I Love You, Daddy

CKs homage to Woody Allen is amusing but just not funny enough. It feels a lot like his TV show with it's slow burn, comedy of mannerisms and reactions but it lacks pace in a feature film. CK actually edited it, which sort of explains it.

It is a shame this film was not properly released. I mostly enjoyed it. Louis seemed to have a clear idea of what he wanted stylistically. The settings are elite parts of New York and one scene in Paris. It is all shot in black and white. The whole film seems like Louis C K is trying to make a Woody Allen film and it mostly works.

The cast is great and they all do a great job. Rose Byrne plays a charming love interest. Louis character gets bullied and harassed by pretty much every female character, but, the following three are the most domineering. His ex wife played by Helen Hunt is by far the most outright abusive. His business partner played by Edie Falco is always nagging him to do things. At times she is in the right, but, it doesn't make her any less annoying. His ex girlfriend is played by Pamela Adlon. This character is kind of obnoxious and not nearly as charming as she thinks she is. The actresses might all be nice people, but I found their characters very annoying. Louis' character is okay, at times I sympathised with him and at other times I wanted to shake some sense into him. He is okay at acting, but, his delivery is nowhere near as good as his stand up. I'm sure if he keeps working at it he will get better. Charlie Day really is a scene stealer. He has some of the best lines in the film and biggest laughs. I thought John Malkovich and Chloe Grace Mortez were the best. Their scenes together were my favourites. He has to be one of the most charming actors in the business and she is already one of the best actresses of her generation. They were able to take what could have been a very creepy dynamic and actually make it charming and believable.

My main issues are with the plot. There were a lot of times I wanted Louis' character to stand up for himself more. I also think the ending could have been better. The film was entertaining enough, but, it didn't really express any clear message.

For his first proper film, Louis did well. I don't know if he will ever be back after his scandal, but if he is given another chance, he has the potential to make some great films.

Louis trying to revive the spirit of "Golden Age" cinema with his filmmaking style gives the film a welcome uniqueness, but its appropriateness is kind of questionable. As it usually is with his work (Horace & Pete, Louie), the film gives him a platform to spew out his thoughts and views on the world and society in an entertaining manner. That being said the film lacks a clear message or point. At least it introduces some intriguing well rounded and balanced arguements, discussions on "current" societal issues (weirdly reflecting the reprehensible actions Louis made in his past). Overall, seperating the art from the person behind it, I Love You, Daddy is an original and wothwhile watch just based on its great screenplay and fantastic acting alone. I would recommend seeing it if you get the chance.

I hope this movie is looked back upon in a very unique way in film history. It was essentially blacklisted, justified or not, for it's creator abusing his privilege and gender, which is exactly what the film was about. It's clearly somewhat autobiographical, I think some part of him knew his career was over and wanted to get this film out just in time. He was two weeks late. The themes of obscured sexual morals, patriarchy, privilege, male dominance is the core of the film, toxic masculinity. It would have actually done a lot to add to the dialog at the time around the "me too" movement, as a man who was admitting to doing these things growing and coming to terms with it, instead of silencing him. I understand why it was buried but I think that was a mistake and adds to the idea that the current culture is not an open forum. There are many ways this film could be interpreted to make him look worse or better, but we are all adults, we should be able to see it. You can find it online if you know how. It's excellent, a bit sloppy here and there, (blocking errors/script supervision, Pamela Aldon being too similar to her role in Louis takes you out of it a bit) but it's a self funded independent debut feature shot on black and white film by a stand up comedian and a television crew in 2017 and it's beautiful and heartfelt and that's a amazing. It is actually an extremely important film and should be seen no matter how you feel about the social issues surrounding it. Also comparing it to woody Allen is lazy and not at all accurate, it's much closer to 40's/50's American drama romances, Douglas Sirk, Howard hawks, George cukor, Preston sturges. Kubrick's Lolita is obviously a HUGE influence. Chloe grace moretz is basically playing a version of sue Lyons' Lolita and looks and acts much like her. There are moments in the film that are clear homages to that film.

If you like CK's "Louis" tv show then you will also like this, as it actually works pretty much like an extended episode of that series (I mean even Pamela Adlon didn't bother to act slightly different). If you haven't seen the tv show the movie will probably play out as some sort of watered-down version of Woody Allen's Deconstructing Harry or similar. There are some weird shots and editing (probably due to the movie not being publicly released when it had to) which along with the grayscale tint makes for an interesting visual style.

As for the story itself, and without spoiling anything, CK uses the topic of bad parenting as the driver to preach about the issue of preconceived notions, wrong assumptions and poor judgments that we usually hold against people. Charlie Day character's over the top jokes and raunchy language (typical of CK) sort of embodies us, the audience, in that disparaging way of criticizing someone else's life.

Chloe Moretz wasn't really appropriate for her role but is competent enough. John Malkovich should certainly provide a few laughs with the brutal honesty of his character, delivered in the most exquisite passive-aggressive style.

Overall a fun film to watch if you like the aforementioned type of comedy.