface as Frederick Douglas, because, as Louie sheepishly explains, “she read a book on Frederick Douglas”) trick-or-treating in New York City.  This alone fascinates me, for as I earlier discovered via my friend Mercedes, who grew up in the city, New York kids generally trick-or-treat at stores instead of houses or in apartment buildings. Sure enough we see Louie and the girls going to nail salons and shops for their candy.  I don’t know why I find this so intriguing, other than it’s so different from the neighborhood trick-or-treating that I grew up with. 

Louie starts to get nervous as it gets dark and tries to hustle home.  This struck me as odd but Mercedes confirmed that this too is realistic, as most trick-or-treat while it’s still light out to avoid the assholes that the darkness brings.  She even said that she was egged one year after staying out after dark!  Where as in the burbs we waited impatiently for the sun to go down so we could get started.  New York is a wacky, upside-down land, as this episode goes on to prove.

Similar to poor Mercedes and her egg-wielding assailants, Louie and his daughters are soon stalked by two extremely creepy guys in costumes.  Despite Louie’s efforts to keep up a brave front and assure his daughters that they are just being messed with, the guys get creepier and more aggressive and my heart started to race watching this. 

You sir are everything that is wrong with society!

I knew they wouldn’t get slaughtered or anything but they do a fine job of ratcheting up the suspense.  Finally Louie’s young daughter has an outburst, yelling at the creeps for ruining Halloween and giving Louie enough time to collect his wits and break a nearby store window, setting off an alarm and scaring the guys off.  The episode ends with him and his daughters waiting for the police to arrive while he nervously smokes a cigarette that one of the guys dropped.

It’s simple enough but brilliantly executed and performed.  When the little girl stands up for herself, her family, and the true spirit of Halloween itself I wanted to cheer out loud.  I also generally avoid being out in the city on Halloween night, especially on the subway.  I've experienced enough St. Patrick's Days and parade days in New York to know that you just can’t trust people not to use the holidays as an excuse to be horrible.  That’s what this episode of Louie captures so well, how something sweet and innocent can so quickly and easily be ruined by total strangers.

Sorry about the egging, Mercedes.  But trick-or-treating in nail salons?

That’s just weird.

I really hope there is a Little Girl Frederick Douglas Twitter account 

Halloween Quotient: 4

See It, Skip It, Own It?

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