Ok, so I am a Duchovny fan, I'll admit it. I've loved him since his X Files days. Post X Files, I've seen him in a few non-Mulder roles and they were okay, but this role, the role of Hank Moody, was hand-crafted for him. It had to be. Hank is the man Duchovny only wished Fox Mulder could be. I could always tell he was dying to ditch that tired suit and cell phone, pop on those slick sunglasses Moody sports and jump into his old school Porsche, dashing off into the California sun with a babe on each arm. So that's Hank Moody. A living, breathing personification of Freud's Id. He is all about the Hank and what Hank wants, he generally gets, even if it is very, very bad for him.
Hank is a writer who migrated from New York to Los Angeles with his long-time girlfriend Karen (Natascha McElhone) and his daughter, Becca (Madeleine Martin), who looks like a 12-year-old Betty Page/goth girl, when his book, God Hates Us All became a smashing success. Sadly, Hollywood turned it into a lame-ass romantic comedy starring TomKat called A Crazy Thing Called Love. Since that time, he hasn't been able to write a single word of value and is really stuck in a rut. Add that to the fact that Karen has left him for Bill (Damian Young), a boring businessman, and they are soon to be married. After going through woman after woman, having empty sex on a regular basis, Hank realizes that Karen is the one and only woman for him and he sets out to win her back before she takes the plunge with Bill.
While Hank was faithful to Karen while they were together (she actually cheated on him with Bill), now that he is a free agent, he makes it with everyone and anyone, as long as they are beautiful, of course. Hanks spends his days smoking, drinking, cursing, screwing and doing drugs occasionally - when he should be writing. But since his muse is gone, he can't. Until one fateful day when he and Karen slip into the old routine and they have sex after his father dies. The two of them sharing an emotional time together and the sex follows, and after that, an inspired Hank bangs out an incredible novel on his mother's old typewriter. Could this mean he's back? He is until the novel is swiped and copied by Bill's 16-year-old siren of a daughter, Mia (Madeline Zima), who presents it to Hank's agent, Charlie (Evan Handler) and his assistant, Dani (Rachel Miner) as her own work. Did I forget to mention that Hank accidentally slept with Mia when he thought she was a college girl and a fan of his work? Oops. Yes, Hank's life is hella complicated and his zipper gets him into trouble. Often.
There is so much more in the series, but you need to watch it for yourself. The writing is brilliant and the acting is fantastic. I watched the entire season in three days and that was only due to time constraints. Had I been able to, I would have watched the whole thing back to back in one run. Now, be forewarned - this show is not for the prudish. It is called Californication and not for nothing. There is sex and nudity in every episode, but that's not the point of the show. The point is to see how old horn-dog Hanks screws up this episode. And yes does, but he also fixes things too. So while not a show for the kiddies, this is great grown-up fun. Californication has easily become my favorite new series and if you appreciate a keen wit and awkward times for the sexiest guy on TV (in my opinion, anyway), check it out. If you don't already have Showtime, you can also see the first two episodes of Dexter and The Tudors streaming on your computer. I swear, Showtime is gonna get me to subscribe yet! Highly recommended.
