He’s back. After nearly six years away from the director’s chair and in the wake of a sexual misconduct scandal that derailed his critically-lauded efforts as a filmmaker, Louis C.K. is attempting to revive his former movie career.
C.K. has released a trailer for his movie Fourth of July, his first since he admitted to sexual misconduct towards a series of women over the course of his career as a stand-up, series creator, and director. In 2017, when C.K. publicly owned up to the allegations that had swirled around him for years, his first feature film directorial effort, I Love You, Daddy was poised to debut at that year’s Toronto International Film Festival.
The film featured a young protagonist played by Chloë Grace Moretz who is seduced by an older director played by C.K. himself — a narrative that would probably be a hard sell in the post-2017 world, even without the tinge of scandal. In the wake of the C.K.’s admission, film distributor The Orchid took a hard pass on the recently-acquired theatrical rights.
C.K. appears to be taking an acting role further in the background for Fourth of July, instead, playing a therapist to the film’s protagonist, played by fellow comedian Joe List, who co-wrote the film with C.K. List has featured as an opening act for C.K. in the past. The film tells the story of List’s character as he confronts his family about their dysfunctional past during a holiday visit to their native Maine.
Predictably, the film features no A-list Hollywood talent, a far cry from I Love You, Daddy, which featured performances from John Malkovich, Rose Byrne, Charlie Day, Edie Falco, and Helen Hunt. Fourth of July will star List and C.K., List’s wife, stand-up Sarah Tollemache, Paula Plum, Robert Walsh, and Robert Kelly. The film also features C.K.’s longtime friend and fellow stand-up, Nick DiPaolo.
Fourth of July will be released theatrically on July 1. Showtimes and theater locations have yet to be announced. The film will be shown in a series of one-night-only screenings hosted by C.K. and List in New York City’s Beacon Theater on June 30, Boston’s Shubert Theater on July 1, and Chicago’s The Vic on July 2. List and C.K. will partake in post-screening Q&As following each exhibition.
