• Home
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Lists
    • Yearly Top Tens
    • Trailers
Menu

World of Reel

Street Address
City, State, Zip
Phone Number
Home
Screenshot 2025-07-10 161520.png
Directors Who Haven’t Released a Film in Over a Decade
Screenshot 2025-07-10 142841.png
The 10 Best Superhero Movies of the 21st Century
Screenshot 2025-07-10 141805.png
Michel Franco Has Already Shot His Next Film, Which He’s Currently Editing
IMG_6789.jpg
Ben Whishaw Joins Alex Garland’s ‘Elden Ring’ — A24’s Most Expensive Movie Ever?
Screenshot 2025-07-10 104202.png
Peter Jackson Says He's Working on Three Scripts: “No, I'm Not Retired"
Featured
Capture.PNG
Aug 19, 2019
3-Hour ‘Midsommar' Director's Cut Screened in NYC
Aug 19, 2019

This year’s 12th edition of the Scary Movies festival at Film at Lincoln Center premiered Ari Aster’s extended version of “Midsommar” this past Saturday.

Aug 19, 2019

World of Reel

  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Lists
  • More
    • Yearly Top Tens
    • Trailers

‘Sincerely': Louis C.K's New Standup Special is a Politically Incorrect Hoot

April 8, 2020 Jordan Ruimy

“Canceled” comedian Louis C.K. surprised his fans last Saturday by releasing a new comedy special titled “Sincerely” (which can be streamed for $8 on his website). Performed, written, edited and directed by C.K, whose career got derailed in 2017 after it was revealed that he was a chronic public serial masturbator, “Sincerely” is his first filmed special in over three years. 

Unscathed by the social media hounds who want him to shut up and go back to his censored dark corner, as outlets such as The Daily Beast and Vanity Fair are already openly condemning “Sincerely,” with the Stasi-like mindset they are known to have, this latest standup special proves that the 52-year-old comedian hasn’t lost a beat. This is, obviously, not a special for those who believe that the comedian should be put in a corner, gagged, and never to pop back out in the spotlight. But for everyone else, including myself, it’s a good reminder that, before he was thrown to the dogs, C.K. was known as one of the all-time greats in comedy.

With all that being said, “Sincerely” and Louis CK’s semi-rise back to the spotlight may not have been possible without Dave Chappelle’s trailblazing 2019 special “Sticks and Stone,” a landmark moment in standup which broke the rules of convention and made it again possible for comedians to be politically incorrect and have that comedy accepted by the mainstream masses in the country.

Greeted by an overwhelming standing ovation at the sold-out Washington theater, the next 90 minutes of material from C.K. is a whirlwind of uncensored comedy. Nothing is sacred. He even starts off with his set by saying “wait until you see the pictures of me in blackface.” Point taken. It turns out that the man is still very, very funny. It helps that, despite the shocking nature of some of the material, the audience never boos over inappropriate jokes, you’d think we’re back in pre-#MeToo/Trump 2014.

From atheism to pedophilia to Auschwitz jokes, nothing is off the table here. The political climate may have changed for comedians, but C.K. never got the memo. His riff on the word “retard” is a case of what happens when comedians, unafraid by the hounds, cross the line and, in consequence, create a climate of laughter.

All throughout the special, C.K never begs for our forgiveness. He shouldn’t. He proclaims that, at some point, during the most contentious and anxious moments of the controversy surrounding him, he “traveled to France because, I figured, I should leave the country” and that he resorted to having “had to go to Poland to do shows,” which leads to the shocking but hilarious confession that he’d rather be in “Auschwitz than in New York City.”

He does briefly mention the actions that led to his cancellation. The lesson he learned from that debacle? “If you ask someone if you can masturbate in front of them, even if they say yes, you should then ask ‘are you sure?’ Brilliant. His reasoning as to why he even did the public masturbation is even more blazingly unhinged: “I like jerking off and I don’t like doing it alone.”

Some of the material is very sharp and focused, while other bits feel like attempts to shock for the sake of shocking. I didn’t need a 5 minute bit on bestiality nor did I really care for his take on religion. But that’s peanuts compared to the overall success of “Sincerely” as stand-up that defies the rules of the norm.

Tags Louis C.K., Sincerely, review
← ‘Roma' in Color?‘Tiger King' Has Been Seen By More Than 40 Million U.S. Viewers, 1/8 of the Entire Country →

FOLLOW US!


Trending

Featured
Screenshot 2025-06-27 103702.png
‘Parasite' Tops NYT’s 100 Best Films of the 21st Century Poll [Updated]
Screenshot 2025-06-27 133955.png
James Cameron Calls ‘Oppenheimer’ a “Moral Cop-Out” for Not Showing Japanese Bombing Aftermath
Screenshot 2025-06-27 130059.png
‘Jane': Alfonso Cuarón's Philip K. Dick Biopic is Still Happening
Screenshot 2025-06-27 092658.png
Denis Villeneuve Will Only Direct One Bond Film, Without Final Cut
IMG_6364.jpg
Warner Bros. High on Michael Mann’s ‘Heat 2’ Script, Casting Officially Underway

Critics Polls

Featured
Capture.PNG
Critics Poll: ‘Vertigo’ Named Best Film of the 1950s, Over 120 Participants
B16BAC21-5652-44F6-9E83-A1A5C5DF61D7.jpeg
Critics Poll: Kubrick’s ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ Tops Our 1960s Critics Poll
Capture.PNG
Critics Poll: ‘The Godfather’ Named Best Movie of the 1970s
public.jpeg
Critics Poll: ‘Do the Right Thing' Named Best Movie of the 1980s
Critics Poll: ‘Mulholland Drive' Named Best Film of the 2000s
g4.jpg
Critics' Poll: ‘Goodfellas' Named Best Movie of the 1990s
Critics Poll: ‘Mad Max: Fury Road' Named Best Movie of the 2010s
World of Reel tagline.PNG
 

Content

Contribute

Hire me

 

Support

Advertise

Donate

 

About

Team

Contact

Privacy Policy

Site designed by Jordan Ruimy © 2023