Rating: 8
Trailer:
NOTE: This trailer does NO justice to the show. It makes it looks like one massive, STD defying orgy but the show is much much deeper than that.
Created by Tom Kapinos who had his producing debut back in 2000 on the golden oldie "Dawson's Creek" (holy shit that brings back memories)
Cast:
David Duchovny - Hank Moody (David was in the X-files, and proves himself to be far from old and washed up)
Natascha McElhone - Karen (Hank's love interest)Madeleine Martin - Rebecca (Hank's daughter)
Evan Handler - Charlie Runkle (Hank's agent and best friend)
Pamela Adlon - Marcy Runkle (Charlie's wife and Karen's best friend)
Talented writer Hank Moody used to have it all, his true love and a daughter living it up in New York. But then somewhere along the way, he lost track of it all and found himself in Los Angeles, rotting away alone in the City of Angels drinking, self-loathing and with permanent writer's block. He spends each day punishing himself with alcohol, and seeking comfort in sleeping with countless women to fill the ever-growing void he feels now that his lady and daughter are with another man.
Sarcastic, yet not a guy to be messed with, the show tracks his spiralling life.
Californication never really caught my attention, I remembered seeing the trailer on Channel 10 all the time and be like that looks like a sex romp and cockless romantic comedy. But then one boring afternoon I decided to give it a shot, and the show turned out to be much...MUCH more and the show's depth opened itself to me.
Cinematography/Soundtrack
Cinematography is stellar and stylised. The show won an Emmy in 2009 for "outstanding cinematography for a half-hour series". The introduction and montages filled with burned, grained shots of Hank's life and the scenery respectively give a hipster, devil may care vibe.
My favourite shots are the subtle shots of Hank's face whenever something bad hits him. Whereas many people will collapse and cry and shout in frustration, Hank lights a cigarette. This emphasises his cavalier, "teenager trapped in a man's body" attitude to life, and makes the rare moments when he "breaks down" (if you can call it that) pretty hard hitting. Hank never loses it completely, but there are points when you can just tell he's really hurting and you feel for him.
The show generally portrays 3 ways Hank deals with his shit:
- he jokes around and keeps moving forward best he can
- broods by drinking and smoking and talking to himself
- rare, extremely rare times when he finally amazingly can't handle it on his own anymore, and seeks comfort from a close friend (only really happens twice).
Script:
The script is BOSS. Witty, sharp and slightly immature yet with moments of romanticism and extreme profoundness, it is what drives the show over 4 seasons. Hank's mojo with the ladies sure is smooth, rugged and charming, and his life philosophy of "who gives a fuck" is definitely reflected in his carefree sarcastic attitude to some people. Then there are glorious moments of scriptwriting between Hank and Karen, Hank and his daughter, or Hank's monologues to himself. These give the show huge depth, where the teenage trapped in a man's body is replaced by the talented writer who doesn't care about anything in his life except for his ex, his daughter and his friends (he only really has 2 of them). Without them, he is nothing, he's permanently unhappy with no place to go and no purpose. The sarcasm is dropped and we see Hank's true, deeper personality. Sometimes you can't judge or label a person by their actions, Hank isn't just some manwhore, he's a man who just wants to be happy.
9/10
Hank, The Character
Hank has enormous writing talent, reflected in the stylised way he talks and the stuff he writes (and recites at some points). He used to have everything a man could want, the woman he loved and his daughter living in New York, "the best of times, if only someone would have told me..."
Somewhere he lost it all, there is an episode which shows the slow downfall. Now he looks in the mirror and hates what he sees. His life, both professionally and personally is down the shitter as he can't write anything new, and without Karen and his daughter he has no happiness. He reflects on the mistakes he made, the things he took for granted, and punishes himself with heavy drinking and his "fuck-all" attitude to life. He's lost his way, charming women seems to be his way of denying how lonely he really is.
Hank is the epitomee of moving forward no matter what hits you. Whether he deals with things the right way? It's debatable, he drinks, he smokes and he buries his problems except for the ones regarding his daughter.
There's a notable dream sequence in the season 3 finale which is done so well artistically and you really feel his fear.
Seasons
Season 1 and 2 are great, they nail the dark profound brooding atmosphere of Hank. I warn that even though I stress the show isn't all about sex, there is pretty much a quickie every episode LOL. All i'm saying is that it's MORE than just that, but for a show called CaliFORNICATION, it's gotta stay true to the name.
Season 4 really reaches the climax of how messed up shit can get for 1 person.
Season 3 is my only problem with the show, halfway through season 3 it becomes this typical, rom com "too many women" embarassing scenario, and the show begins to lack depth. But have no fear, that all gets shattered towards the end of season 3.
Becca starts as the innocent angel, the typical "caught in the middle" girl in distress. She trusts her Dad no matter what and deals with everything going on between Hank and Karen pretty well, maybe because she's too young to understand. But after watching all 4 seasons, you really see how the writers managed to show her maturity over time. She becomes less accepting, and more contributive as her frustration starts to come out. By season 4 she's become a parent's nightmare, getting up to no good and so forth. But then you realise, with all the drama that happens to her, it's hard not to get messed up at least a little bit.
Although the actress doesn't really have to show too wide a range of emotions, there are some monologues which are pretty intense.
Mood to be in
Want to watch something new and fresh? This show is a bit heavy at times, but it's clever and witty. If you don't mind lots of boobies, and want to see some drama and emotionally vent, or want to watch something with dry/dark humour, then this is the show for you.
Great show, great character, something new original and stylishly done.
Underrated and it's such a shame that the trailers give the show the wrong image, hopefully this review clears it up a bit :)
I warn you, episode 1 is actually pretty shallow LOL, so don't go judging me upon your first viewing.
This show isn't all serious, it's also meant to be witty and dry humour, so enjoy yourself :)
Next review: "up in the air"
SPOILERS BELOW
Significant/Memorable Scenes:
"I'm a motherfucking asshole"
"I'm a motherfucking asshole"
Hank starts to reach his breaking point. His need for Karen is really getting unbearable, and Hank pushes too far. Karen still has feelings for Hank, but she wants to leave that part of her life behind and start fresh, a clean slate. Hank knows the best thing to do is to let her be happy, and to let go of chasing her. But he can't give up with a fight, he can't let himself give up.
Although not much emotion shows on his face, you can see that Hank really regrets pushing Karen too far, and that he cares for her too much to hurt her, and decides to let go. His brand new car gets stolen, capping off an extremely shitty horrific day, and what does he do?
He lights a cigarette.
And man, PERFECT song.
"She won't always love me no matter what..."
First really poetic moment of season 1, and the first scene to make me really fall in love with this show. After a damn good day (rare for Hank), he gets a glimpse of what his previous life used to feel like - how it used to feel to be happy. He can't live carefree forever, because he's got a daughter to care for. His life isn't just about himself anymore, he's got responsibilities and priorities to take care of, and he need to grow the fuck up. Hank realises all this, and drops the sarcastic "i'm all good" act for once.
The Letter to Karen.
The fan-favourite scene of the show. A true glimpse into Hank's deep feelings for Karen, and boy are they real. The letter is self explanatory, there's not much I can say about this scene, as it pretty much speaks for itself.
Hank's Letter to Becca
Personally one of my favourite scenes of the show. Season 4, Hank's life really turns to shit and he can't handle the pressure anymore. This is the moment where we get a season 1 vibe, where the show used to be more concentrated on Hank's writing talent and his poetic way with words. The piano soundtrack in the background sets the mood perfectly, but I can't find the name of it.
We get the general message Hank is trying to say, how his daughter is the most important thing in the world, and that he was sorry he couldn't be a better parent. The filming of this scene is beautiful, the blue coloour sets the melancholic vibe and the Becca's distance from Hank always being just out of reach and slipping away symbolising their emotional bond being under stress.
So many more scenes, but I'm sure you can appreciate them your own way :)
Plus i'm getting pretty tired writing this lmao.
Hope you liked this review!
