Mixed Feelings: Why ‘Californication’ Is Too In Love With Itself and Boobs

A show, to me, needs to earn its quality through a variety of things: writing, acting, directing, plot, etc. And it seems to me that the best series are those that truly earn it: the writing is sharp, the acting is nuanced, the directing is innovative, the plot treads new ground. And, if they don’t have these elements, I want to be able to see a series grow into them: something like Friday Night Lights, as an example, started small and built these elements through hard work and dedication.

I say all of this because Californication, the David Duchovny comedy that aired last night on Showtime, is a show that, like its lead character Hank, is in love with itself. It doesn’t appear to earn any of its quality, which is in fact quite present, but rather appears to just assume that its elements come together. I laughed a little, I felt the dramatic gravitas a little, but I never felt overtly compelled. And thus, I leave the pilot with mixed feelings: as much as I want to like the show, I do not feel I can ever like it as much as it likes itself.

The pilot is peppered with attempts to be either witty or provocative: references to film adaptations of novels and theme park rides, “Tom and Katie,” and America’s Next Top Model seem forced, attempting to remain relevant for no reason other than to be relevant. And then, as if they couldn’t do that enough to stand out, they found the secret recipe:

Boobies.

Yes, Californication was chock full of them. Hank had sexual escapades with no less than four buxom babes in the pilot, all of whom bare their breasts for really no reason other than to make the show stand out. And yet, random boobs do not a compelling series make.

The show’s best elements are those left unsung: Duchovny’s performance is right on target, the rest of the cast performs well, and it feels as if even the writing should be capable of some decent dialogue for these characters. And yet the show insists on flaunting its “risque” elements: the underage sex with his ex-girlfriend’s future stepdaughter, the boobs, the use of the word vagina.

I know that a struggling writer with writer’s block and family issues is nothing new (It’s the premise of the far inferior October Road on ABC, after all), but I don’t think the solution to that problem is gratuitous sexual content. If anything, I think that the extra language and nudity that Showtime provides a series should be used to turn the initial premise into something realistic, rather than almost exploitative.

But, again, the feelings are mixed: hopefully with a series order they might tone down the nudity and actually deal with the plot of the series in a refreshing fashion. I’m more than willing to give the series a chance at this point, I guess I’m just a little bit skeptical on the direction they’re heading.