Californication: the non-Bolt review

Californication is the new and much-lauded Showtime production featuring former X-Files and archetypal 90s-Man David Duchovny, after a series of disappointing roles in movies and bit parts on TV.

The show centres around Hank Moody (Duchovny), a writer who lives in LA, who has had huge commercial success following both the release of a critically acclaimed novel and its subsequent translation into a film. He hates the film. Everyone else loves it.

Moody has split from his partner Karen (Natascha McElhone) and plays a sometimes-father role to their 12 year old daughter, Becca (played to perfection by Madeleine Martin).

I watched the first episode because I was intrigued. I am a fan of David Duchovny's comedic roles (as I think I have pointed out on my blog) and I wondered, given that there had been such an emphasis on sex in the preceding promotion, what might be the actual plot-line of the show.

I was pleasantly surprised. Blow me down (double-entendre unintended) if there wasn't actually a story and some interesting ideas about families and relationships. Duchovny and McElhone absolutely crackle on-screen, and it is this dynamic which is far more interesting than the sex scenes, at least to me.

Is it bleak at times? Yes. Is it lonely and self-effacing? Yes. Is there anything wrong with that? Not in my book. The thing that draws you into Hank's world is that he does not, like the cast of Sex and the City, for example, believe that he is entitled to a better life. He is roundly jaded with the world and everything in it.

This is a refreshing change for TV, in my opinion. Hank is getting what he deserves (in more ways than one). He is unfulfilled by his life. He is desperately in love with his ex. Why it is surprising to anyone that some one in this position might pursue a lonely, self-destructive spiral of booze and sex is beyond me.

I can't help but read that Andrew Bolt considers Californication to be porn, and anyone associated with it to likewise be engaged in pornography. Now, I don't disagree that it's explicit. If it were being shown at 7:00pm, I think there would be legitimate cause for complaint. For those who might be put off by the sex, I would suggest that there really isn't much in here that we haven't already seen in Sex and the City.

If you haven't already watched this show, it's well worth a look. There are some genuinely "laugh out loud" moments and Duchovny was made for the vaguely nihilist world-weary character of Hank.

Californication airs on Channel 10, at 9:30pm on Monday nights.