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Californication Review and Season Three Foreplay -Written by Edward Landa- Creator: Tom Kapinos Starring: David Duchovny, Natascha McElhone, Evan Handler TV Series 2007 – Present Sex, drugs, and well chosen profanity; that is the life of Hank Moody (David Duchovny), a child-mannered and sex addicted novelist from New York. He finds himself growing accustomed to Los Angeles and his dying career in Showtime’s new hit Californication. The title itself already rings of double-entendre and crude humour; Hank is being ‘californicated’, as he is slowly being turned from a New Yorker to a true sunshine-loving Californian. Or it is rather insinuating that Hank also enjoys plenty of fornication in California. This comes as no surprise judging by the cast of the females he beds with no effort what so ever. The true meaning of the title eludes us as does the scattered mind of Hank. From the very first moments of the pilot in the series, we could see the humour that the creator, Tom Kapinos, enjoys; Hank dawdles into a church seeking comfort and ends up receiving an oral surprise from a nun determined to ease his sinful mind. At this point it is important to note the series is not pornographic at all, but rather it maintains a very edgy and open view of sexuality as does HBO’s super-hit Entourage. In fact Californication seems like the sophisticated brother of Entourage, with better writing and a more self-destructive lead. Tom Kapinos establishes the basic backdrop for the series as soon as Hank leaves the house of the first of his many ladies that we are introduced to. Hank Moody maintains relations and still proclaims to be in love with his ex-girlfriend, Karen (Natascha McElhone) whom he never married but has a child with, Becca (Madeleine Martin). He rubs up to Karen and manages to land an occasional ‘kiss n’ grab’ before being brushed off. She spends the first season engaged to Bill Lewis (Damian Young), with Becca living with her, leaving Hank to his usual exploits. The show also manages something similar shows do not; developing a supporting cast interesting enough to ensure a round dynamic of captivation. The supporting cast mainly consists of Charlie Runkle (Evan Handler) and Marcy Runkle (Pamela Adlon), the Jay Gatsby of the series: Lew Ashby (Callum Keith Rennie), and Mia Lewis (Madeline Zima). Charlie is Hank’s quirky and incredibly horny agent. His wife, Marcy, is a cocaine addicted pubic-hair-removal specialist. Charlie appears in all of the episodes of Californicaton as the series includes his ‘californication’ as well. He adds a certain set of plain awkward situations infused with his inability to grasp a hold of reality and plan ahead for the future. Anywhere from dominating his secretary to accidentally hitching a ride in a porn-van, his antics offer a certain scent of stupidity to counter-act the nonchalant Hank. Mia Lewis is the daughter of Bill, Karen’s fiancé after she leaves Hank, and is a sixteen year old sociopath. She manages to seduce the middle aged Hank creating a hold on him; for now he can’t deny her anything as she could simply reveal their sexual encounter to the authorities under the veil of statutory rape. Mia wreaks havoc in Hank’s life and creates more problems for him than he deserves, including stealing one of his novels. Mia proves a seductive figure that consistently manages to find a way into the life of Hank, proving that although she hurts him and cripples his relations she is obsessed with him. Tom Kapinos has taken no precaution to hide the fact that Lew Ashby, the millionaire playboy who hired Hank to write his biography, is the spitting image of Jay Gatsby. Even their names match. Lew is a music producer and by his own word “whatever [he] touches turns to gold”. He is in character very much similar to Hank and provides a beautiful contrast of childish traits and an overly-indulgent lifestyle. Lew’s most colossal regret is his lost love, Janie Jones (Madchen Amick), for whom he throws lavish parties every night, yet she never shows, much like Jay Gatsby did for Daisy Buchanan. The story of Lew Ashby is a touching one that could very much be a stand-alone film or show yet the fact that it is weaved into the plot of Californication simply adds to the richness of the series. Perhaps the diverse array of characters is not the only grand achievement of this series; the script is witty, tangy, and most of all memorable. Tom Kapinos allows Hank’s mouth to spew some of the wittiest lines of the day through the thick aroma of his cigarettes. Bits along the lines of, “Now you're giving me that look, right now, look like I ‘fingerbanged’ your cat”, and, “I thought I'd start the day with some dry toast and half a grapefruit, bust out the old computer, bang out 10 pages, maybe go for a run. Maybe I'll just jerk off and go back to bed. Wake me up when you come home”. Though these little excerpts share their hilarity they do not do justice to the unstoppable force that is the script that jogs a long at the heart of the series. The series is shot in a very similar style to that of HBO’s Entourage; the camera cuts are clean, edgy and radiating with the intensity of Los Angeles. The scenery as well as the female cast is breathtaking. Hank’s lifestyle, well, is larger than life. The series is a must see if even just to see David Duchovny take on a role he has never don before. Having played a secret agent for most of his career on The X-Files and in similar films such as Evolution, Duchovny takes on a role which, for him, is unexplored. Yet, he manages to breathe life into Hank like no one else could; there is no imagining Hank without Duchovny. The script is witty, the characters are interesting and the story is captivating. All that is missing is the soundtrack. Tyler Bates and Tree Adams composed the surfer rock infused opening theme to complement the steady array of well selected Warren Zevon tracks and other similar artists. The soundtrack contains all the makings of a great playlist and houses a few notables including Gus Black’s cover of Black Sabbath’s Paranoid, and Warren Zevon’s infamous Mohammed’s Radio. The tracks only seem to amplify the cultured taste in music that Hank has and his carefree attitude. The series seems unstoppable, much like an erection at a strip club, as it gears up for its third season in late 2009. The only problem with the blood-rushing that remains apart from waiting is that having setup itself with a great first season and a memorable second, will the third live up to its expectations? It would be great if the answer is yes, but in the world of television that is not always the case. Recalling the now megahit House which had a great first few seasons only to slowly dwindle to becoming a decent show running the same old story. Or, CityTV’s the Bachelor, which started off with great ratings only to find a true audience of a few and lose the appeal to the many. Californication, like any other show, could flop. However, with the plans laid out in the earlier seasons and the promising wit of Tom Kapinos, I believe the show is in good hands and will not only continue in the same spirit of absolute genius but also build upon past shortcomings with a much larger budget (seeing the increased popularity of the show). Nevertheless all there is is hope, for a great show not to flop, and for Hank to continue bringing the ladies to fruition “all the time” or “thirty three to be exact”. |