MovieChat Forums > Californication (2007) Discussion > Why end on the porsche?

Why end on the porsche?

posted 10 years ago by Efosaej
13 replies | jump to latest

what significance did that have to ending of the whole series as that was the last image we'll ever get from the show?
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[–] BigMac25 10 years ago

I took it as the car was symbolic of the California lifestyle.

Hank abandoned both.

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[–] faded624 10 years ago

agree with BigMac, Hank bought the porche when he moved to LA and became a "vehicle" to his life there and moved it along. Charlie mentioned his car smelt like lady parts and such, so Hank abandoning his car, the symbol of the easy going, top down, luxurious life style (when they lived in NY "we couldn't afford cable in the broom closet"
Plus he abandoned it, threw away money to make the choice to go--I think we're led to believe that him going to NYC is him moving for good, so not caring about packing his stuff or selling his car shows his commitment.

[–] bahlsdheep 10 years ago

Gonna go cynical and say product placement. After hank ditched his air cooled Carrera for a late model 991 the car began to feature more prominently -- not so much in plots, but in terms of screen time -- in a lot of the scenes in the show.

[–] Diaeresis 8 years ago

Seriously? In what way is a Porsche not starting, good product placement?

[–] Lupin-III 8 years ago

People calling it product placement are really, REALLY reaching. The car was simply a character in the show that represented his loose and fast lifestyle while in California, and in the end it symbolizes him leaving all that behind.

The first transport is away... hey!

[–] Vibradiant 10 years ago

In addition to the other points made about the symbolism, there is also simple visual symmetry insomuch that the pilot ep opens with a shot of the Porsche.

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[–] tb-sch 10 years ago

All other meaningful endings were already used up in the previous seasons.

[–] ssklansky 10 years ago

I didn't think he was just leaving the Porsche and not come back. During the finale they show Karen packing to go to New York to meet Becca's future in laws. So it would seem to me that they planned on returning to California. It was never made clear that Karen sold her house, so I think they were going to return.

[–] davcamp2 10 years ago

I'm wondering if they do end up going back to NYC. Think about it - Charlie is moving into the old house. Becca lives in NYC. The car is left in the road. He doesn't have a job. Karen isn't working. Maybe the flight to NYC is supposed to indicate they are going home again to where they were happy?

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[–] ssklansky 10 years ago

If they did go back to New York it had to be some time in the future. After all they were just going to New York for Rebecca's wedding. It looked like Karen was only packing enough to go away for a short time. She either owned or rented the house she was living in. She would have had to go back for the rest of her stuff. Hank had been staying with Charlie. I don't think he was living in the apartment for the last season.

[–] merman1983 10 years ago

Ultimately we don't know the true time line in the end. Perhaps it was a few months when we see the movers, not a day or two later? And I also got the impression that Marcy and Charlie were going to move into Karen's place; they would have been working with Karen by phone over everything; the packing, moving, etc could all have been put together. Even the Porsche would have been retrieved by Charlie at some point (and if nothing else, the photographic shot of it abandoned was a nice visual...but, yes, so near the airport does give a feeling of a complete abandonment of the California lifestyle...I don't think Hank and Karen ever returned to L.A.).

[–] waraichangad 9 years ago

The Porsche was the one constant in Hanks life all through the 7 seasons. So the end shot signified the end of an era.

[–] Lastnamehere 9 years ago

I like that the car stopped working. All that it represented is no longer working for Hank and can no longer take him where he wants to go. I also like that the door was left open, waiting for him or for the next sucker who moves to LA.