Scott Caan wasn’t wrong, except about the food

Scott Caan need not apologize. The “Hawaii Five-0” actor doesn’t have to enjoy living in Hawaii for the few months or so that he’s stationed here to film the TV series, even if the location is key to the show and the show key to his getting a paycheck.

He could have been a bit more circumspect when a talk show host, who also seemed to dislike Hawaii, sort of prompted him to talk stink about Hawaii, but I’d rather have him say what he really thinks than listen to the celebrity types who gush insincerely about their narrow-view, short-term visits to paradise.

There are lots of people like Caan who come to Hawaii and find it incompatible with their rhythms and personalities. Sometimes reality overwhelms high expectations; sometimes low expectations become self-authenticated.

People who come here to live and want the islands to be just like back home, only with beaches and nicer weather, tend to uncover more differences than parallels and when the gulf becomes too wide, they leave disappointed and maybe a little angry.

Which is fine and understandable because Hawaii isn’t for everyone.

Caan told show host/author/actress/producer Chelsea Handler that he likes hustle and Hawaii has none. People move too slowly for him, he said, which is probably true but quickly changing as the population grows and demographics shift. There are old-timers who think everything moves too fast these days, but for a 30ish, aggressive L.A. native, the pace here can be annoying.

He also said food here “sucks,” the only point I will dispute. I don’t know where he takes his non-set-catered meals, but he’s obviously missing out. Maybe two-scoops rice with mac salad isn’t his thing, but if he solicits dining advice from almost any local on the street, he’ll find good eats. For breakfast, I’d tell him to go to Diamond Head Grill for kalua pig hash or Cafe Kaila for waffles and link sausages. Ba-le on Ward Avenue has pate sandwiches that may not be a foot-long (or an 11-inch) number, as advertised in the middle of a “Five-0” episode, but are packed with distinctive flavor and crisp veggies. Le Bistro in Niu Valley grills a great rack of lamb and still serves comforting, old-school onion soup.

W&M delivers excellent burgers with a unbeatable barbeque sauce, though it may not be the barbeque Caan’s used to.

It could be pure coincidence but a recent “Five-0” segment had Caan’s character fighting for custody of his daughter. Some of the dialogue echoed his comments to the Handler woman.

“I had a good life in New Jersey,” Danno tells a family court judge. “Then I came here” to take a job, he went on, complaining that the sun and surf wasn’t a good fit for him. “I can’t even get a decent slice of pizza,” he grumbles. “I hate this place.”

If method acting is his strength, Caan deftly transferred his emotional identification technique to a moderated scale of predictable television entertainment. When “Five-0” completes its run, he can go home again.

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Cynthia Oi can be reached at coi@staradvertiser.com.