I am not a fan of Louie. I think the show is rather slow, bloated, lifeless, charmless, and utterly pretentious. It doesn't have a consistent pace of any sort, and doesn't really maintain my interest. I think part of its exposure is that Louie does so much of the work in the show, straight to the editing. I don't think any of it is well-deserved. Hilarious by Louie C.K. however, is stand-up art. His routine, which doesn't translate as well on television, works perfectly here as he engages with the audience, shocks the audience, and leaves them consistently laughing throughout the entire movie.
There isn't much of a rhythm and flow to Louie C.K.'s comedy unlike that of Gabriel Iglesias and even Kevin Hart. His topics jump from one end of the spectrum to the next, and that is what makes his comedy appealing—the unpredictability of it all. There will be physical humor in the form of an elongated sequence in which he---well, you'll see; and then there will be excellent real-world observations like America's inability to accept that the evolving technology is nothing short of amazing. He observes the real world, talks about his family, and discusses his private life as well. But within these typical stand-up topics you'll get plenty of angry raunchy humor that is inches away from just being purely anarchic.
Louis C.K. is a new-age George Carlin, one that uses exaggeratory words, phrases, and statements to make his point—and will not be afraid of an abundance of strong words to help deliver the message. The beauty of Hilarious is that you can step in at any given point in the movie and never truly feel lost. His stage is very simple, the camera work is very simple, and it's just Louis C.K. running the show and absorbing all the attention. Even his wardrobe is extremely simple: t-shirt and jeans. It adds to his comedy—he looks like a simple middle-aged man that can spark interesting topics while throw in some toilet humor just in case you get bored.
Louis C.K.'s best comedy mainly and solely comes from his stand-up as opposed to his extracurricular activities----just like Kevin Hart. And Hilarious is easily one of his best works, and never veers you away from the stage. It is pessimistic, crude, rude, exaggerated, and quietly out-of-control. And it works in every possible level. The ultimate joke is that Louis C.K. is a very intelligent man, but he will never pass off as that with his persona, his choice of words, and uncaring attitude. While his show is nowhere near to be decent, you can't argue against his stage presence in the least bit—he is among the best in the business.
