TV in Review: Louie, “Daddy’s Girlfriend: Part 2″
August 1, 2012 3 Comments
Two weeks ago on Louie we were treated to appearances of Maria Bamford (yay!) and Parker Posey (yay!). Last week on Louie we were only treated to Parker Posey, which was as expected, and I was determined to think of it as a glass half full.
LIZ: Can we walk? Let’s just walk!
When Posey’s character Liz is refused her order of two Jaegermeisters because of “last time,” I was glad. Louie is not Everybody Loves Raymond or According to Jim, where the wives and girlfriends are usually without their own serious problems and screwed-up qualities. Although to be fair, I never got around to actually watching According to Jim. Do let me know if I’m misjudging a show by its promos!
That said, I didn’t connect to Liz vomiting her life story. I understand the manic thing and have met a bunch of people with that sort of approach to life — San Francisco is brimming with them — but for some reason it didn’t seem framed as well as last week, where we immediately understand Louie’s insecurity about wanting a girlfriend because of his perception of his daughters’ expectations. I’m all for Louie trying on a dress, but am I being too much of a dramatic purist to ask for more motivation? It seemed forced…
…as did the talk about her being named “Tape Recorder.”
The food montage was a little reminiscent of Louie’s “date” with Ramon from the “Miami” episode, while the interaction with the homeless guy seemed a bit too sitcom-y in its staged affect. I did like what Liz said to Louie as she sat on the edge of a rooftop.
LIZ: That’s why you’re afraid to come over here. Because a tiny part of you wants to jump. Because it would be so easy.
A positive spin on this would be that we have a formidable figure taking on Louie’s naivete and pushing it to see how far it will bend. And of course the up side to dealing with the crazy is that the sex is usually crazy as well.
It wasn’t a bad episode per se, just a slight let down after the previous week.
On a different note, with new editor Susan Morse on board, are we seeing yet more Woody Allen-esque touches in the cinematography? There’s another lovers’ montage, and the black-and-white shots of Liz at the end remind me of Charlotte Rampling’s character Dorrie in Stardust Memories.
Mm, Stardust Memories. Perhaps my favorite of Allen’s flicks, but that’s for a different review…
FX first broadcast Season 3, Episode 5 of Louie on July 26, 2012.
SEE ALSO
Polentical: TV in Review: Louie, “Daddy’s Girlfriend: Part 1″ (Season 3, Episode 4)
About Matthew
Felt like a Woody Allen movie on acid! The scene with the dress was a tad forced, but from the food montage on this episode was uncomfortably beautiful. My only complaint? I kind of thought/wanted Liz to jump at the end (although that might have taken things to too dark a place!).
You know, I really like the idea of Liz jumping at the end! They could have done it as an abrupt fantasy sequence, sort of like the date who escaped on the helicopter way back in season one.
I totally forgot about the helicopter date! Good call!