''Sorry'' is a 2021 stand-up comedy concert film by

Louis C.K. Louis Alfred Székely (; born September 12, 1967), known professionally as Louis C.K. (), is an American stand-up comedian, screenwriter, actor, and filmmaker. C.K. won three Peabody Awards, three Grammy Awards, six Primetime Emmy Awards, and a ...

The special was released December 18, 2021, and was released on C.K.'s website.

Production

The show was shot in August 2021 at the Hulu Theater at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

Release

The special was self-released by C.K. via his website, available for digital download or streaming for US$10. C.K. ran an advertisement for the special during a December broadcast for

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

. C.K. has previously hosted SNL four times.

Music

The special opens and closes with '' Like a Rolling Stone'' by

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

Reception

Critical reception

Lili Loufbourow of ''

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

'' reviewed that ''Sorry'' "isn't bad" and is averaging among C.K.'s works, but lacks ambition. Loufbourow said that C.K. is "repeating a lot of themes you'll recognize from other specials" and that the way his "flirtations with the offensive and the taboo work" are less successful in light of his sexual misconduct. Reviewing a live performance of the show at the Hulu Theatre in August, ''

The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...

''s Katie Tamola lambasted it as an "insultingly unapologetic hour of material from a man who thinks that if he fits enough passive self-deprecation into his comedy, he can get away with pretty much anything". Tamola criticized jokes C.K. made about receiving sexual interest from younger women, and men being afraid of being accused of raping children. Tamola found the use of the slur ''

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'' "uncomfortable". Matthew Mahler of '' MovieWeb'' reviewed the special saying "His last specials have been accused of pandering to the alt-right, what with his criticism of the victims of the

Parkland shooting On February 14, 2018, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire on students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in the Miami suburban town of Parkland, Florida, murdering 17 people and injuring 17 others. Cruz, a former student at th ...

, his rants against

gender pronouns Personal pronouns are pronouns that are associated primarily with a particular grammatical person – first person (as ''I''), second person (as ''you''), or third person (as ''he'', ''she'', ''it'', ''they''). Personal pronouns may also take dif ...

, and his bitterness toward the ' woke generation.' However, ''Sorry'' does something slightly different and actually thought-provoking rather than intentionally shocking, and has some truly hilarious moments."

Analysis

According to some observers, the title ironically refers to allegations of sexual misconduct by C.K. that were made public in 2017. Academics in '' The Conversation'' wrote that C.K.'s statement in response to the incident lacked the word "sorry", so the special's title allowed "renewed criticism for a seemingly flippant treatment of the harm that he caused".

References

External links

* {{Louis C.K. 2021 films 2021 comedy films American comedy films Films shot in New York City 2020s American films