Unsung Source Material #4

Some of the visual elements of Louie, Louis C.K.’s semi-autobiographical TV show (emphasis on the ‘semi’), are making direct references to his earlier work. For example, in the pilot episode, when Louie’s date hits its lowest point as he’s going in for a kiss, the woman he’s out with (Chelsea Peretti) makes a break for it by jumping on a conveniently placed helicopter and flying away.

This gag was a callback to one of C.K.’s bits from his unaired sketch show.

Also, in episode 311: “Late Show Part 2”, Jack Dall, a TV producer portrayed by none other than David Lynch, sends Louie to a gym so he’ll be in shape for an upcoming audition. When he arrives, he’s immediately put in the ring with a professional boxer and beaten mercilessly.

This was pretty much Louis C.K.’s actual training routine. If anything, the video below is even more surreal and humiliating because his trainer pummels him in a SpongeBob Squarepants costume, though he does fare much better than his fictionalized counterpart.

Finally, and most intriguingly, in episode 102: “Poker/Divorce”, Louie reunites with an old high school friend who had once unsuccessfully urged him to “whip it out” when they were alone in the woods. Later on, in episode 302: “Telling Jokes/Set Up”, Louie is once again asked to “whip it out” by a blind date (Melissa Leo), this time he complies and gets a blow job, but is ultimately brutally sexually assaulted by her after he refuses to reciprocate. However, the “whip it out” line first appeared in Lucky Louie, Louis C.K.’s curse laden three-camera sitcom from 2006. In episode 112: “Kim Moves Out”, Louie’s pal Rich (Jim Norton) facetiously tells Louie’s wife Kim (Pamela Adlon) to blow him, Kim calls his bluff by asking him to (say it with me) “whip it out” and Rich backs down like the worm he is. The crazy part is, every woman who says those magic words is at some point shown wearing a burgundy leather long coat.

“Kim Moves Out”

“Poker/Divorce”

“Telling Jokes/Set Up”

This one is so specific I think it’s safe to assume that something actually happened to C.K. involving someone equipped with a red coat, a brown ponytail, and an uncanny command of the phrase “whip it out”.