Wish You Were Here

I gave up on Californication after watching The Devil's Threesome, the first season tenth episode. So I skipped its last two episodes and the whole second season. However when the third was greenlighted I thought, why not.

Hank Moody represents the man I don't want to be but David Duchovny's performance is good and the character can be funny at times even if he spends most of his screen time being a jerk. In fact it's really what repelled me because I can't believe such a pathetic loser can magnet so many attractive women. Of course they're only one night stands but as a man I can't help fantasizing about it. It leads us to Mia Lewis, the kinky and hot teen played by Madeline Zima. It's hard to admit but her first sex scene with Hank in the pilot really felt like tasting a bitter sweet candy. Because you can't forget a cowgirl's punch, it's both strong and soft. And the flashbacks at the beginning revealed she apparently decided to continue exploring her sexuality, in the most extreme fashions. Charlie also got his own load of wild things and even lost his job. But he's quite funny and the spanking sessions with his secretary were just priceless. In fact he's relatively shy and that's why his few scenes with his new charismatic boss, played by Kathleen Turner, were really the highlights of this episode. Her performance was great and deviously sexy. Watching her womanizing Charlie was nearly a modern retelling of the wolf and the sheep tale.

But underneath its addictive form and milky skin I can't really see anything interesting nor inspiring in Californication. The characters keep sinking and apparently the writers have decided to drawn them. I know it's basically the show concept but when I first read its synopsis I thought Hank would try his best to become a successful writer and make his family happy. In fact all these elements sort of mirror Weeds and in some way you could replace the protagonists. Nancy Botwin the cougar played by Mary-Louise Parker would become… Nancy Moody ? It would be both sad and funny to watch because it shows how much these shows are actually empty shells. It's really a waste of talent when you compare Californication to productions like Castle and Hung. When I first saw Natascha McElhone (The Truman Show) was playing Hank's wife I hoped that she would be able to turn the frog into a prince. But their relationship is so superficial that only a few seconds were dedicated to it and their last scene together wasn't authentic. I mean how can you love someone who cheats on you, lies all the time, doesn't respect anyone and can't even seriously lecture his own daughter ? Things were even worst during the female teacher invitation's scenes as Mr Moody showed everyone how much he was a selfish narcissistic sex addict. What he did to his peer, a writer, was also quite shocking and I just couldn't believe the teacher asked a few minutes with her husband to lecture him. He was so rude that the kindness of an other female guest was just unbelievable. And it's obvious what will happen between them in the upcoming episodes.

To sum things up I didn't enjoy this episode and was quite disappointed by the character backward development. Of course it was naive to think that they would get better but I don't see the point of watching the fictional life of such pathetic people. Reality is already hard to grasp and there's nothing essential to learn from them. The worst thing is that I can't really see anyone relating to them. I write but it doesn't make me a Moody. Some teenagers are more alienated than Becca but at least their emotions are real and in the world there're people eager to help so… But I'll definitely come back for the fourth season and I'm sure the next episode, The Land of Rape and Honey, is quite funny. Hank becoming a high school teacher is a nightmare coming true after all. Will we be able to resist or are we already doomed ?