‘Louie’ Review: “Miami”

‘Louie,’ Louie, Louie, Louie.  ‘Louie’ season 3 sets up its third episode of the year, as Louie travels to Miami for work and in the process makes a new friend, leading him to question society's controversial stance on male bonding in the modern age.

Last week’s ‘Louie’ episode “Telling Jokes / Set Up” saw Louie (surprise!) telling jokes over dinner with his daughters, and later finding himself set up by some friends to have dinner with a woman (Oscar-winner Melissa Leo), with controversial results. So how does “Miami” get things moving?  What more will season 3 of ‘Louie’ bring?

Read on for your in-depth recap of everything you need to know about ‘Louie’ season 3 episode 3, “Miami!”

Asleep on a plane, the arrival to Miami awakens our hero Louie, who taxis through the sights of the city to arrive at his hotel, oddly greeted by shirtless models adorning the lobby.  Following a quick nap, Louie performs his set, and hits the beach the following day.  Still, with so many beautiful people around, the poor, schlubby comedian resolves not to remove his shirt, and instead returns to the hotel to eat and sleep it off.

Later, he returns to the beach (when the other, less attractive beach-goers have returned as well), and folds his personal items into a towel before heading in for a dip.  When Louie notices a nearby beach attendant accidentally swooping his belongings in with the clean-up, Louie waves incessantly and tries to signal him from the water.  Instead, he catches the attention of a local lifeguard, who swims out and drags him to shore, in spite of Louie’s protests.

The lifeguard introduces himself as Ramon, and courteously follows along with what he presumes to be Louie denying his drowning.  Intrigued by his job, Ramon checks out Louie’s set at the hotel, and congratulates him afterward on how funny he was.  The two share a drink, as Louie embarrasses himself by assuming that because Ramon came from Cuba as a child, he came on a raft, though the lifeguard quickly forgives him.  In fact, they have something in common, as Louie was born and raised in Mexico for his first seven years!  (Okay, what?  Come on.)

The next morning, following an awkward conversation of Louie’s with a rude girl who ate one of his strawberries without properly asking, Ramon appears to invite the comedian to a party, promising to show him sides of Miami he’s never seen.  The pair bike around the city, taking in the food, the culture and the sights, before heading to the party.  Louie has a wonderful time, exchanging nice words with Ramon’s uncle that “all men are brothers,” before awkwardly trying to flirt with some younger girls.

Just then, as he and Ramon ponder the lonelier people of Miami who waste time on their high-rise balconies, when Louie realizes he still has a show to get to!  Enlisting the help of his friends, Ramon and Louie race back to the hotel, getting Louie there in perfect time for his show.  Being his last night in Miami, Louie thanks Ramon for the time they’ve spent together, and the two part ways.

Or do they?  Louie calls his ex-wife Janet, asking her to keep the kids a few more days as he’s decided to stay in Miami a bit longer, to which she naturally assumes that he’s met someone and wishes to spend more time with them.  Well… she’s not wrong, as the next day Louie visits Ramon at the lifeguard’s chair to let him know he’ll be sticking around, to which things seem noticeably more awkward.  The pair go for a swim and toss the football, before Ramon returns to work.

Later that night, Louie meets with Ramon in the hotel lounge for a drink, but Ramon awkwardly has to question exactly why Louie opted to stay a few days longer.  Neither of the two flatly express their homophobic discomfort with the situation, but Louie does his best to extoll  that it isn’t out of anything over the line, while Ramon insists that people should be who they are no matter what.  Regardless, the two are happy to have met one another, and wouldn’t take anything back.  As his uncle said, all men are brothers.

Back in New York, Louie jokes to the audience at the Comedy Cellar that straight men are the only group preoccupied with being mistaken for any other group, and as such find themselves unable to express certain sentiments.  For instance, no straight man could get away with using the word “wonderful” to describe anything.  The sad lives of straight men.

As the credits roll, we see the real Louis C.K. and his crew attempt to film the initial drowning scene, overcoming the tide as the crew difficultly navigates keeping its equipment through and above water.

Traveling episodes of 'Louie' always bring something unique to the table, and it's an interesting question to explore the way modern men make new friends, even in a homo-erotic pretense.  It's not the darkest, or even funniest episode of 'Louie' to date, but it's certainly still entertaining and thought-provoking, as it should be.

Did you get your fill of awkward ‘Louie’ laughs?  What did you think about the episode? Let us know in the comments and check back next week for another all-new ‘Louie’ episode recap of ‘Daddy's Girlfriend, Part 1” on FX!