"Californication" The Devil's Threesome (2007)

User Rating:

8.5/10   

Director:

John Dahl

Writers:

Tom Kapinos (creator)
Tom Kapinos (written by)

TV Series:

"Californication" (2007)

Original Air Date:

15 October 2007 (Season 1, Episode 10)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

Charlie desperately wants to get laid and enlists the help of a very reluctant Hank. Meanwhile Karen and Marcy get drunk together.

Plot Keywords:

Writer | Father Daughter Relationship | Los Angeles California | Male Female Relationship | Family Relationships

Cast

David Duchovny	...	Hank Moody
Natascha McElhone	...	Karen
Madeleine Martin	...	Becca Moody (credit only)
Madeline Zima	...	Mia Lewis
Evan Handler	...	Charlie Runkle
Pamela Adlon	...	Marcy Runkle
Rachel Miner	...	Dani
Laura Niles	...	Laura

Runtime:

29 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:TV-MA

Company:

Aggressive Mediocrity

Goofs:

Continuity: When Karen and Marcy are drunk at the bar the amount of liquid in the shot glasses changes from one shot to another.

Quotes:

Hank Moody: What about the Marce? You gotta miss the Marce. I know you miss the Marce, right? That sexy, little smurf was good to you.
Charlie Runkle: That sexy, little smurf cheated on me with my assistant.
Hank Moody: Yes, but you cheated on her with your assistant. First, I might add.

Movie Connections:

References The TV Set (2006)

Soundtrack:

Loose Talk

"That sexy little smurf..."

Ah, back to business: one of those episodes where the sex scenes are likely to upset someone. Remember the filthy dream in the pilot and the sex-and-vomit bit in the second episode? There's a very peculiar threesome in this one that's right on par with those two moments. Explicit, maybe, but also tremendously fun.

The threesome derives from Charlie's desperate attempts to get laid, now that he's moved in with Hank in order to get over Marcy's lesbian affair (although, as Hank points out, Charlie had an affair with the same person first). While at the gym, they meet one of Hank's countless exes, and since he can't remember her he gets beaten up in a boxing ring (you see, she's a boxer). The situation evolves in the aforementioned way, and while the guys have fun, Karen and Marcy get drunk together and think about their relationships. Oh, and Dani approaches Mia about a novel she's written (get the hint?).

As always, there's plenty of fun to be had, be it because of the dialogue, the painfully hilarious climax (pun intended) of the central sex scene or simply Duchovny's laid-back performance. In this case, however, a special mention goes to all of the female cast, who get a lot more meat to chew on this time around. Quite fitting, then, that The Devil's Threesome is directed by none other than John Dahl, the neo-noir genius who made Linda Fiorentino a star with The Last Seduction and gave American cinema a whole new breed of femme fatale. Of course, there's no noir in Californication, unless you count Mia's cunning scheme to rip off Hank...