'Californication': Up The Creek

After one of the better Californication episodes of the season, I wasn't sure how they could keep the momentum up. However, mixing Hank's wild side with Charlie's love of the adult film industry and adding a dash of The WB to the recipe seemed to hold me over quite well, thank you very much.

I don't want to wait for these Spoilers to be over.

Previously... Charlie crashes Daisy's latest production with predictable results; Hank pops the question, could be the father of Sonja's kid, and is turned down in quick succession.

Tender music fades in Becca and Karen playing ping pong when Hank enters with a family hug. Alas, it's but a dream as Hank wakes up on Ashby's hallway couch. The famed record producer is making breakfast while watching the Cooking Channel. Seems he's taken a liking to Andie McPhee, who has ditched Capeside for a career as a TV chef! In his current state, Hank finds her annoying, but only because he hasn't had his morning Screwdriver.

Later at the private school, Hank arrives to pick Becca up, thinking it's Wednesday. Becca tries to reason with her father that it's actually Tuesday, but only believes her after Karen rolls up behind him. She says Becca can hang with Hank for the afternoon. He proposes 31 Flavors, channeling his inner child. He's not keen on the small visitation, but then again, neither is Becca.

At Hot Lips, Charlie is making up for all sins against Marcy by answering phones. After a rather terse conversation about a certain male service, Daisy enters the shop. She's upset, saying she's been blackballed from the porn industry thanks to Charlie's van antics. Marcy joins the fray in busting Charlie over his tactics, insisting that he make things right with her favorite client.

Charlie and Daisy later meet up later in a bar to talk about her strategy to re-enter the adult entertainment industry. Surprisingly, she actively wants him as an agent. She wants to move up from Internet features to A-list studios. Daisy's eying a Chinatown knockoff appropriately called Vaginatown, but can't even so much as get a callback. Charlie offers to call the director on her behalf. She offers certain parts of her body as payment, but he claims to be beyond that.

Back at Ashby's, Hank is introduced to celebrity chef Chloe Metz. I'm guessing from all the stories Ashby has told her, she's all too eager to meet Hank back. Hank tries to dial down her crazy with a remote. Not surprisingly, Ashby leaves the two alone. They quickly dispense with the small talk and she abruptly asks to do the deed, for which he immediately replies yes.

By the way, her sex talk involves stirring of gravy; Al-Qaeda and homemade chocolate syrup... eat your heart out, Rachel Ray.

Hank and Ashby meet up after the fact. Chloe makes her way down, still loud and annoying and ready for more fun. Ashby finally catches on to save Hank, but she's rather persistent. She invites herself to be driven home by Ashby as he heads off to another raging party. Oh Hank, you just learned the hard way to never mess with those damn Dawson's river kids.

Charlie and Daisy arrive at the porn director's office. Without missing a beat, Charlie launches into full pitch mode, but Ronny the director (Hal Ozsan, not straying far from his other directing effort) simply says Daisy's not right for the role. He blows them off, but Charlie's just getting started. After a change of clothes for her, the persistent duo follows Ronny to his theater. He wants Vaginatown to be the porn world's There Will Be Blood, so any old actress just won't do. Charlie drives the hard sell by playing up a false back-story for Daisy. This seems to do the trick and all but sells Ronny, but he reveals the film might not happen anyway because the financing is shot.

Hank and Ashby drop Chloe off at her small, plain looking house. She tries for one last quickie before she exits, but Hank wants nothing more of her. Chloe attempts to exit the car, but thinks twice when the husband walks out of the house, crying infant in tow. He proceeds to yell at her as they speed down the street.

Later into the car ride, an intoxicated Chloe tries once again to get in Hank's pants. This time, she goes too far as the gal driving the car insists Chloe get out on a back road. Hank turns chivalrous and pleads to Ashby to reconsider, but to no avail. Hank then asks to be dropped off in the middle of nowhere as well to fetch her.

Back at Hot Lips, Marcy is ecstatic Charlie got Daisy the role, but he reluctantly reveals that he had to invest his own savings in the film... in ever escalating amounts eventually ending at $100k. Marcy seems intrigued by this turn of events. Or puzzled, I'm not entirely sure.

Along the side of the road, Chloe plays 20 Questions with Hank on his personal life. They even take time to swap kids stories. If she could only turn the crazy down from 11 to, say, 3 or 4, then I could see the two of them in a long-term thing. Except their respective love interests would always be there to interfere. Speaking of, Chloe's husband arrives to pick her up. She offers a ride, but Hank declines. He instead stares off into the skyline of the Valley, working up the courage to call Karen for a ride. She agrees to pick him up as we pan to see she was painting a portrait of the three on vacation.

Good to see after 22 minutes, nothing in Hank's life has been resolved.

Next time on Californication, Hank tracks down the girl that got away from Ashby while Charlie converts his pad into a porn set.

Is it just me, or does Meridith Monroe look fantastic for almost being 40? Who will ultimately win the battle for Hank's soul: Ashby or Karen? Is there too much of a difference between a mainstream agent and porn agent for Charlie to survive?

E-mail

• Digg
• Facebook
• Fark
• Yahoo Buzz
• Stumbleupon