“Canceled” comedian Louis C.K. surprised his fans last Saturday by releasing a new comedy special titled “Sincerely” (which can be streamed for $8 on his website). Performed, written, edited and directed by C.K, whose career got derailed in 2017 after it was revealed that he was a chronic public serial masturbator, “Sincerely” is his first filmed special in over three years.
Unscathed by the social media hounds who want him to shut up and go back to his censored dark corner, as outlets such as The Daily Beast and Vanity Fair are already openly condemning “Sincerely,” with the Stasi-like mindset they are known to have, this latest standup special proves that the 52-year-old comedian hasn’t lost a beat. This is, obviously, not a special for those who believe that the comedian should be put in a corner, gagged, and never to pop back out in the spotlight. But for everyone else, including myself, it’s a good reminder that, before he was thrown to the dogs, C.K. was known as one of the all-time greats in comedy.
With all that being said, “Sincerely” and Louis CK’s semi-rise back to the spotlight may not have been possible without Dave Chappelle’s trailblazing 2019 special “Sticks and Stone,” a landmark moment in standup which broke the rules of convention and made it again possible for comedians to be politically incorrect and have that comedy accepted by the mainstream masses in the country.
Greeted by an overwhelming standing ovation at the sold-out Washington theater, the next 90 minutes of material from C.K. is a whirlwind of uncensored comedy. Nothing is sacred. He even starts off with his set by saying “wait until you see the pictures of me in blackface.” Point taken. It turns out that the man is still very, very funny. It helps that, despite the shocking nature of some of the material, the audience never boos over inappropriate jokes, you’d think we’re back in pre-#MeToo/Trump 2014.
From atheism to pedophilia to Auschwitz jokes, nothing is off the table here. The political climate may have changed for comedians, but C.K. never got the memo. His riff on the word “retard” is a case of what happens when comedians, unafraid by the hounds, cross the line and, in consequence, create a climate of laughter.
All throughout the special, C.K never begs for our forgiveness. He shouldn’t. He proclaims that, at some point, during the most contentious and anxious moments of the controversy surrounding him, he “traveled to France because, I figured, I should leave the country” and that he resorted to having “had to go to Poland to do shows,” which leads to the shocking but hilarious confession that he’d rather be in “Auschwitz than in New York City.”
He does briefly mention the actions that led to his cancellation. The lesson he learned from that debacle? “If you ask someone if you can masturbate in front of them, even if they say yes, you should then ask ‘are you sure?’ Brilliant. His reasoning as to why he even did the public masturbation is even more blazingly unhinged: “I like jerking off and I don’t like doing it alone.”
Some of the material is very sharp and focused, while other bits feel like attempts to shock for the sake of shocking. I didn’t need a 5 minute bit on bestiality nor did I really care for his take on religion. But that’s peanuts compared to the overall success of “Sincerely” as stand-up that defies the rules of the norm.
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