Summer vacation had started at last, and already Louie had made some big plans for his three short months of freedom: go swimming, watch TV, and then repeat 1 and 2. Yeah, everything went according to play, until one day Andy came home from work in the middle of the day and was in a much grouchier mood than usual. Yeah, Andy was never a ray of sunshine, but on this occasion, he seemed all the more cranky, snapping at the kids for eating too much and then forbidding them to watch TV during dinner. Yeah, Andy was hiding a big secret and he wanted to sit on it for as long as he could. While in a fit of rage, he told them he quit his job, but there's actually more to it than that. The next day, he tries to consign one of the kids to help him nail up a shelf, but since Louie was the last one out of the house, Andy snapped him up and put him to work washing the Rambler. Once that was done, he stuck a For Sale sign on it. Now that's very unusual behavior, since ordinarily a man like Andy would want to be buried in that car. Well, hoping to duck his father, Louie tried sneaking out of the house early the next morning, except that Andy was already up. Literally, up on the house, painting it top to bottom-windows included. Why? To Louie's shock, Andy nailed a For Sale sign in the yard! Luckily, with the breadwinner out of work, Ora decided to step in and get a job herself, as an Avon Lady, or in this case, a Lucky Lady. Y'know, door to door, selling perfume. Louie decided to be proactive as well, setting up a lemonade stand. Business is very slow, especially when Andy's very aggressive sales pitch ends up chasing off Mrs. Stillman. After that, Jeannie and Grunewald ride up and let it slip about Andy being fired from his job, which Louie is quick to deny. They heard "through the grapevine" that he'd been taking too many vacation days. Louie decided to test the validity of that theory, so he went and asked the old man directly, and... well, one exaggerated war story later, he dodged the question, saying principle is the key.
In order to avoid painting the garage, Louie decided to accompany Ora to work, acting as a model on which to spray her many fragrances. At first, he abhorred his duty, but once he learned the meaning of sales pitch, he jumped right in and mastered the art of selling cheap perfume nicely. While visiting the Brown residence, Mrs. Brown mentions Andy letting her husband go to the hospital the day their baby was born. As a result, he was terminated. The truth was out: Andy Anderson was a much sweeter guy than he appeared to be. Deciding to go give Andy's boss a piece of his mind, Louie ventured down to the John Deere... er, John Doe Tractor Factory to find Mr. Applegate. He runs into Gus, Andy's friend and co-worker, and tells him about the old man's termination. And so begins a game of misunderstanding, where the rest of the boys thought he got fired for taking his family to Hawaii. ("Which family is that?" Wonders Louie). After that, the entire workforce of John Doe walked out on the job and marched down the street, with Louie in the lead, bound for the Anderson house. Tractor workers unite. Besides, Andy was the best fidget spinner... er, I mean, widget tightener they ever had. Almost immediately, he receives a call from Mr. Applegate, requesting both Andy and the rest of his employees return to work. This called for a celebration! After a big barbecue supper, Andy shows Louie a little surprise he'd been building for him: a souped-up lemonade stand, complete with running water, stainless steel counter, and his name in lights! So despite not quite getting to spend summer the way he would've liked, Louie still had a very productive season.
I remember when this episode premiered Fathers Day 1995, which heralded the series of Life With Louie. What can I say? This episode is very good. It's funny, has a good message about family, and definitely satisfies the cravings of anyone who watched the pilot "Christmas Surprise for Mrs. Stillman" and wanted more Louie. Classic moments include the smart-ass who offers $50 for both the Rambler and the house. But when a legitimate offer of $5,000 for the Rambler comes, Louie steadfastly refuses. However, we then learn Andy would have taken it. He was never very good at thinking things through. What else? Well, it's the first episode where we see Andy's workplace, where he works as a widget tightener, as stated above, but I guess he's also a supervisor. It's a shame he kept preventing Louie from going swimming and hanging out with his friends, but the end justified the means: if he hadn't made Louie stay by his side, the boy never would've learned about his father's deplorable condition and stepped in to help. Louie saved his family, and would time and time again. I urge all Louie Anderson fans to watch Life With Louie (if you can find it), and "Dad Gets Canned."
In order to avoid painting the garage, Louie decided to accompany Ora to work, acting as a model on which to spray her many fragrances. At first, he abhorred his duty, but once he learned the meaning of sales pitch, he jumped right in and mastered the art of selling cheap perfume nicely. While visiting the Brown residence, Mrs. Brown mentions Andy letting her husband go to the hospital the day their baby was born. As a result, he was terminated. The truth was out: Andy Anderson was a much sweeter guy than he appeared to be. Deciding to go give Andy's boss a piece of his mind, Louie ventured down to the John Deere... er, John Doe Tractor Factory to find Mr. Applegate. He runs into Gus, Andy's friend and co-worker, and tells him about the old man's termination. And so begins a game of misunderstanding, where the rest of the boys thought he got fired for taking his family to Hawaii. ("Which family is that?" Wonders Louie). After that, the entire workforce of John Doe walked out on the job and marched down the street, with Louie in the lead, bound for the Anderson house. Tractor workers unite. Besides, Andy was the best fidget spinner... er, I mean, widget tightener they ever had. Almost immediately, he receives a call from Mr. Applegate, requesting both Andy and the rest of his employees return to work. This called for a celebration! After a big barbecue supper, Andy shows Louie a little surprise he'd been building for him: a souped-up lemonade stand, complete with running water, stainless steel counter, and his name in lights! So despite not quite getting to spend summer the way he would've liked, Louie still had a very productive season.
I remember when this episode premiered Fathers Day 1995, which heralded the series of Life With Louie. What can I say? This episode is very good. It's funny, has a good message about family, and definitely satisfies the cravings of anyone who watched the pilot "Christmas Surprise for Mrs. Stillman" and wanted more Louie. Classic moments include the smart-ass who offers $50 for both the Rambler and the house. But when a legitimate offer of $5,000 for the Rambler comes, Louie steadfastly refuses. However, we then learn Andy would have taken it. He was never very good at thinking things through. What else? Well, it's the first episode where we see Andy's workplace, where he works as a widget tightener, as stated above, but I guess he's also a supervisor. It's a shame he kept preventing Louie from going swimming and hanging out with his friends, but the end justified the means: if he hadn't made Louie stay by his side, the boy never would've learned about his father's deplorable condition and stepped in to help. Louie saved his family, and would time and time again. I urge all Louie Anderson fans to watch Life With Louie (if you can find it), and "Dad Gets Canned."