CalifornicationSlip of the Tongue
Orignal Air Date: Sept 29, 2008
Susannah B - TwoCents Reviewer
susannah@thetwocentscorp.com
Episodes of Californication’s first season usually opened with Hank in the midst of a dream: there was the dream of a random beautiful nun who offers sexual favors, the dream of Bill kicking him and telling him to forget about the woman he didn’t want to marry, and the many dreams of him waking up with Karen by his side.
Season 2 opens in the absence of a dream.
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Californication
ReplyDeleteThe Great Ashby
Orignal Air Date: Sept 29, 2008
Susannah B - TwoCents Reviewer
susannah@thetwocentscorp.com
Episodes of Californication’s first season usually opened with Hank in the midst of a dream: there was the dream of a random beautiful nun who offers sexual favors, the dream of Bill kicking him and telling him to forget about the woman he didn’t want to marry, and the many dreams of him waking up with Karen by his side.
Season 2 opens in the absence of a dream. Hank Moody has finally reattained the woman he loves: what happens to the cast and storyline of Californication now that Hank Moody is in a relationship? The latter is my basic question throughout this episode. What is so brilliant about Season 1 was the way the story balanced scenes of debauchery with scenes of wistfulness and the poignancy of memories. In a monogamous relationship, Hank presumably will longer engage in the threesomes and random trysts with sixteen year olds and prostitutes, so the debauchery is notably absent; viewers are not offered a nostalgically tinged flashback of Karen and Hank on the beach years previous – there is no need for him to recall the poignancy of his relationship as he did in season 1 because people don’t romanticize those who they have attained as much as those whom they have lost. It’s the same reason why a poem is more likely to remind us of an ex than someone whom we are currently dating. “The only true paradise is a paradise which is lost,” the famous French author Marcel Proust once said.
So, the show opens with Hank as he awakens. He immediately affixes a smoking patch to his arm, which cues viewers that the new Hank is a man who is attempting to change his behaviors for the woman he loves. As if the smoking patch is not enough, we learn moments later that Hank is scheduled for a vasectomy later that morning. He asks Karen to have sex with him one more time before the operation, and she insists that he wears a “rubber” (Who says “rubber” anymore?)
Okay, here’s what I don’t understand: first of all, did Hank and Karen discuss that they absolutely do not want any more kids? It’s not a central issue, but I feel like by not addressing his reasons for a vasectomy (besides that he doesn’t want to wear “rubbers”), I find myself distracted (a general feeling of “Wha?”). I mean, I assume Hank and Karen know that the world of reproductive health has progressed: we have the birth control pill, the shot, and even a ring that looks like a rubber bracelet that we can stick up there to avoid pregnancy. It just seemed odd that as soon as they get back together (it is unclear how much time has passed since the almost wedding between Bill and Karen), Hank is scheduled to get part of his junk removed.
One might go as far as to assert that Hank is essentially “castrated” on a physical and symbolic level. As a highly sexual being (um, Hank and David, as we know due to recent news of Duchovny’s sex addiction), Hank’s genitalia is extremely vital to interactions with the world. Of course, he is not actually castrated, but I find it interesting that each time he interacts with women in this episode (the bikini hippie chick in the grocery, the Scientologist), he experiences shooting pains in his groin.
Hank is symbolically castrated when he can no longer smoke, which acted as a primary outlet for stress. Additionally, we witness Hank as he places a for sale sign on his beloved Porsche. Despite each corner smelling like females, we learn in Season 1 that he is attached to the car because despite its flaws, it “has character.” It seems that with the reconciliation with Karen, Hank must give up parts of himself. And with every misstep he makes, he is reminded of the sacrifices Karen made to be with him. Even though her statement, “Sure, I left a man on my wedding day to be with you because I am ‘not into it’,” is ostensibly sarcastic, she reminds him several times that she gave up something for him, and she hopes to hell that it wasn’t a mistake to believe the relationship can work.
I was disappointed with this episode, quite frankly. I fear Californication may face a sophomore slump after the wry brilliance that pervaded Season 1. Maybe it is less interesting to watch Hank tell Karen “No grinding, honey” than it was to watch him try to guess the insipid life of his date, “If you get home, maybe you’ll be in time to see the end of America’s Next Top Model...” I can’t tell if the writing in this episode failed to resonate because Hank is no longer single, so the premise on which the show is based is no longer viable, or if the writers are simply flatlining. Also notably absent from this episode were the literary references so artfully woven into season 1, as well as very little mention of Hank’s own writing.
Best line: ““The last time I saw you, you were boning a degenerate doggie style and projectile vomiting all over Bill’s bedroom,”(pause) “Don’t ever change.”
Context: Hank makes this remark to the Scientologist from Season 1 after she tells him she is now pregnant and in a happily committed relationship with another author.
My question to you is this: did you feel a pang of dullness after watching this much-anticipated premiere, or I am simply allergic to couples? If you did feel somewhat blasé about the episode, do you think the story would have stayed more believable if Karen had married Bill and Hank remained the tortured and lonely writer who uses sex to forget his self-loathing?
Do you honestly think that Karen and Hank will remain a couple? I doubt it. And i loved the opener.
ReplyDeleteI also don't think that Hank and Karen will remain a happy couple. This is what Tom K said
ReplyDeleteCalifornication producer Tom Kapinos has expressed a similar sentiment and, in talking about the series' season one finale, makes it clear season two is anything but about living happily ever after.
"I wanted to question the very nature of fairytale happy endings," Kapinos has said.
"The reason why I freeze-framed on their smiles is that if you let the camera go, the smiles will eventually fade."
thanks for responding. not sure if they'll stay together; that's a good point.
ReplyDelete"The reason why I freeze-framed on their smiles is that if you let the camera go, the smiles will eventually fade."
ReplyDeletewow. what a great quote, and all too true. i just didn't think the writing seemed as sharp in the opener, do you think that was a factor of them being back together (couples sometimes have a harder time delivering clever dialogue without sounding rehearsed) or do you think the dialogue was just...off? seemed very stagey to me.
I really hope they don't stay together. The best part about season 1 were the crazy hook-ups. I really don't like the way Hank is suddenly changing everything that was great about him. That's what relationships do to people, though. I also heard them say something about moving to New York? How can they take Californication out of California? If they do, they're losing me completely. I also noticed there were two really cheesy lines within 5 minutes of each other. The writing is definitely not as sharp as it was last season. I hope it gets better!
ReplyDeleteJen
http://www.film-connection.com
I generally agree with the review. It was Cali-family-cation for the first 15 minutes (which I think was an intentionally off putting contrast). The tone of the second half felt a lot more like last year.
ReplyDeleteThat said, season one had a lot of witty dialog. Season 2 needs a lot of witty dialog to keep it fresh. Unfortunately, it seems like season 2 has a lot of the *same* witty dialog right now. How many times does a character proclaim that they blanked / are blanking / or will blank the shit out of blank.
My prediction is that Hank and Karen have a big fight, leading to Hank falling into a season 1 retro-style downward spiral in episode 2 (patch comes off, "rubber" comes off). Episode 3 establishes the actual tone for the season, as being similar to season one but with Bill out of the picture. Karen rediscovers that she doesn't want to be with Hank, not for Bill this time, but for herself.
There's a bit more on-again off-again than in season 1 (since Bill is out of the picture, meaning that Karen isn't a "cheater"- just a confused "baby mama").
The two finally call it quits in the penultimate episode. Then, in the finale, Karen finds out she's preggers but doesn't tell Hank right away.
Apologies if I'm right - unless you're Tom Kapinos, in which case you can hire me for the writing team, wherein I promise to write the shit of season 3!
thanks for writing the shit out of this comment!
ReplyDeletei totally smell the idea that Karen leaves Hank, not for Bill, but for herself. like when Amanda Jones tells Eric Stoltz in Some Kind of Wonderful that she's going to stand on her own for a change.