Hilarious

Album Review

On the appropriately titled Hilarious, standup comedian Louis C.K. writes off much his bitterness as a side effect of growing old, but growing wiser seems to have much more to do with it. His disgust with the class of 2010 and their lack of a connection to the real world — if it doesn’t plug into a USB port to charge, it’s worthless — makes for the comedian’s richest set to date, and when he covers his recent divorce and the absurdity of reentering the dating world at 41, he elevates his material to a Pryor or Carlin level. Through it all he maintains his regular-guy status and all the accessibility that has made him the people’s comedian, but if any of that sounds like he’s given up the gross, check the climatic “My 3-Year-Old Is a 3-Year-Old” for a scatological tale of parenting that causes some in the audience to shriek with horror while most others erupt with laughter. These crude moments wouldn’t be so impactful if everything else wasn’t so smart and honest, and as Louis C.K. goes further down both ends of that spectrum, the results keep getting better and better.