Californication - Season One
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Californication, David DuchovnyBrand: PARAMOUNT PICTURES
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language); Spanish (Dubbed)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 340 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-06-17
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: PARAMOUNT PICTURES
Movie Reviews of Californication - Season One
Movie Review: So, not only are you a cadaverous lay, you also have terrible taste in movies.
Summary: 4 Stars
That's actually a damn good question. But is it one that Showtime's Californication really wants to answer? Or is it just using the plastic surgery-obsessed world where everyone is a wannabe actress and girls get Brazilian waxes with their lattes purely as a nudity-filled background? The comedy with the most blatant fixation on pubic hair in the history of television releases its critically divisive first season this week and this critic is still torn. David Duchovny does undeniably great work (an Emmy nod is not only well-deserved but likely) and the writing shows glimpses of true brilliance, but it just as often resorts to over-the-top shock value to get the laugh. Duchovny is funny, clever, and quick enough. Do we really need to see him puking on an expensive painting or watch as his agent gleefully spanks his assistant? When Californication feels real, I truly like it. When it doesn't, the show gives off that same smarmy California vibe that its lead character seems to despise. I will say this - there's enough to like here to recommend that you check it out and see if you're as conflicted as I am.
Duchovny plays Hank Moody, a writer who moves from New York to California and watches his novel get mangled on the big screen. How does he react? He screws the director's wife. Hank has issues with women, whether it be his ex (Natascha McElhone), his daughter (Madeline Zima), or the stream of naked women that pop in and out of his love life. Moody has writer's block, lover's block, and any other kind of block you can think up. As his ex says, "That's the thing with you Hank - one never knows what to expect from you...or your dong." There's a genuine quality to the line but it's mildly deflated by the fact that everyone seems to be enjoying using the word "dong" a bit too much. Meanwhile, Hank's agent (SATC's Evan Handler) starts a twisted affair with his secretary (Rachel Miner), who likes to be submissive, wear nylons, and pose in lingerie. It's the movie Secretary on a small scale and, like everything on the show, it feels a little forced. The new world of blogs, celebutantes, and faux environmentalism is ripe enough to support a show like Californication, especially when it contains a lead performance this good, but Showtime's controversial series should focus more on the series part of that description and less blatantly on the controversial.
Showtime/Paramount must assume that the first season of Californication is going to be more for renters than for buyers because they leave hardcore fans of the show as in the dark as one of Hank's one-night stands. Not one special feature related to the show is included. Even the picture and audio are disappointing. Honestly, it's startling that the same company is releasing the second season of Jericho this week. That release includes commentaries on every episode and featurettes. Californication includes, well, basically nothing. There's actually ZERO extras that are directly related to the show itself. All you'll find are the first two episodes of the second seasons of Dexter and The Tudors. If you're a fan of Californication, isn't it very likely that you've seen both of Showtime's acclaimed dramas? At least the first two episodes? It's clearly just a way to get renters of Californication interested in subscribing to the network. Boo. It's fine to include those, but when all you're going to give fans of your show is what are essentially commercials, don't be surprised if they're as dissatisfied with life as poor Hank Moody.
Summary of Californication - Season One
Sophisticated and unique, this comedy centers on novelist Hank Moody (David Duchovny) who struggles to raise his 13-year-old daughter, while still carrying a torch for his ex-girlfriend. His obsession with truth-telling and self destructive behavior -- drinks drugs and relationships -- are both destroying and enriching to his career."You can't always get what you want." The Rolling Stones may have said it best, and it seems to be writer Hank Moody's theme song. David Duchovny (X Files) was born to play this sly, sarcastic, self-loathing, and--despite all the meaningless sex, booze, and fist fights--kind character. Writer Moody hates the Los Angeles world he lives in; a world that turned his sharp best-seller into a cheesy date movie, where his young daughter and should-have-been wife (Natascha McElhone) are slipping away into the hands of a rich play-it-safe guy, and where everything he truly wants seems just out of his reach. But the man hasn't lost all hope. "Happy endings may get a bad rap, but they do happen," he assures his daughter. "And when they do, they're just as true as the unhappy ones." One can't help but hope Hank finds his happy ending, because it's with his family that his soft side surfaces. Hank takes no shame in trying to woo back his "wife" Karen, even if it is in front of her new fianc?. He knows he's meant to be with her--plain and simple--and there's a glint in her eye that always makes you wonder if she's really thinking the same thing. And his daughter Becca? Well, any guy would melt against this guitar-wielding cutie (played by the adorable Madeleine Martin), but Hank really captures the "I'll kick a lot of ass for my daughter" mentality that so many dads harbor. He's also fully prepared to drop a gorgeous woman at a moment's notice to heed his daughter's call.
The rest of the cast, including Evan Handler (Sex and the City) and Pamela Adlon (Lucky Louie), provide some surprisingly interesting and hilarious side stories. Just when it seems situations in this show can't get any more ludicrous or disgusting, they most certainly do. That's the beauty of it. Californication is a dark, coarse, edgy adult comedy. It's also very real, and quite intelligent. --Jordan Thompson
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