BY MIKEY MIGO
If you’re like me then you’re sixty episodes in on the Showtime dramady “Californication”. I was never a David Duchovny fan before the show. I never watched X-Files, but I did like Evolution. I gave the show a chance a few years ago after the first season ended. I was immediately taken in. Over the past five years, I’ve looked forward to the moment I could take in new episodes of one of my favorite guilty pleasures. It’s raunchy, pretentious, over the top, and most importantly hilarious. I can’t get enough of it. We’re treated to the trials and tribulations of slacker, self-absorbed, rock star author named “Hank Moody”. He screws a lot of women, says a lot of witty shit, and the story absorbs you into its depths.
The show was going great for the first two seasons. The third season was fun, but not on par with the first two. Then the fourth season took the show in pretty much a new direction completely. It was a different show with the same characters. I liked it. I liked the new people showing up and the new worlds and environments. The fifth season was more of the same. By “same”, I mean “crazy, random, and screwed up stories”. The show’s creator Tom Kapinos said the show needed to take on a new direction to stay fresh. One way to do this is to fast forward time two years and nine months. Hank’s criminal backlash is faded and he’s living in New York. He goes back to California and ends up staying as he gets caught up in stuff.
Hank gets into working with a rapper wanting to write a book or make a movie or something played amazingly by RZA. “Samurai Apocalypse” has to be the coolest rapper name ever. He was a great addition to the cast. I was always off-put by the random “so-ironic-it’s-cool” use of old hip hop talk. It felt racist in that way that you’re embarrassed by a family member for saying or doing something racist, but you know they don’t mean anything in a hateful or mean spirited way. This just about put a stop to it. They have a love triangle situation with a soulful R&B chick. I didn’t like her character at all. It was a lame stereotype and I kept waiting for Chris Brown to show and lay her out. The actress, Meagan Good, is beautiful and does well. It just felt like they were forcing her on us. A lot of stuff felt forced. Becca is 19 and in college now. She’s dating a young asshole who they force on us in a “hey, he’s just like a younger version of Hank!” kind of way. He did not have an ounce of the swagger that Hank Moody has. The Damien kid from the early seasons was cooler. It was like he was there to fill that void and the “vindictive Mia role” at the same time. Karen is with her creepy old professor. The one who streaked and fell off the wagon. Nothing too special there. It was weak sauce. Runkle is in his normal sexual struggles as Marcy and Stu are still together. Hank gets intertwined in all of these stories in his typical bad ass swagger.
I feel like I’ve talked about “swagger” way more than I normally do. It’s just David Duchovny brings it. I connect with this show. The more I love it, the more I dig deep into its subtext and characters. This season was good. I feel like I had a lot to complain about, but I had way more to enjoy. There were scenes this season that top just about any moment. It’s just weird that the show evolved in such a way. They keep visiting older themes. The loose-cannon connection that Hank has with Samurai reminded me of his stuff with Lou in Season Two. They had Karen and Becca get pissed at Hank and then love Hank… get pissed at Hank and then love him. It’s getting repetitive in that respect. There were points that he was getting shit for things he didn’t do or wasn’t at fault for. It was a little “harpy”. I know that’s the relationship, but it was hard to care about either of the characters. Marcy was barely around for some reason. Runkle’s stuff is always fun. He has embraced his sexual deviancy and legend. He is definitely more screwed up than Hank and we still love him for it. Stephen Tobolowsky is a great addition to the cast. I wish he’d have been with the guys when Samurai took the cop car. The cameo spots were cool. I’m always happy to see Judy Greer in anything. Rob Lowe pops in for a little while and uses a voice that still leaves me entertainingly jarred.
The anchor of the show is David Duchovny. He’s the reason we watch. No matter what is going on around Hank Moody, I want to see it. It’s just an awesome character. No matter what the show sticks to its intellectual brand of filth. There is a few lines of wisdom in every episode. There is emotion shared. I enjoy the shit out of it. The show ended with a cliff hanger, but we already know there is at least another season of the show. I won’t spoil the end, but I’m sure everything will work out in the end. That’s how this show works. No matter what, there is a sense of closure and a glimpse of hope. I want more as long as the want is there. I want. The show is just consistent like that. Just when you think Hank Moody or Runkle are done for they get into even deeper shit. It’s just one continuous dig into the bowels of ridiculous and adoring.
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