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List Price: $39.99 | | Label: PARAMOUNT PICTURES
Salesrank: 1133
Released: June 17, 2008 |
| Our Price: $23.50 |
| Used Price: $24.25 |
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MPAA Rating: Unrated
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Sophisticated and unique, this comedy centers on novelist Hank Moody (David Duchovny) who struggles to raise his 13-year-old daughter, while still carrying a torch for his ex-girlfriend. His obsession with truth-telling and self destructive behavior -- drinks drugs and relationships -- are both destroying and enriching to his career.
Description of Californication - Season One:
"You can’t always get what you want." The Rolling Stones may have said it best, and it seems to be writer Hank Moody’s theme song. David Duchovny (X Files) was born to play this sly, sarcastic, self-loathing, and--despite all the meaningless sex, booze, and fist fights--kind character. Writer Moody hates the Los Angeles world he lives in; a world that turned his sharp best-seller into a cheesy date movie, where his young daughter and should-have-been wife (Natascha McElhone) are slipping away into the hands of a rich play-it-safe guy, and where everything he truly wants seems just out of his reach. But the man hasn’t lost all hope. "Happy endings may get a bad rap, but they do happen," he assures his daughter. "And when they do, they’re just as true as the unhappy ones." One can’t help but hope Hank finds his happy ending, because it's with his family that his soft side surfaces. Hank takes no shame in trying to woo back his "wife" Karen, even if it is in front of her new fiancé. He knows he’s meant to be with her--plain and simple--and there’s a glint in her eye that always makes you wonder if she’s really thinking the same thing. And his daughter Becca? Well, any guy would melt against this guitar-wielding cutie (played by the adorable Madeleine Martin), but Hank really captures the "I’ll kick a lot of ass for my daughter" mentality that so many dads harbor. He’s also fully prepared to drop a gorgeous woman at a moment’s notice to heed his daughter’s call.
The rest of the cast, including Evan Handler (Sex and the City) and Pamela Adlon (Lucky Louie), provide some surprisingly interesting and hilarious side stories. Just when it seems situations in this show can’t get any more ludicrous or disgusting, they most certainly do. That’s the beauty of it. Californication is a dark, coarse, edgy adult comedy. It’s also very real, and quite intelligent. --Jordan Thompson
Californication - Season One Reviews:
The XXX Files :) 
2009-11-18 - I saw the first episode of "Californication" as a bonus feature for "The Tudors" season 1. I loved it. It took awhile to get around to purchasing it, but it really is one of the best shows I've seen. At first, I wondered if it was going to be an endless parade of one-night stands for Hank Moody (played brilliantly by David Duchovny) but the show turned out to be so much more. Yes, there's a good amount of sex, but also explores the complex relationships of the people in Hank's life, including his ex and his daughter. Watch as Duchovny gets naked, high, throws up on an over-priced piece of "art," gets drunk, steals a dog, punches a guy's lights out for insulting his ex, and delivers some of the best written dialogue around. The show is a delight to watch and though much of Hank Moody's behavior is ridiculous, by the end of the series, he's really a rather sympathetic character. As a friend of ours put it, "He (Duchovny) does loveable sleazeball really well." I highly recommend this series.
A lot of dirty talk and sex scenes but it's not funny. 
2009-11-02 - It has a lot of dirty talk and sex scenes but it's not funny. It's like a cheap soft porn. The dialogues are over the top.
True To Life
2009-10-31 - Reality shows you like? Than dump everything you've seen before, because this show really focus on true life experiences some of us find in the bigger communities. Marriage, divorce, sex and sex at work, split parents with one child trying to reconcile things, drugs, drugs with the kids, drugs with the parents, boy/girl friends of the other parent and so on....
This show covers it all in some way and dosent come across as a staged perfourmance. Its like a camera man following you around filming everything you do; eating, dating, going to the bathroom, sex, drugs, grocery shopping, sleeping.....
Best reality show I've seen yet.
Season 2 is just as good!
Californication - One of the five best shows on television today!
2009-10-09 - David Duchovny (star of Fox's "The X-Files") stars in "Californication", originally shown on Showtime (rock group Red Hot Chili Peppers attempted to sue the creators of the show for copyright infringement, based on the fact that the title was the name of one of their albums). This happens to be one of my five favorite television shows of all time. While it's no "Nip/Tuck", it has it's similarities in regards to adults behaving like adults, graphic language, graphic sexuality and the story of the everyday lives of successful men (and the women who desire and despise them). Unlike "Nip/Tuck", this show is a sleaze-light, no-nonsense comedy intended for the mature crowd. "Californication" reminds me a bit of some events that I have went through, not only as a writer, but in my personal life as well.
"Californication" tells the intricate story of Hank Moody, a successful and critically-acclaimed author who struggles with being a single parent, womanizing (which includes one of his bedfellows attempting to plagiarize his unpublished works) and drug use. The story takes place in California and we hear a song entitled "California Dreaming" a lot in the entire series. Hank admits that he's not perfect, not only to himself, but to his daughter and his love, Karen. While Hank admits this, he doesn't waste time trying not to hurt the feelings of others (well, not in this season). Hank Moody is no Christian Troy, but he does have a sense of principles that he refuses to break. Although many would label him as childish, irresponsible or having a sex-addiction, he behaves normal, desirable and successful adults do. Along with his success comes women, business deals, drugs, sex, violent altercations and run-ins with the law and even more problems (including the distress of him losing his father and trying to regain the love of his life, Karen, who happens to be the mother of his children). While his works are highly celebrated (and one of them being turned into a Hollywood screenplay), he feels that the talent of writing is a slowly dying art form that isn't appreciated anymore, thanks to modern technology, television and the internet. He articulately states "People don't write anymore. They blog!" Not only do we get to meet Hank, but we also meet more people like him: successful, desirable men from all walks of life who deal with racy sexual escapades that may threaten their careers, particularly Charlie (Hank's agent, I believe), played by Evan Handler, who is caught with his Suicide-Girls-like secretary, Dani (Rachel Miner), who will eventually destroy his career in the second season.
My favorite episodes for the first season [9/12]:
Ep. 1: Pilot
Ep. 2: Hell-A Woman
Ep. 3: The Whore of Babylon
Ep. 4: Fear and Loathing at the Fundraiser
Ep. 5: LOL
Ep. 7: Girls Interrupted
Ep. 8: California Son
Ep. 10: The Devil's Threesome
Ep. 11: Turn the Page
I have to admit, this show is absolutely not for everyone. Some will think of "Californication" as being misogynistic, sleazy, graphic in sexuality and language and depicting adults behaving immaturely. The same has been said about "Nip/Tuck" and many of today's television shows. This show does contain lots of sexual references, dialogue and content in itself, drug use and some mild violence. With this being the case, this show is intended for mature audiences only. Finally, something with substance added to the mix of entertainment. Easily recognized as one of the best shows on the tube today, alongside "Nip/Tuck", "Cougar Town" and "The Boondocks". View with discretion and caution.
Awesome!!
2009-09-15 - This is the BEST crazy, dark humored, sexy show that keeps you glued to your seat wanting more! I love it & I'm hooked!
