Cheers to Hung for casting the two most perfect actors for their series. I’m finally at the point where I officially love Hung (insert inappropriate jokes here).
There are two reasons I love this new HBO series:
1/ Anne Heche:
Heche’s Jessica started of as the somewhat annoying ex-wife of Ray who seemed like a total bitch. She rudely left her husband after having an affair and jumped at the opportunity to take in their children after Ray’s house burned down. Jessica has no chemistry with her new husband and it’s clear his money was her motivation. But after a few episodes, Jessica slowly turns into a multi-layered intriguing character. She becomes easily aware that her children dislike her and what follows is a few interesting attempts to win them over. Jessica’s good nature is shown when she adopts a dying/sickly dog in what was originally part of her plan to woo her children but ends with her decision to just do something right for a change. Sure the kids would have loved a new puppy, but the dog needed her and Jessica needed a soul. I’m positive there isn’t a single actress who could pull off these character who needs to be both extremely loved yet slightly detested. Kudos to Hung for latching on to Heche.
2/ Thomas Jane:
It’s seldom that the main character of a series also coincides with my favorite character. When this does actually happen you have to give a lot of credit to the actor for doing such a damn good job. Playing a male prosititute with a huge penis sounds easy but there needs to be a certain charm, charisma, and sex appeal involved. For some reason, I can’t see anyone else in the role of Ray other than Thomas Jane. Maybe it’s his deep voice, subtle dramatic skills, or burly hunky mainly looks (a mini-crush may be developing) but Jane pulls off Ray Livingston with an unprecented ease. I for one will continue tooning in each week simply to see him act his ass off.
Early, I questioned whether or not Ray would have a love interest in this series. I thought for a minute the first big one could be Lenore (and it still very well could be) but I’m beginning to wonder if Ray and Jessica will reunite in the future. The two are far too likeable not to get back together. I suppose the casting of a bigish name like Anne Heche is kind of a big clue that she will play an integral part of the story, but I’m definitely routing for a little loving between the two. Although, after Jessica’s brief introduction to Lenore on Sunday’s episode I have a feeling Jessica may just be a client of Ray’s one day soon.