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Californication Season Four

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Written by Jonathan Jacobs

Season Four begins with a shocker, not the “shocker”. Hank stands accused of statutory rape. On account of Mia’s (Madeline Zima) selfish decision to move forward with the publication of Hank’s novel Fucking and Punching, our sexaholic extraordinaire may face jail time. Incarceration and anal ravaging is not the only focus of this season however. The popularity of the book among the Bukowski crowd has attracted the attention of movie executives and diehard independent film actors. Hank is introduced to two fiery young actors that rock his world or whatever is left of it since Karen (Natascha McElhorne) and Becca (Madeleine Martin) are disgusted with his vomitous antics. Sascha Bingham (Addison Timlin) wants to portray Mia in the upcoming film Fucking and Punching based on the novel. In order to wrap her mind around the Mia character, Sascha feels it is essential to follow the promiscuous young woman’s actions by fornicating roughly with our dashing author. Eddie Nero (Rob Lowe) wants to play the role of Hank Moody. Nero is a wholeheartedly dedicated to his craft, so much so that he wants to walk in Hank’s shoes no matter what that may entail. As Nero, Rob Lowe is insightful and inspiring.

While Hank is on trial for statutory rape, he is in desperate need of expert legal counsel. Enter the former “Entourage” star Abby Rhodes (Carla Gugino). Abby oozes sex appeal. She quickly becomes romantically attracted to her client for the very same reason they can never enjoy a long-lasting relationship; Hank will always love Karen and Becca and has no room in his heart for anyone else. In his pants there is plenty of space, hell those are the most capacious undies of all time. Attorney Rhodes has the nearly impossible task of defending Hank. Too often he is intoxicated and finds himself in trouble. He not only sleeps with Sascha, he also spends time with Mia despite the fact she has turned his life upside down and is responsible for his potential conviction. He even manages to bed Sascha’s mother in between screwing Karen and Abby. Essentially, Mr. Moody has an active social life (I love contemporary euphemisms). Despite several setbacks and obstacles to remaining a free man, Hank is offered a boatload of money for writing the screenplay for F’ing and P’ing and for consulting on Sascha’s latest film. Things are looking up while simultaneously looking grim. This is what makes Season Four so delicious; it is bittersweet to the very end.

Let’s not lose sight of Karen and Becca and Marcy (Pamela Adlon), because without this trio of femme fatales we would not have a show. Becca has been tampered with by her father’s antics too many times. She has taken to smoking, light drinking, and most importantly, she has found a wonderful hobby. Becca has joined Pearl (Lenny Kravitz’s daughter Zoe) in a teenage rock band for the ages. Karen flirts with Pearl’s father and comes dangerously close to leaving Hank for him. Marcy has found a way to stay relevant by becoming impregnated! Although she feigns ignorance about the identity of the father, it is very likely Runkle’s demon spawn.

What I appreciate the most about this round of “Californication” is that the characters are closer than ever. They gel together. Even in their darkest moments the fearsome foursome, Hank, Karen, Charlie (Evan Handler) and Marcy remain friends to the end. This is not an easy feat to pull off considering the trouble our lascivious authors and our whoresome Mrs. Runkle find themselves in. I implore you to watch Season Four for more than the incredible breasts galore. Enjoy this dramatic series for the growth of the characters, for the real life agony on full display for our gawking pleasure. In the most laconic of terms, Season Four kicks ass!