| 75 |
Detroit Free Press Mike Duffy
"Lucky Louie" is a true original -- a pleasantly twisted variation on "The Honeymooners" or "Roseanne" for the 21st Century. |
| 70 |
The New York Times Virginia Heffernan
The comedy is nifty, light and kind, even as it tries to be real, slitting open the stand-up themes of marital sex, masturbation and dope smoking until it's dirty enough to convince you that you're not being condescended to, but smart enough not to be grim. That's a huge feat. |
| 70 |
Hollywood Reporter Barry Garron
There's no shortage of laughs. |
| 70 |
Chicago Tribune Allison Benedikt
Subversively hilarious. |
| 70 |
Salon Heather Havrilesky
If your family game nights tended to end with someone upturning the Monopoly board, then running to their room in tears, and your family trips hit their low point at a national monument in the middle of nowhere when someone abruptly got out of the car and refused to get back in, you're likely to find "Lucky Louie" fairly entertaining. |
| 63 |
New York Daily News David Hinckley
Deep it's not, but funny it often is. |
| 60 |
Los Angeles Times Paul Brownfield
It feels as if you've happened across a British sitcom or a rerun of "MADtv." |
| 60 |
Washington Post Tom Shales
"Lucky Louie" is not a runaway smash right out of the gate, but neither does it stumble or implode. |
| 58 |
Entertainment Weekly Dan Snierson
His underdog charm is often overshadowed by flat jokes and foul one-liners that are all shock and no guffaw. [23 Jun 2006, p.63] |
| 50 |
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Rob Owen
Often funny when it tackles taboo topics head on, the show walks a fine line between honesty and unnecessary crudeness, and it often goes a step too far. |
| 50 |
Variety Brian Lowry
Wildly uneven. |
| 40 |
TV Guide Matt Roush
Uneven. |
| 38 |
Chicago Sun-Times Doug Elfman
Like "Roseanne," it can mine poverty for working-class laughs. It isn't executing that well, yet. |
| 38 |
People Weekly Tom Gliatto
It's like a David Mamet parody of Roseanne. [19 Jun 2006, p.37] |
| 30 |
San Jose Mercury News Charlie McCollum
It doesn't work, largely because there's not enough wit from creator and star Louis C.K. to make the vulgarity anything more than an exercise in blue. |
| 30 |
Newsday Diane Werts
There's certainly comedy to be found in these basic situations, but not in "Lucky Louie's" confounding approach or stilted presentation. |
| 20 |
Boston Globe Matthew Gilbert
It's one of HBO's more fascinating series -- but not because it's good, or funny. |
| 10 |
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Melanie McFarland
This is comedian Louis C.K.'s attempt to lampoon the classic half-hour sitcom, if by lampoon you mean drown it in toxic failure. |
| 0 |
USA Today Robert Bianco
A show so vile, it makes you think the company's arrogant It's Not TV -- It's HBO slogan isn't a brag -- it's a threat. |
