Really not that far off base
Hank is back! This time he is trying to make his life better. Staying off drugs, women and trying to stay off booze, writer Hank Moody is doing his best to avoid bad things, but regretfully bad things keep finding him. In this season, our main man deals with ‘wrong place/wrong time’ sort of situations. He’s struggling to keep himself on track while everyone around him is very much off track. He is also struggling to keep a mending relationship with Karen, who isn’t giving him an inch to move. Moody also has to contend with an anti-social daughter who is merely playing a ‘visitor’ role in his life more than a permanent fixture. Moody’s life is pretty much a narrow path of moral choices.
This show is seriously messed up. Having had the pleasure of watching the first season in preparation for the second season, I can honestly say that I’ve never experienced something more wild than this. There is a no holds bar attitude with the writing and what they show on screen. There’s a reason why this sucker is on Showtime, so you are warned. The problem with all of this is that the show is damn entertaining. The lude set-ups in the comedy is just wild. For example, the first episode where Hank has just had his manhood snipped (time has passed) and his wife wants to get frisky at a party they are attending. Wanting to make sure everything is alright, Hank slips away from his wife (who is stripping down naked) to go attend to his ailing manhood; just to make sure all the pieces are working. Coming back out of the bathroom he gets lost, ends up in a dark room with a naked woman who he believes is his wife and starts to….. well….. use your imagination. About 10 seconds into it he and the girl (who is not his wife) realize that they have ended up with the wrong people. Hank jets, the naked woman follows yelling obscene things at him and they both end up at his wife.
You simply cannot put a price on that time of unchained comedy. The scary thing about this type of comedy is that it’s rampant throughout the season (and the show). The creators fully understand what sells the show and what channel the show is on, so it’s pretty much a ‘do what you will’ series of moments through the season.
With all of this said, the writing is very intelligent, outside of the fact that the ‘F-bomb’ is dropped more times than a conversation with Quentin Tarantino. The characters are extremely well-defined as you understand the struggle that Hank is going through. Having a sex and drug addiction is difficult, but trying to stay away from both in the world of Hollywood (it is a world of its own) is a difficult situation to go through. If you’ve ever had the pleasure of living or visiting Los Angeles for an extended amount of time you can completely see how this world was created and how real it is. I wouldn’t put it passed someone to shoot a porn in a moving vehicle in broad daylight in Los Angeles. I can completely see that happening. I can also see someone who has lived and worked in Los Angeles accidentally ending up somewhere completely new and strange to them (yes, it’s really that big of a place).
Anyway, here is what to expect out of season two:
– Slip of the Tongue – This is the episode I was talking about in the second paragraph. I won’t go into details about it, but you can guess by the episode name.
– The Great Ashby – It’s good to be a rock star, unless you’re trying to impress Lew Ashby. After assaulting a cop, Hank ends up in jail with Lew Ashby, who wants him to write a biography of Ashby’s life. Interesting, yet short episode that introduces a very surreal character.
– No Way to Treat a Lady – Hanging with Ashby, Hank crosses paths with Trixie, a prostitute Hank spent some time with, who finds herself in trouble with a leader of a band Ashby’s auditioning. Hank helps out with the trouble and ends up at odds with Karen by the end of it. On the side, Hank’s friend Charlie offers to represent a porn actress and ends up in a porn van. Enjoy that one, funny yet offensive.
– The Raw & The Cooked – This episode is the catalyst for the rest of the season (at least in my opinion). Hank and Karen have more problems when Hank finds out he might be the father of Sonja’s baby. On top of this, Ashby has a terribly allergic reaction to sushi at the party and by the end of the episode Hank and Karen are pretty much done. It’s a tough episode with a lot of low points in the overall story. Hank rekindles some old habits and deals with the disappointing conclusion to a mending relationship.
– Vaginatown – Breaking away from Karen, Hank finds refuge with Lew Ashby who wants to help his new found friend out in forgetting his broken heart hurt. It’s a turning point in the story of Hank’s recovery, which is remarkable, though funny at times. Charlie gets more involved with Daisy (his porn star friend) by putting down money for a porn to be shot.
– Coke Dick & The First Kick – Enjoy this one. No details are going to be given.
– In a Lonely Place – Hank gets the ball rolling (no pun intended) with Becca’s high school teacher only to find out that she’s Becca’s boyfriend’s mother. Things get complicated, but not as complicated as they’re getting for Charlie and Marcy. Marcy has blown all their money on her cocaine habit, which is putting Charlie in a terrible situation. One of the better episodes that puts a deeper side to the Charlie/Marcy affair.
– Going Down and Out in Beverly Hills – This one is probably one of the tougher episodes out of the bunch. New loves, new discoveries and detox make up the majority of the episode. It’s tough, it’s slightly funny and it’s hot.
– L.A. Ronde – This is the episode which proves which side of the coin Hank is going to finally stay on. You can call it his defining moment in season two if you’d like. The end is a bit of a shock, but it’s necessary for Hank’s character to bond with (or try to) Karen.
– In Utero – Still feeling the effects of the last episode, you have Hank having to wait on the news of his lump. While he is waiting we’re treated to a wonderful back story of his relationship with Karen. On the Charlie side of things, his relationship with Daisy has grown and he runs into a road block when she wants to move out of his house. New love blooming? Possibly on both sides, which makes this a really character driven episode.
I’ll leave the last two episodes to your viewing pleasure.
Overall, it’s not a bad season and once you get rolling with it you get numb to the characters’ habits. There’s a lot to be had and if you’ve never experienced this show before just know that all of these selfish characters reveal some pretty darn strong feelings in this season. It’s simply well-written offensiveness with a purpose. If all the comedy were to be taken away from these characters the show would be near ’emo’. I’m talking about Twilight emo (which is pretty deep).
As for the features on this two-disc set, here’s what you’re looking at:
– Marcie’s Waxing Salon Featurette
– Interviews with actors
You can also use the DVD on the PC to unlock episodes from The United States of Tara and The Tudors. It’s about time that a studio started doing this; sheesh.