Louis C.K. Shameless DVD Review
The popular Stand Up Comic Pumps Out the Raunch
C.K.'s first hour-long HBO special hits DVD with plenty of laughs...but this isn't for your grandma.
• World Premiere: January 13, 2007
• Country of Production: USA
• Date of Release: June 26, 2007
• Distribution: HBO Home Video
• No. of Discs: 1
• Language: English
Louis C.K. is not everyone’s cup of tea. On his newly released DVD, Shameless, the comedian jokes about topics that range from raping Hitler, to a monument for a failed sex act, and hits almost every cultural taboo in between. No, Louis C.K. is not everyone’s cup of tea, but if you can stomach his brand of irreverent, and very blue humor, he just might be the most refreshing cup of tea you have had in a while.
C.K. began his stand up career in Boston in 1984 and has since appeared on numerous television shows including The Late Show with David Letterman and Late Night with Conan O’Brien, both of which he also wrote for. C.K. has had two half hour HBO comedy specials. Shameless is his first full hour HBO special.
Wearing a plain black shirt and brown pants, nobody would accuse 39-year-old C.K. of being classy, and his jokes certainly do not do anything to alter that impression. Part of what makes C.K. so endearing is his bumbling, everyman-style delivery. Few men could remain likable after joking about how they would like to kick their young daughter in the head (it really is much funnier than it sounds), but C.K. is one of them. In fact, with his balding crown, and protruding belly, C.K. resembles a real-life version of America’s favorite child abuser—Homer Simpson.
Bonus features on the disc are sparse but worthwhile. First, there is a preview of C.K.’s failed sitcom Lucky Louie, which premiered on HBO last summer and was canceled before the entire first season could air. Second, there is C.K.’s original half hour HBO special that first aired in 1996. This special finds C.K. sporting a suit, and spouting material that, while funny, is not of the tear-at-the-eyes, roll-on-the-floor caliber of the main feature. The early special shows how far C.K. has come; from a standard funny man who you could easily flip past on television, to an engaging and original talent—one of the industry’s premier entertainers.
Beyond being easy to relate to, the candor with which C.K. relays his jokes is a large part of what makes him great. Does the man really own an “Awesome Possum” shirt? Did he actually cut someone off in traffic last week? Nobody knows for sure, but the way he tells the tale, one would have a hard time doubting it. This believable delivery makes the often absurd, always filthy revelations of C.K. palatable. No, Louis C.K. is not everyone's cup of tea, but sometimes it feels good to be Shameless.
