Louis C.K. has shown affinity for cop stories before: From this season’s “Louie” episode about Lenny, a cop acquaintance who loses his gun during a night on the town, to his guest spot on “Parks and Recreation” as Leslie’s policeman boyfriend Dave.
Now C.K. is extending that interest to the big screen, according to The Hollywood Reporter, with plans to write, direct and star in a new movie called “I’m a Cop,” backed by producing heavyweight Scott Rudin. The film reportedly centers on a depressed, middle-aged volunteer police offer who joins the force after his mother, herself a successful police officer, passes away. "I'm a Cop" will mark Louis’ first major film attempt since 2001, when he wrote and directed the unsuccessful Chris Rock comedy “Pootie Tang.”
This sounds like a very C.K. project -- from having a depressed, middle-age man at its center to dealing with a fraught cultural issue like the role of law enforcement. C.K. has often grappled with complex topics and themes on “Louie,” and we're hoping that his cinematic take will offer a more nuanced look at life on the force than, say, “Let’s Be Cops” — although his recent cop-themed "Louie" episode did give us some pause. As our own Scott Eric Kaufman wrote of the episode, "Louie"'s Lenny was a disappointingly stereotypical "bumbling cop" archetype, "[not] just a misogynistic asshole, [but] a cop who’s so cavalier with his weapon that he can lose it for hours and not even notice."
Still, we're excited to see what "Louie" can do outside the confines of TV. In a recent THR essay, he spoke about his regrets over "Pootie Tang" and his desire to return to the big screen, saying: "I would like to try making a movie. I'll probably do one next year. I don't feel like I need anyone to tell me anything with a TV show because I know exactly what I'm doing, but I'd be arrogant to think that I can take someone's $8 million and just turn in a movie. Movies are different. There's a permanency to them."
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