Maybe the best thing to say about this “I Hate L.A.” dramedy is that it's much better than star David Duchovny's first Showtime series, The Red Shoe Diaries—although Californication does boast equal amounts of nudity and frantic soft-core couplings (prompting Duchovny to joke in interviews that the series should be called The Sex Files). Duchovny plays NY-to-LA transplant Hank Moody (a “lost boy” and “walking id”), whose acclaimed novel has been transformed for the screen into a lame (but enormously successful) romantic comedy starring “Tom and Katie.” Struggling with writer's block, Hank is also stymied by the news that the woman he truly loves--mother of his precocious 12-year-old daughter--is getting married. Disgusted with his life and himself, Hank fuels his self-loathing with alcohol, drugs, and meaningless sex with a bevy of beautiful women, all of whom (somewhat incredulously) find him irresistible. Or as Hank's daughter puts it, “You are tragically flawed, but you have a good heart”—which is not nearly enough to make us care about this jerk. The ensemble cast, including Natascha McElhone, Evan Handler, and Pamela Adlon, are very good but ill-served by the over-the-top situations (this is premium cable, after all). Compiling all 12 episodes from the 2007 debut season, DVD extras include an unlisted audio commentary on the pilot episode (with Duchovny, creator Tom Kapinos, and executive consultant Stephen Hopkins), as well as the option to stream two episodes each from the second seasons of Dexter and The Tudors. An optional purchase. (D. Liebenson)
Californication: The First Season
Paramount, 2 discs, 340 min., not rated, DVD: $39.99 Volume 23, Issue 5
Californication: The First Season
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