In the last several years Showtime has made a strong push to start creating and producing more quality, original programming. There have been hits and misses along the way (read more about the good, the bad and the ugly on television right here) and their newest creation, “Californication”, is bound to fall somewhere dead in the middle.
David Duchovny stars as Hank, a transplant from New York who is still in love with his ex, who happens to be the mother of his daughter. Hank is a writer who had one smashing success (and hasn’t written anything in years) and then watched as his book was mauled into some cookie cutter romantic comedy. He follows his daughter and ex to LA where she finds a new guy and life and he struggles to fit in and get work.
The acting on the show leaves something to the imagination as in, “I can imagine how much better the acting would be if I turned the channel.” Natascha McElhone, who plays Duchovny’s former lover, is pretty to look at and not much else. Not all the blame can be placed on her, for her part is ridiculous in and of itself. The ex who has a new fiancée but lets the old boyfriend hit on her constantly, in front of child and new man no less. The new man is of course no excitement but no heartbreak…hmm that makes this the 7,348th time I’ve watched/read/listened to that story; this year. While Duchovny is good in his role – dry and sarcastic to the core – if you don’t like him, don’t watch the show.
The main problem with the show is the counterfeit edginess it shoves down your throat every episode. “Californication” tries way too hard to create this world of sex, drugs and scandal. Duchovny’s character is just that – way too much of a character. Both his womanizing and “I don’t give a $%$#” lifestyle seem phony as does his occasionally implanted soft and emotional side. The ease with which he gets women, while drowning out his pain and maintaining his wittiness is a blazing example of caricaturing gone too far. His character is billed as a guy that “will say anything…but no”. Ok, we get it, he’s edgy and uber-cool; please stop hitting me over the head with that message. It’s ironic that Duchovny plays a character annoyed with the establishment turning his life’s work into another routine cliché, while the character he plays is a cliché himself, as is his in-your-face LA agent, precocious daughter and on-the-fence ex. On another note, there is a heaping helping of female frontal nudity; should that factor into your decision to watch or not is up to you.
Overall, you will be equally entertained by the strong points as you are frustrated by the shortcomings. “Californication” is fun to watch but leaves you wanting more as it fails to reach the loftier levels of top-tier television.
