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.

John Malkovich delivers on this sublime dialogue. Pamela Adlon and Edie Falco are also great.

Great script, great cast, great film. I really enjoyed this dialogue driven film, proving a great script in a low budget films beats out a dumb blockbuster evry time. I also love black and white films and this looks great.

The timing of this movie could not have been more uncomfortable awkward or career destroyingly, and willfully on point. I'm guessing it may well not be the latter, which makes it even worse. The whole thing makes your head spin with contradictions which are mostlikely not. Why would anyone in their right mind choose to make a movie on this topic, at this time, with his history? Why? Why? C.K has in the past been an insightful and honest comedian, on the cutting edge of social issues and pushing comedy boundaries, so why did he get it so wrong this time? Did he do it on purpose to make a point? Is this all intentional? Are allegations against him fabricated to promote a point (there's a big component of masturbation in front of people in the movie) and cause controversy? Is he taking parody of the messed up way Hollywood acts to an extreme to make a point. Would he do that? Are we witnessing dangerous cinema? Is this some Kaufman level elaborate plan? I guess the real cruncher here is that the movie fails purely on movie terms, it's a surprisingly badly made movie with mostly unfunny script, weirdly bad performances, C.K walking in a performance as himself, the stylistic choices of black and white photography and cheesy 40s orchestral score fall flat and worse seem contrived and pointless. This massive failure has got to be costing someone a lot of money. I is so confusing, conflicting, and uncomfortable, (if it is a clever movie what exactly is its point, what was C.K trying to say with it, since his past efforts have all tried to say something) or worse it is exactly what it looks like, a blind, self-unaware, stupid, oblivious piece of bad cinema that wastes a lot of resources and talent on the most awkwardly badly timed piece of cinema since Jerry Lewis made 'The Day the Clown Cried' and didn't release it. Based purely on the bad watch this movie is (removed from the controversy and bad timing if you could possibly do that) this film should have followed Lewis's path and stayed in a dusty cupboard.