You People

Director: Kenya Barris
Starring: Jonah Hill, Lauren London, David Duchovny, Nia Long, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Eddie Murphy, Sam Jay, Travis Bennett, Molly Gordon, Deon Cole, Andrea Savage, Elliot Gould, Rhea Perlman, Mike Epps, Bryan Greenberg, Matt Walsh
Running Time: 118 min.
Rating: R

★★ ½ (out of ★★★★) 

Say this for Kenya Barris' Netflix culture clash rom com, You People: It's funnier than not and many of the jokes land. There's also an inspired premise at its center that positions the film as a more unruly, pessimistic Guess Who's Coming To Dinner. Because it's efficiently made and you grasp the intent, it really comes down to your willingness to be bludgeoned with different variations on a similar joke for the sake of enduring an occasionally awkward sit. Barris (who created TV's Blackish) and co-writer and star Jonah Hill would probably tell you that's the point, and while it scores for not holding back and being refreshingly un-PC, this was never going to be the smoothest ride given its material.

Anyone in need of a harsh reminder that marrying someone means marrying their family, just imagine spending two hours with the wacky, ignorant in-laws here. But considering the lengths the script goes in depicting their self-righteous prejudices, the ending amounts to the proverbial wave of a magic wand. And therein lies the film's conundrum of attempting to reconcile its humor with more serious social commentary. There's this feeling it doesn't quite get there, even if its talented cast does admirable work in balancing the tone. We're at least reminded how good Hill is, creating a relatably insecure character with noble intentions who contends with a bunch of nonsense that brings him to his breaking point. Unfortunately, it's possible viewers might reach theirs first. 

When thirty-five-year-old broker and cultural podcaster Ezra Cohen (Hill) meets fashion designer Amira Mohammed (Lauren London) after mistaking her for his Uber driver, they go out to lunch and embark on a relationship, sharing a mutual attraction despite dissimilar backgrounds. Ezra's family is Jewish, with parents Shelley (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and Arnold (David Duchovny) outwardly enamored by the fact their son's dating a Black woman, a point they embarrassingly hammer home to display how open and tolerant they are. That they do this while holding up lesbian daughter Liza (Molly Gordon) as an example of their progressiveness only magnifies their tunnel vision.

Amira's parents Fatima (Nia Long) and Akbar (Eddie Murphy) are devout Farrahkhan supporting Nation of Islam followers, with him far preferring his Black daughter to date a Muslim. After Ezra and Amira move in together and he contemplates proposing, a joint family dinner goes spectacularly wrong, leading to increased tensions when the engagement is announced. With Akbar publicly humiliating Ezra at every turn, Shelley cluelessly and disrespectfully parades Amira around town for diversity cred, oblivious to how uncomfortable it's making her future daughter-in-law. As the wedding approaches and the tension of their parents' behavior weighs on Amira and Ezra, both start wondering if what they have together is strong enough to withstand their feuding families.

Most of the best moments come from Hill's flustered, deadpan reactions to the constant ribbing and humiliating abuse his character receives from Murphy's Akbar. And while the latter is too humorless a character to even mildly empathize with, there's still a lot of mileage in seeing two talents like Hill and Murphy bounce off each other for the first time. Similarly, there's no telling how much worse this could have been without actors the caliber of Murphy and Louis-Dreyfus, who put their own unique spins on what could have easily been walking stereotypes. Lauren London is likable and engaging as Amira while an opening credit montage featuring Ezra's Black culture podcast with friend Mo (Sam Jay) is an early highlight.  

With the exception of an early gag involving Duchovny's Xzibit obsessed Arnold doing his best John Legend, he and Nina Long are curiously sidelined, their characters lacking personal agency, merely taken along for the ride with their respective spouses. Well directed by Barris with solid performances all-around, it has a repetitive quality that starts to wear thin in the second half. Much of that can be attributed to Shelley and Akbar, whose antics are rooted in the same kind of misunderstandings and everyday prejudices that drive issue oriented sitcoms. But then it keeps going, with characters less resembling real people than lightning rods for controversy. And once the film starts tackling racism and anti-semitism head-on, it feels tonally off, especially when Barris has to take this in for the landing. 

Regardless of how much rumored work was required getting Hill and London on the same page as a believable couple, they're mostly fine together, as any lack of chemistry isn't the film's biggest problem. They share an easygoing rapport that does seem more platonic than romantic, but it's really the chaos surrounding them that wears thin after a while. Following a surprisingly strong start, the concept just seems to run out of gas before reaching an easy conclusion. In aiming to function as a fun, socially relevant time capsule, You People marginally succeeds, but with the pieces of a better movie strewn and scattered about. 

TV on DVD: Californication (The Complete Third Season)

Starring: David Duchovny, Natascha McElhone, Pamela Adlon, Madeleine Martin, Evan Handler, Peter Gallagher, Eva Amurri, Embeth Davidtz, Diane Farr, Kathleen Turner, Rick Springfield
Creator: Tom Kapinos
Original Airdate: 2009

★★★ ½ (out of ★★★★)

"The idea came out of my own misery of working on Dawson's Creek. I came out here to write screenplays, and I ended up on Dawson's Creek, which was very lucrative and fun, but it was not what I wanted to do. The experience was miserable."
 -Creator Tom Kapinos

You learn something new everyday. As big a Dawson's Creek fan as I am (no joke, it's true) I still had no idea the same person responsible for running that show (into the ground some would say) in its final two seasons wrote and created Californication. And how would I? Could two shows possibly differ more? Contrary to popular opinion, I don't think he ran that series into the ground and would rank the final two seasons he presided over as its strongest, breathing new life into a stale show before it signed off for good. You can only imagine how handcuffed the mind behind a show as smart edgy as Californication must have felt overseeing a teen drama on the WB, but it's still kind of funny the experience traumatized him enough to create this. And it's a good thing it did.

Now in its third season, the misadventures of sex addicted writer and mid-life crisis sufferer Hank Moody not only shows no signs of losing steam, the character's emerging as almost a tragic figure of sorts. The series has always been unusually skilled at mixing comedy and drama, but most of this season feels exclusively like pure screwball comedy. It isn't until the final episode you realize that there was a concrete plan in place the entire time and just how well written the entire story arc was. The finale also marks the first time during the course of the series where star David Duchovny, seemingly so effortlessly laid back and cool in this role, is called upon to play angry and miserable. It's strange to think that for a long period of time in the '90's that's all we thought he could do, or at least all he was allowed to. Now as he just keeps getting better and revealing more with each passing episode, he's surprisingly evolving into one of the best dramatic actors on television.

After last season's enormously successful guest turn from Callum Keith Rennie as wild music producer Lew Ashby, Kapinos had probably hoped to recreate that magic by stacking Season 3 with as many guest stars as possible, to the point that they basically take over the show, even pushing some of the series regulars to the side. It's a big risk, but one that works because of who they are and the thought that went into how they'd be incorporated into the narrative. The on again off again on again off again relationship between Hank and Karen (Natascha McElhone), his womanizing, and inability to be the father and husband he needs to be is still at the crux of the series, only this time the game has changed slightly. With Karen off to New York at the end of last season, McElhone appears only sporadically throughout the season until the final few episodes while previous regular Madeline Zima returns in only a single (but very memorable) guest starring appearance as the conniving Mia. It's a credit to how exciting the season is that the absence of two main characters is barely noticeable and when they finally do return, the impact they make is huge.

Hank already has enough going on between increasingly troubled teenage daughter Becca (Madeleine Martin) rebelling like she never has before and his new gig as a college professor, which not surprisingly supplies the season's most entertaining moments. Just the idea of Hank being let loose on a college campus as a writing professor is filled with all sorts of crazy potential and this doesn't disappoint since he doesn't just stop at sleeping with the Dean's wife (Embeth Davidtz), but also goes after his T.A. (Diane Farr) and one of his students, (Eva Amurri), who happens to be a stripper. His attempts to juggle these women and keep his job provides the narrative for most of the season, but this might be one of the few occasions where the women he beds on the show are presented as being smarter and more interesting than he is, as opposed to the latest notches in his belt they've been treated as in the previous two seasons. That, the superb performances from those three actresses (especially Amurri) and Hank being dropped in a fresh setting make most of these episodes soar, with impending return of Karen always on the horizon, along with the chance she could take Becca back with her to New York if he doesn't get his act together. Of course, if he does, there's still that possibility he could be transplanted with them, which would be bad news for a series so dependent on its west coast setting and atmosphere. Plus, Newyorkifornication just doesn't have the same ring to it.

The series' weak link is still the character of Charlie Runkle (Evan Handler) who's seemingly never-ending divorce saga with wife Marcy (Pamela Adlon) continues to play out in a somewhat tiresome fashion. But at least this time Charlie's finally given a storyline that comes closest to working when he gets another shot as an agent working for the brash, hilariously vulgar, sex obsessed Sue Collini (Kathleen Turner) and overseeing the potential comeback of 80's music superstar Rick Springfield (playing a version of "himself"). Turner's performance is practically surreal in terms of the explicit dialogue that comes out her mouth and how she so casually delivers it. It's rare you can say something's done entirely for shock value and mean it as a compliment, but Turner's an exception, excelling at her best role in years. Rounding out the guest-filled season is Peter Gallagher, great as the clueless Dean Stacey Koons, Pineapple Express' Kevin Corrigan as Hank's loserish childhood friend, Gossip Girl's Ed Westwick as a troubled student. and in a brilliantly bizarre crossover cameo, Ken Marino briefly reprises his role as Professor David Wilder from Dawson's Creek nearly a decade later. Given there's probably very little audience overlap between the two shows, I'm likely one of the few who noticed the shout-out to the Creek, but it isn't exactly everyday you get to see a familiar character from a long defunct show resurrected years later in a totally different series. Yet with all that works, this still isn't quite a perfect season, making me wonder what it'll take to get there. I'd say getting rid of Charlie Runkle would help but so much time and effort has been invested into the character it would almost be a disastrous decision to write him out now (plus I have this awful feeling I'd actually miss the dope, which is a credit to Handler's performance if nothing else).

So much happens during this season it almost feels like the action hits its peak before the finale, but that finale ends up being one of the strongest episodes of the series, with Hank's plight connecting in a way it hasn't before in the final few minutes, bringing new meaning to the term "hitting rock bottom." An issue we thought had died resurfaces for him at the worst time, threatening to rip his family apart for good. Everything always comes back to Hank and Karen and what's so interesting about the series is that we know already how it has to end: With Hank's redemption. Yet that still doesn't diminish any of the anticipation in getting there and what it'll mean when that eventually occurs.

With the quality of writing on even the best shows fluctuating wildly from season to season, this series has accomplished something rare. Its Showtime stablemate Dexter will always get more accolades and attention simply because when it hits its mark, it hits it hard, and the bar is raised so high. That happens less frequently with Californication and when it really delivers it falls shorter than that show, but over the long haul consistency has been its trademark, delivering three seasons in a row of nearly equal quality, each providing a different viewing experience. Someone could just dive into this season cold having never seen the show before and still enjoy it. That says a lot. The possibility that it hasn't hit its peak yet as it enters its fourth season and there are more avenues to explore with these characters is reason enough to keep tuning in.     

The Joneses

Director: Derrick Borte
Starring: Demi Moore, David Duchovny, Amber Heard, Ben Hollingsworth, Gary Cole, Lauren Hutton, Glenne Headly
Running Time: 96 min.
Rating: R

★★★ (out of ★★★★)

The Joneses is the most frustrating kind of good movie to review because it brushes so closely with greatness, only to fall short due to a couple of dumb, easily correctable problems. Calling its central premise inspired or original is an understatement. So much so that the execution could have been completely squandered and the finished product would have still probably turned out okay. It isn't squandered, but there's that feeling that all the potential wasn't realized and there was something really special in there struggling to break through. With a concept like this I question how any film could fully deliver on it without at least some degree of disappointment. For the first hour it looks like it will, but writer/director Derrick Borte sets the bar a little too high for himself and struggles at times to find the right tone before unloading a rushed ending completely inappropriate for the film.

Some movies can get away with a lackluster ending but this can't since all the themes and ideas seem to build toward the story's resolution.  But in all fairness to Borte, it's no easy task getting a high concept like this exactly where it needs to go and he does a serviceable job.  If nothing else, the film deserved more attention than it got during its brief, invisible run in theaters and should be wildly applauded for actually introducing an original idea we haven't seen on screen before. But as impressive as certain ideas can look on paper, following through with them all the way is a different matter altogether.

It helps to know as little as possible about the premise going in but the trailers and commercials give it away because they didn't really have a choice. Without coming clean with its concept, there's nothing to sell the movie on other than its stars, a cruel irony considering this is all about selling. But for the first fifteen minutes we are cleverly left in the dark when Steve Jones (David Duchovny) and his youthful looking wife, Kate (Demi Moore) move into an upper-middle class (i.e. rich) suburban neighborhood with their two high school aged kids, Jennifer (Amber Heard) and Mick (Ben Hollingsworth). They look like one of those impossibly perfect, great looking families that stepped out of a fancy home magazine, with a residence to match. And for good reason. That's basically what they are. The big secret is that they're a fake family being paid by a stealth marketing company to push new products in the neighborhood. Logically, if they're liked, everyone will want to to own what they have. They're selling themselves as much as they are the products with their manager, KC (Lauren Hutton) tracking the progress. On her sixth husband, the driven Kate is the veteran of the "unit" and on her first "head of household" assignment is supervising Steve, a green as grass rookie learning the ropes, but it gets complicated when their working arrangement evolves into something more and their "kids" begin to emotionally unravel from pretending to be what they're not. The Joneses also have to deal with the consequences of the bonds they've formed with those in the neighborhood, real or fake as they may be.

The expression "Keeping up with the Joneses" could seem dated to some, but the idea behind it definitely isn't. Hearing the title of the movie I couldn't help but laugh at the fact that one of my favorite sayings was being adapted into a feature film as I've been known to use it every time it seems applicable, which is a lot more often than you'd think.  Knowing the premise going in I was still impressed with how it was slowly and mysteriously introduced so that like the neighbors we're not initially sure what to make of these Joneses or what their deal is. When we do is when the movie really comes alive in its first sixty minutes, fully exploiting all the possibilities and implications of their deception. An important touch is that the Joneses are actually good salespeople because they don't overdo it and the film already has a built-in excuse for product placement, which Borte's script doesn't abuse by shoving it down our throats. In this sense the film, while completely original in conceit, does have definite thematic shadings of The Truman Show and Pleasantville in its critique of American materialism and consumerism.

The casting is so spot-on it's scary, with the choices in actors serving the themes exceptionally well. Who wouldn't buy a golf club David Duchovny recommended? Who could have possibly been a better choice to play Kate than Demi Moore, an actress who's basically sold to us as an anti-aging commodity? And is there a high school girl who wouldn't want look, dress like and BE Amber Heard? Moore gives her best performance in ages as the ambitious sales leader, in addition to looking as young as she has in years, which isn't an entirely irrelevant point when you consider the nature of her role. Duchovny brings the sly charm in what's kind of a watered down version of his Hank Moody character on Californication, making his best case so far for big screen leading man status.  In smaller but still suitably developed roles, the increasingly prolific Heard continues her streak of nailing (literally in this case) any supporting part she's given and newcomer Hollingsworth effectively sketches out the teen poser harboring a secret of his own. And since they're both supposed to be adults playing teenagers, we now finally have a movie with a suitable excuse for casting adults as teenagers.

The movie attempts to go to dark places the second act requires even if it feels a little out of step with the sitcom-style feel that's present throughout. The darkest center around married couple, Summer and Larry (Glenne Headly and Gary Cole), next-door neighbors struggling to keep up with Joneses. Headley and Cole are two of the more underrated character actors working today so it's no surprise they turn mere sketches into real people worth caring about and fill in the blanks of their slightly underwritten roles, alternating seamlessly between the comedy and drama. When the wheels start to fly off the Joneses perfect fake life Borte seems to want to turn this into a scathing commentary carrying an impact similar to more dramatic entries in suburban dysfunction like American Beauty or the more recent Revolutionary Road. That's when he starts losing his way and grasp on tone before wimping out with an abrupt, unsatisfying finish that damages the film's overall credibility. The worst thing he could have done with a premise this strong was attempt to spell everything out for us, which he does with an embarrassing soapbox-style speech that comes abruptly out of left field to wrap things up in a conventional Hollywood way. He also does the second worst thing in giving far too much emphasis to the romantic angle between the two leads. The idea that this sales team family are co-workers under the same roof is intriguing and Moore and Duchovny have chemistry, but her character is such a humorless ice queen it's difficult to grasp what Steve sees in her (well, at least from a personality standpoint). This sub-plot that should be downplayed in favor of the darker elements of the script instead takes center stage at the worst possible time, making the film feel almost like a fluffy romantic comedy.

I'll concede to some bias here since dark, suburban social commentaries are among my favorite types of pictures but Borte at least had the concept for a real winner in his hands, only to let it slip through his fingers. With a firm command over the look of sprawling, sunny suburbia he's a better director than writer, which isn't to say he's a bad writer because it takes a lot of talent to even come up with an idea like this, much less push it as far as he does. But the last thing that should be accompanying this film this ambitious at its conclusion is a forgettable feeling. With a final act that reeks of studio interference, I wouldn't mind seeing a hidden director's cut or even a full-blown remake that follows its dark path to the ending its premise promises. Despite an admirable effort to do something different, The Joneses tries to please everybody, and ironically becomes guilty of engaging in some of the same tactics it's sending up.

TV on DVD: Californication (The Complete Second Season)

Creator: Tom Kapinos
Starring: David Duchovny, Natascha McElhone, Madeleine Martin, Evan Handler, Pamela Adlon, Madeline Zima, Callum Keith Rennie
Original Airdate: 2008

★★★ 1/2 (out of ★★★★)

Second seasons are tough. Just run down the list of television's most acclaimed shows and try naming any that had a sophomore season better than its first. The freshness of the premiere season can't be equaled and there's almost always a drop-off in quality, often very steep. The more second seasons of enjoyable shows I view the more appreciation I have for the writers burdened with such a thankless task, as I picture their weekdays spent locked in a conference room screaming at each another and banging their heads against the wall. Californication's second season isn't necessarily an exception to this rule, but watching it gave me a greater understanding why writing a worthy follow-up to a creatively strong debut season can be so difficult. There's the pressure to stay true to all the characters' established traits, yet at the same time have them progress so you're merely not just repeating the same situations. This becomes even more challenging with a protagonist like Hank Moody, whose very likability rests on the fact that he can never grow or mature as a character. If he does, the essence of what makes this show so compulsively watchable is lost.

Cleverly (but not without a shaky, unfocused start), showrunner Tom Kapinos found a way out of this dilemma by lessening the focus on Hank and expanding the setting he inhabits by introducing a fresh character. It allows him to move in a new direction without us feeling like he has. So while the second season of Californication isn't as strong as the first, I enjoyed it more, and did so because of one performance. And David Duchovny isn't the actor who gives it. It's the only thing really worth talking about in the entire season, not because there isn't anything else worthwhile, but because this relatively unknown actor blows everything and everyone he comes in contact with right off the screen with the one of the best recent guest starring performances on a series. Despite having just a brief stay, the show won't be the same again without the character.

The very early start of this season is rough and slow going, calling attention to a familiar long-running problem that's faced any show with a pair of romantic leads: Viewers are rooting for them to get together even though it isn't in the best interest of the series. When season 1 ended we were teased with the reconciliation of self-absorbed, womanizing writer Hank (Duchovny) and his on-again, off-again girlfriend, Karen (Natasha McElhone) after she leaves her new husband at the altar to run away with him and their teenage daughter Becca (Madeliene Martin). The opening episodes of this season follow through on that tease, perhaps to give us a fleeting glimpse of how bad the show would be if they did reconcile. It's comparable to your favorite losing team finally winning the Super Bowl or World Series. At first you're elated, but then what? That next season can never be as fun because the thrill of the chase is gone, as is the pride you felt sticking by a terrible team no one thought stood a chance. Being the defending champions just isn't as exciting.

Hank is that losing team who can never deliver when he needs to and him reuniting with Karen essentially defeats the purpose of the entire show. There's nothing to root for. Thankfully, it didn't last and the writers instead cleverly used it as a creative launching pad for Hank to screw up royally again, reverting to his mischievous, hedonistic ways. But this season he meets the one person in California living harder than he is. With either drugs, groupies or hookers in every other room of his palatial Laurel Canyon mansion, famous Gatsby-like music producer Lew Ashby (Callum Keith Rennie) befriends Hank at a party and chooses him as the writer of his biography. Rennie's performance is the best kind of great one because it sneaks up on you. At first it doesn't seem like it's going to be much or the character will even be that important but slowly you realize that this entire show is his and everyone else is just tagging along for the wild ride. It's with his arrival and the unusual bond he develops with Hank where this season starts to turn the corner.

While a party animal like Hank, Ashby is also secretly drowning in a sea of regret over "the one that got away," a mystery woman who provides the hidden key to Ashby's life and Hank's research into the biography. Her name is Janie and she's played by Twin Peaks vet Madchen Amick who in no small feat manages to meet expectations of the one woman capable of weakening him. Even when indulging in his worst impulses, like slyly attempting to steal Karen from him, he remains the best friend Hank could possibly have and his perfect counterpart. But what's most remarkable about Rennie's performance is how much much it'll remind viewers of friends they've had or people they've met. So much so the character seems like he almost has to be based on a real person, or maybe a combination of different people. Ashby is that kind of guy who just keeps screwing up over and over again, but is so cool and likable that you just go along with it. You know you should tell them to change their ways, but how can you (at least with a straight face) when they're this much fun? He rips through the characters' lives like a tornado and goes out the only way he can--in a self-destructive blaze of glory. And credit the writers for being smart enough to realize the most interesting people we encounter in life tend to be the ones who rarely stick around for long.

Rennie, a Canadian actor with credits including The X-Files, Battlestar Galactica, 24 and FlashForward is supposedly good friends with Duchovny so that helped lead to him to being cast. As executive producer you'd figure Duchovny had to know this guy would completely steal the season, but unselfishly realized it was in the show's best interest for him to do just that. It's a writing achievement but Rennie deserves accolades for bringing what's on the page to life in a way another performer wouldn't have been able to. The character also sheds a new light on Hank, making him confront his mistakes in a way that couldn't have been achieved if this season's focus was just on him again. In retrospect, Showtime probably missed a golden opportunity to spin Ashby off into his own series since I could easily envision a show focusing on his previous exploits (maybe an adaptation of that "biography?") being even more entertaining than this one.

There were other notable guest starring turns this season like the return of Judy Greer (with a slightly expanded role this time around) as prostitute Trixie, Meredith Monroe as an annoying Rachael Ray-like celebrity chef, Justine Bateman as Becca's teacher and Hank conquest, Sheri Moon Zombie as a nurse and Undeclared's Carla Gallo as a porn actress Hank's bumbling agent Charlie Runkle (Evan Handler) takes on as a client. Unfortunately, Charlie's the weak link of the season and again drags it down a few notches, which is a shame because everything else on the show works so well and Handler always delivers in the sometimes thankless role. There's some nonsense with he and his wife Marcy's (Pamela Adlon) coke addiction and his plunge into the porn industry, some of it tired and little of it as funny as the show seems to think it is. If I had to choose though I'd at least say I enjoyed this Charlie storyline better than the S & M craziness he was involved in with his assistant (Rachel Miner) last season, mainly because Gallo is a more likable actress and Hal Ozsan puts in a good turn as a sleazy filmmaker. All this has its moments but something better has to be done with Charlie so we care about the character outside of his connection to Hank, rather than all the shows most vulgar elements being thrown on him for no reason other than to provide cheap, gross-out laughs.

With a character like Ashby front and center for nearly every episode something had to give somewhere. That something ends up being Mia (Madeline Zima) who's pretty much entirely pushed to the sidelines with the exception of a fling with Ashby that does more to further enhance the legend of "The Great Ashby" than anything else. But that's fine. What the writers never forget is how Hank's actions and his dysfunctional relationship with Karen affects Becca, played by Madeleine Martin in her typically awesome deadpan style. It's really the heart of the entire show and becomes even more important this season when she gets a boyfriend and the suddenly overprotective Hank finds himself in the role of one of "those dads" because if anyone should know what guys are after it's him. He realizes it's not so funny when it's happening to his own daughter.

A season that starts with Hank settling down with Karen and getting a vasectomy had me worried the writers really were going to castrate and wussify the character, but thankfully they were in on the joke. That the most important influence on the series was a music producer is fitting on a show that names episodes after Harry Chapin albums and plays choice tracks from Warren Zevon's catalog. This season feels like a great sophomore album requiring a few listens to fully appreciate but is endlessly listenable. Rennie's performance as Ashby makes it worth returning to and given the choice I'd more quickly revisit this season, flaws and all, than the first one. Second seasons can't be first seasons but they can hope to broaden the scope, allowing the story and characters to move forward in a way that doesn't offend loyal viewers too much. In doing that, the second season of Californication succeeds where many other shows haven't.

TV on DVD: Californication (The Complete First Season)

Creator: Tom Kapinos
Starring: David Duchovny, Natascha McElhone, Pamela Adlon, Madeliene Martin, Evan Handler, Madeline Zima, Rachel Miner
Original Air Date: 2007

★★★ 1/2 (out of ★★★★)

Californication is a show with a premise that's somewhat difficult to sell: A washed-up writer has to deal with beautiful women throwing themselves at him everywhere he goes. Poor guy. You can see how this concept is problematic on the believability scale and presents a challenge to audiences who might want to empathize with the main character. Yet the series still manages to be compulsively entertaining to the point where it's very nearly addictive and I think it's because we're NOT asked to empathize with this guy or relate to him on any level. We just need to laugh at and with him. He is what he is, which is one of those likable unlikable TV characters whose life is one mess after another and it's fun seeing him try to clean it up. The show features the same kind of self absorbed L.A. characters as Entourage but reminded me also of Weeds, if marijuana was replaced with sex. This is more polarizing than those two because of the subject matter but I liked it much more and it's laid back humor went down easy for me without feeling forced.

Self-absorbed novelist Hank Moody (Duchovny) is in a slump, both personally and professionally. Nursing a serious case of writer's block, his last successful novel, "God Hates Us All" was adapted into the terrible but commercially successful romantic comedy called A Crazy Little Thing Called Love starring two actors ubiquitously referred to as "Tom and Katie." His move from New York to L.A. a couple of years ago with longtime girlfriend Karen (Natascha McElhone) and their daughter Becca (Madeleine Martin) has been a disaster with Karen now engaged to publisher Bill (Damian Young) and even his loyal agent Charlie (Evan Handler) doubting his ability to produce another worthwhile piece of writing. Depressed and full of self-loathing Hank plunges himself into a hedonsitic lifestyle that includes sleeping with every woman he sees and experimenting frequently with drugs and alcohol. The former is the driving force of the entire series when in the pilot he "successfully" scores with a girl named Mia (Madeline Zima) at the bookstore impressed by his fleeting fame. Two problems:

1. She's sixteen.
2. She's Bill's Daughter.

The manipulative Mia hangs the information of Hank's statutory rape over his head as blackmail in funny and sometimes downright creepy ways throughout the season, coming to a head in the finale. That and Hank's self-destructive sexual behavior prove to be a big roadblock in his goal of winning Karen back from Bill and forging a meaningful relationship with his daughter. The show is nothing else if not timely...and a little controversial. The term "sex addict" has entered the lexicon in a big way lately and has been thrown around (somewhat haphazardly) to describe the antics of unfaithful, two-timing public figures like Tiger Woods and Jesse James. But given that Hank was dumped and actually cheated on this show still presents the profile of a character who really does seem to be a sex addict, not just someone who cheats, checks into a clinic for P.R. and gets labeled with the buzz word. He actually needs this to function in his everyday life which creates an interesting dynamic for the show, especially in light of the fact he's trying to re-build his family and jump start a dead career. His encounters (physical and otherwise) with these various women provide the laughs on the show while his attempts to straighten himself out into a well adjusted father and potential husband for Karen supply the drama.

Despite all the hype and critical acclaim surrounding this series, I was apprehensive going in because I'd heard a lot of negative feedback from those who saw it and was never that big of a David Duchovny fan to begin with. When you see a performer do the same act for a decade straight it becomes easier to believe that they're not capable of anything else. After watching Duchovny in this I now understand how it can be a nightmare for an actor to be trapped in a specific role and how it can annoy the hell out of them having fans constantly reminding them of it. As droll F.B.I. Agent Fox Mulder on The X-Files he helped cured insomnia for viewers for nearly ten years because that's what was required of him. None of this was his fault but the part stayed in one key throughout, depriving him the opportunity to display much range (or emotion) at all. This role is the complete polar opposite of that in exposing a gift for dry comedy we didn't know he had and stands as a great example why actors are leaving film for more creative opportunities in television.

It's a little bit of a stretch (okay, a big stretch) to believe this guy gets laid every night of the week using the tactics he does, but hey, you never know. It is L.A. It's easier to see how Duchovny got so caught up in playing such a fun character that it spilled over into his personal life. Telling his wife he was researching the role probably isn't an excuse that went over well, but he somehow takes this self-centered, egotistical jerk and makes us root for him. It helps that in a cesspool of jerks Hank's the antihero, whether it's saving Mia from her coke snorting creative writing teacher or putting Bill in his place he always seems like the lesser of two evils in any situation. His relationship with Bill is particularly interesting because they're not exactly enemies but you almost get the impression that they can't survive without tormenting each other.

That Duchovny won the Golden Globe for this instead of The X-Flies proves at least every once in a while they get it right. But as good as his performance is, the three actresses supporting him are equally impressive, especially Madeline Zima whose playful, knowing approach to Mia allows us to see the humor and silliness in the season's most uncomfortable storyline. As Becca, Madeleine Martin (who eerily resembles Emily the Strange) has an unaffected, very matter of fact way about her that you don't see very often in child actresses. Everything just seems to bounce off her, until every once in a while she offers little glimpses of just how much Hank's behavior hurts. Never shocked, she always seems to be in a constant state of resigned disappointment that he can't get his act together. And like Duchovny, the well traveled (but unfairly unknown) Natascha McElhone is finally afforded the opportunity to play the kind of multi-dimensional character her film roles wouldn't allow. What there are in the way of guest spots include Judy Greer as a prostitute named Trixie and the busy Amber Heard continuing her welcome streak of appearing in everything I've seen in the past year, this time briefly as herself.

The show isn't perfect, but it's close. The one story thread that didn't work for me involves Hank's agent Charlie and his sadomasochistic relationship with his secretary, Dani (Rachel Miner), or really anything involving the sexually frustrated Charlie and his wife Marcy (Pamela Adlon). Part of that problem is that Hank's such a character that it's difficult caring about anyone or anything that aren't directly related to his issues. While Miner's a good actress, the role doesn't seem to fit her for some reason and the whole situation feels like filler. That the character of Dani looked to be expanding in importance and screen time as the season wrapped worries me slightly moving forward. And yes, that ruffling of papers you hear are the Red Hot Chili Peppers' attorneys gathering the documents necessary for a huge lawsuit. Too bad the band inexplicably didn't register the trademarks "Californication" or "Dani California" and will now probably lose the case. They deserve to for such a boneheaded move.

All the tools are there for this series to get much better in the following seasons, but I fear the possibility it could also get progressively worse, collapsing under the weight of its own difficult premise. It's a good sign though that synopses for upcoming seasons reveal Hank takes up teaching at a university and there are guest appearances from Peter Gallagher, Kathleen Turner and singer Rick Springfield (playing "a version of himself"). As a whole, Showtime presents the strongest line-up of original programming on cable and Californication is emblematic of that, providing one of the breeziest DVD viewings of a show I've had recently, without a single clunker episode in the twelve. It's the kind of show that you can get hooked on for hours thanks to interesting, well-written characters well worth spending your time with.

The X-Files: I Want To Believe

Director: Chris Carter
Starring: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Amanda Peet, Billy Connolly, Alvin “Xzibit” Joiner, Mitch Pileggi
Running Time: 104 min.
Rating: PG-13

** (out of ****)

There are two mindsets with which you can approach The X-Files: I Want To Believe. You can go in not expecting much, and that’s pretty much what you’ll end up with. Nothing gained, nothing lost. Or, like me, you can go in thinking that a popular series that’s been off the air for over six years and concluded with one of the worst shark jumps in television history better come up with something really good to get people to show up at theaters.

It’s not so much that film does anything actively wrong, but that it just doesn’t bother doing anything at all. It plays exactly like one of your standard “monster-of the-week” episodes of The X-Files, and a pretty bad one at that. Because of this, those completely unfamiliar with the show will likely be more forgiving, or in the least they won’t actively despise it as much as I did. It steals the worst aspects of Hostel and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, fusing them into a screenplay that wouldn’t even pass muster as one of the lesser CBS crime procedurals. And director/series creator Chris Carter wonders why no one showed up for this film or why he’s having problems re-launching the franchise.

While I wasn’t exactly looking forward to seeing this film, but I did enter it with an open mind and wanted Carter to prove me wrong and pull this off. He didn't. I never considered The X-Files to ever be one of our greatest shows because even in its best seasons it was frustratingly uneven. Episodes of brilliance would be followed the next week by something so absurd you wouldn’t believe it was even the same series. But the one constant right up until the end was that you'd never get any answers. Now Carter actually has the nerve to continue that maddening tactic here where it’s most important he deliver. Sadly though, it’s almost fitting. If someone asked me what the problems were with the series as a whole I’d tell them to just watch this film and it would save them a lot of time.
Six years after the conclusion of the show Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) is a bearded recluse while his former partner Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) works as a physician at a Catholic hospital. Neither have ties to the F.B.I. anymore and seeing what they were doing now was probably the most interesting part of the film, or at least it would have been if it were a little more inventive. Both are exactly where you’d expect them to at this point and when they first appeared on screen together I was actually taken aback by how little I cared.

When a pedophile priest (is there any other kind in movies these days?) named Father Joe (Billy Connelly) starts having psychic visions of an abducted F.B.I. agent Scully is contacted by Agent Drummy (Alvin “Xzibit” Joiner) and Whitney (Amanda Peet) about recruiting Mulder so they can help crack the case. After some initial resistance due to his tumultuous relationship with the bureau, Mulder eventually gives in and the duo dedicate themselves to finding the missing agent with Father’s Joe’s help. It isn’t too long before Mulder and Scully comfortably slide back into their familiar roles of believer and skeptic, respectively. While Scully seems more preoccupied with one of her dying patients, clues start to emerge (i.e. missing limbs) that connect the disappearance to a string of serial murders.

Wait a second…Mulder and Scully came back for THIS? It must be hard to find good help in the F.B.I. these days. I understand Carter not wanting to alienate casual viewers by delving too far into the show’s mythology but he thought putting Mulder and Scully in a “torture porn” plot was the solution? Worse yet, the two barely share any screen time together. Most of the film is spent with Mulder running around in the dark while Scully is at the hospital cutting through administrative red tape for her terminally ill patient. These characters are important and should be treated as such. Bringing them for a run-of-the-mill creepy killer story is like a creative slap in the face of not only the two stars, but the few fans left that still care deeply about the show. If there was ever a time for Carter to deliver a massive, all encompassing conspiracy story it was now. What should be a big event doesn’t even FEEL like one. The least he could do was attempt to fake it.
Carter and co-producer Frank Spotnitz’s script was obviously trying (with all the subtly of a hammer to the head) to depict the contrast between Mulder’s belief in the paranormal and Scully’s dependence on science, a running theme throughout the series’ history. Except the story doesn’t contain the type of depth that would make that approach resonate. Carter throws the die-hard fans a bone every once in a while such as in an unintentionally hilarious scene when Peet’s F.B.I. agent name checks former cases of Mulder’s from classic episodes There are also references to his abducted sister and romantic relationship with Scully, but all of these are just thrown in for posterity and don’t amount to anything. It should have provided the groundwork for the entire film.

Anyone who would go see this were probably knowledgeable fans anyway so part of me thinks Carter would have been better off going off the deep end with mythology than taking this route. The last X-Files film, 1998’s Fight The Future, did that and the results, while not great, were at least considerably better than this. Maybe because the show was at the height of its run Carter had an incentive for it to perform well. He is stuck in somewhat of a bind here but has no one to blame but himself because he wrote the franchise into a trap where it can’t appeal to either the die-hard or casual viewer without alienating the other. It should be a lesson to all the showrunners out there thinking of giving their television series the big screen treatment. This is a blueprint of how not to do it.

With the stakes raised in a feature film presentation, Carter doesn’t technically broaden the scope either. It’s shot no differently than your typical episode of the show. It’s dark, dreary and depressing, not to mention impossible to see what’s going on. The new additions, Peet and Xzibit are wasted and look bored to tears, with neither the least bit believable as an F.B.I. agent while Connolly fares a little better in his hammy, one-dimensional role. You’d figure to fully capitalize on whatever nostalgia is left over from the show we’d be treated to some interesting cameos but we only get one. It’s from Mitch Pileggi as Mulder and Scully’s former superior, Walter Skinner. His all too brief appearance is a scarce highlight of the film and it’s so successful you wonder why Carter didn’t add more familiar faces from the series. Who cares if most of them are dead? He should have gone all out. The topper on this mess is his refusal to even give us a satisfying conclusion for a storyline this slight. The guy clearly has major commitment issues.
You have to feel for Duchovny and Anderson. They’re so great in these roles and the characters are loaded with interest and potential the way they play them, but they’re given absolutely nothing to do. The romantic chemistry between the two is something Carter always struggled with throughout the series’ run but here he finds a new way to screw it up: just flat-out ignoring it. These two have been to hell and back together but you’d never know it given the wimpy context in which their characters are presented here.

In Carter’s defense the timing for this was horrible and the studio grossly miscalculated how many people would be interested in this in an already crowded blockbuster summer movie season. Plus, going up against The Dark Knight wasn’t exactly the wisest counter-programming strategy. Deserved or not, the studio did everything they could to bury this. The movie screamed out for a fall or winter release date where the field would have been much clearer.

Steven Spielberg found out how difficult it was to resurrect a franchise successfully this past year with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and made some similar mistakes to this. But even as silly as that film’s story was it was at least appropriate in scope for the character. It was completely misguided and awful but at least it wasn’t lazy. This is lazy. Maybe my bashing probably speaks more to expectations and disappointment than the actual film but so what? Carter deserves it. Given a major motion picture canvas to paint on he chose to just give us another episode of the show. That’s inexcusable. And being just slightly more than a casual viewer of the show I can’t even imagine what the die-hard fans think. Maybe just seeing Mulder and Scully again is enough for them. That's clearly all Chris Carter was betting on.

The X-Files: The Summer Movie I'm Least Looking Forward To

It’s a given that there are certain movies opening this spring and summer that pretty much everyone is universally looking forward to. I usually end up seeing most films on DVD but I’m sure I’ll be catching a few in theaters as well. One of the biggest ones just opened on Thursday to unsurprisingly mixed reviews. I haven’t seen Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull yet, but despite any misgivings and skepticism I may have (and there is some) my appreciation for the character and overall respect for the franchise does outweigh it and should allow me to go in with an open mind.

Similarly, no amount of media hype or exploitation of a certain tragedy could possibly dissuade me from wanting to see The Dark Knight. I have this sneaking suspicion that could be the one film in 2008 that will not only meet the hype, but also potentially exceed it if the trailer is indication at all. But what about those movies that aren’t such sure bets? You know, the ones that look like potential problems on paper. There are definitely more than a few, as there is every summer. Whether it be a completely unnecessary sequel, a bloated big-star action vehicle or a lame-brained remake it’ll be interesting to see what films will have us shaking out heads in disappointment and disbelief when the dust settles in the fall.

So, what am I dreading? It would seem there are a lot of candidates this year. M. Night Shyamalan’s killer plant movie The Happening could end up being less an environmental disaster than a box office one, but let’s be honest, even M. Night’s biggest failures are more intriguing then many other directors' successes. The Incredible Hulk franchise reboot has had bad buzz from the start and I’m one of the very few who thought Ang Lee’s 2003 version was just fine (even if I concede there were areas for improvement in it). The project is unnecessary for sure but the prospect of Ed Norton tackling the title role is interesting enough that I’m willing to give it a chance. Also picking up bad buzz is the action thriller Wanted, starring Angelina Jolie, but I can’t tell you what a welcome sight it is to see a heavily tattooed Jolie hanging out of a speeding car brandishing a firearm after boring me to tears with both her film choices and personal life for the past 4 years. The film’s R rating is a good sign and even if it bombs I’d far prefer her to fail like this. At worst it’ll at least be a nice respite until she starts torturing us with her “holier than thou” roles again later in the year when she stars in Clint Eastwood’s Changli….zzzzzzz. Oh sorry I dozed off for a second there.

All these are shaky propositions but only one film this summer is completely unnecessary and nothing but an attempt at a quick cash-in on nostalgia. It’s The X-Files: I Want To Believe. And believe me, as a (former) fan of the show nothing would make me happier than to be able to think this is a good idea and will be successful. But if history is any indication this is bound to be yet another disappointment dished out by the George Lucas of television, X-Files creator Chris Carter. I do realize others, in a fit of nostalgia, are so excited to just see special agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully again that they’re willing to overlook the fact that they could be set up for a huge letdown. I can relate. I know if a favorite cancelled show from my youth were being given a big-screen resurrection I’d just be so happy to be reunited with the characters I probably wouldn’t care if it was any good just so long as it stayed generally faithful to the show. I have no doubt Chris Carter will at least attempt that and the movie may turn out to be okay. But I won’t care. In other words, Carter, you blew it and I really don’t feel like giving you a second chance.
To understand why we have to take a little trip back in time. You see at one point in high school and early in college I was a big fan of the show. I was one of those kids that unshamefully (okay shamefully) had a “THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE” poster hanging over my bed. I watched every week for years as the show’s central mythology unraveled anxiously awaiting the day it would all come together. I’ll be honest though in that I always felt like I was forcing myself to really like the show as much as everyone else. Despite all the years I watched it I didn’t exactly form the connection with that show as I did other sci-fi television of that ilk like Quantum Leap. I always thought The X-Files was good but was never among those who thought it was THAT GOOD. And the reasons why started to become painfully clear as the series continued to drag on well past the point of its expiration date. The term “Jump The Shark” has become very popular in describing the moment when a show starts to go downhill creatively. But how many shows have actually jumped the shark? I mean really jumped it, dragging on years after it should have signed off and failed to even give us a satisfying conclusion when the end finally came. It isn’t many.

The X-Files didn’t just jump the shark. It jumped AN ENTIRE AQUARIUM. Just how bad was it? I’d say to ask David Duchovny but he wouldn’t be able to tell you…since he was written out of the show! That’s right, when Duchovny opted out of his contract to pursue other endeavors (a wise move if you ask me) the show didn’t end. In either a massive display of ignorance or stupidity, Carter actually thought the series could continue without its star actor. Hey, while we’re at it let's continue Cheers without Ted Danson, Veronica Mars without Kristen Bell, Frasier without Kelsey Grammer and Seinfeld without…you get the picture. Inexplicably, fans always seemed to give Carter a pass on this one, which perplexes me. And continue the show did when Carter essentially replaced Duchovny with Robert Patrick as the crippled program painfully limped to the finish line. Duchovny would still appear very sporadically and of course returned to play a big role in the finale, which revealed… nothing. That’s all The X-Files ever revealed in its entire run. We knew as much at the end of the series’ conclusion as we did at the pilot episode.

That’s why I laugh whenever I hear people complain about Heroes’ second season or especially Lost’s third. Even at their worst moments those shows revealed SOMETHING and had a game plan. Carter should have taken a page out of the Lost producers' book and set a solid end date well in advance. Because of this, Lost, barring any unforeseen creative catastrophe, looks like it’s going out in a blaze of glory, thus securing its television legacy. Lost is often (insultingly) compared with The X-Files and I could never understand why. One has managed to tell a cohesive story over the course of a number of seasons, while the other was just winging it the whole time. A little ambiguity is always good. Total ambiguity is not. This wouldn’t have bothered me so much if the show was completely awful but from an acting and directing standpoint it was actually very strong, which just made it that much more frustrating. That’s the story with The X-Files in general. When it was occasionally great there were few shows on television better, but when it was bad it was really, really bad. It was bad often.

So, you’re thinking what does this even have to do with the feature film? Just because a show ended in shambles doesn’t mean it doesn’t deserve a movie. After all, we wasted nearly nine years of our television watching lives, so what’s two more hours? I agree this should have no bearing on its merits for a big screen outing, just my excitement level for it, which is non-existent. Not helping any is that The X-Files: Fight the Future, the first feature length film of the show, released at the height of the series’ popularity in 1998, was just a decent, if completely forgettable outing directed by Carter. Now he’s back graveling for more and asking us to once again embrace this frustrating show that he buried with his own shovel. I suppose we should just consider ourselves lucky that at least Duchovny and Anderson are starring in it and Carter didn’t recast the roles. To their credit both actors have done a terrific job distancing themselves from their most famous characters since the show wrapped (especially Duchovny) and their performances and chemistry together onscreen would be among the only reasons I’d consider seeing film. I have no doubt they’ll slide back into their roles with ease. They’re not the problem.
I’d love to be wrong about all of this. I want the movie be incredible and do slamming box office since it would just increase the chances of a television series I’d actually want to see on the big screen getting green lit. I think at best The X-Files: I Want To Believe will be a reasonably entertaining summer popcorn movie, which, if looked at in context, is a completely pointless endeavor. Fans of the show will once again leave with more questions than answers and even if Carter does try to offer up any explanations it’s too late. That ship has sailed. Supposedly the film won’t be returning any of the show’s central mythology it botched so badly which is a relief, except would casual moviegoers who have never seen the show even be interested? Carter is stuck between a rock and a hard place here. The only purpose behind this film is just seeing Mulder and Scully again for a quick nostalgia fix.

Maybe this reflects a much bigger problem with adapting television shows into feature films that goes beyond just The X-Files. Even those who loved The Simpsons Movie admitted they didn’t take anything away from it that they couldn’t get from watching three great episodes of the show. In the film Homer Simpson even asked why anyone would pay $10.00 to watch something they can just see at home for free. It’s a great question and I think the answer is that the movie has to really give you something different and special. Can Chris Carter do that? I wouldn’t get my hopes up...again. You can call me in 2010 when the Arrested Development movie opens. That one I want to see.