‘Reverse the Curse’ Review: The Truth Is out There for David Duchovny

The Big Picture

David Duchovny writes, directs, and co-stars in an adaptation of his own book “Bucky F*cking Dent.”
It’s a one-trick family drama that leans into every genre trope in the playbook.
A disappointing lack of atmosphere and immersion weakens the mood.

David Duchovny struck gold with his critically adored 2016 novel “Bucky Fucking Dent,” creating perfect fodder for a cinematic adaptation. Who better to tackle the project? Why writer, director, and co-star David Duchovny. Or, given the final product of Reverse the Curse, who makes the most sense might be better-fitting terminology. Duchovny’s marriage of baseball, fatherhood, and mortality translates oddly to the screen. The whole thing plays with a zoomed-out hesitance between lackluster Hallmark insincerities and schmaltzy 1970s sitcom goofiness, drowning out the story’s tragic yet uplifting undertones with an arrhythmic sense of humor.

Duchovny stars as Tri-State widower Marty Fullilove, who’s dying of cancer thanks to a lifetime of inhaling cigarettes. Marty’s peanut vendor slash aspiring writer son, Ted (Logan Marshall-Green), learns the news by chance and decides to patch his and Marty’s relationship by playing caretaker. Ted and Marty instantly bicker about childhood memories that require apologies, but Marty’s trying to rewrite his story before death thanks to inspiration from his grief counselor, Mariana Blades (Stephanie Beatriz). That gives Ted an idea tied to the 1978 Boston Red Sox season. If the “Sawx,” Marty’s favorite baseball team, can reverse their curse and beat the New York Yankees in the playoffs, maybe Marty can stay happy and alive — even if Ted has to fake their victory.

‘Reverse the Curse’ Sees Duchovny Pulling Back Too Far

Reverse the Curse aims to pluck on heartstrings, but notes ring out of tune. There are charming interactions between father and son as hardheads embrace forgiveness before Matry’s final bow, but too often, the experience feels plasticky and bubble-wrapped. Cinematographer Jeff Powers shoots a blandly sanitized drama that points forward and presses play while production design remains reductively “Suburban Minimal.” There’s not much oomph behind Duchovny’s vision, which pulls back too far to feel any emotion.

To be a romantic baseball fan with an equally stubborn and guarded-off Boomer father and feel nothing from Reverse the Curse is the worst telltale sign.

Logan Marshall-Green plays thirty-three as a later forty-year-old in hippie-dippie cosplay, the same as Stephanie Beatriz in her nurse’s outfit. Marty’s a pain in Ted’s ass, yet they’re trying to work through a slew of problems bred from Marty’s distant parenting as the family’s breadwinning “Ad Man.” Marshall-Green shapes his performance in the typical style of sons realizing their walled-off fathers loved them very much, always at his best when comically reacting with higher-pitched disbelief when Marty breaks expectations. But, more frequently, Marty and Ted’s dynamic feels glossy and inauthentic. The actors don’t successfully roll with the tonal shifts as a “funny” fart war in a hotel room leads into a next-day scene that’s sorrowful and dour.

It’s disappointing because there are elements that succeed within the ensemble. Pamela Adlon plays a literary decisionmaker who reads Ted to filth as a generic caucasian male author with no lived-in qualities or perspective, and their banter is cheekily amusing. Duchovny wrestles a few gags free from overwhelming staleness that knock us in the gut or bring a smile to our faces, confronting the Grim Reaper with a steely acceptance (and plenty of “reefer”). Marty’s ballbusting barber-shop buddies are your average senior-aged hooligans, but they’re also nearly the highlight of Reverse the Curse. There’s goodhearted earnestness at the film’s core that rules when allowed to surface.

Duchovny Makes ‘Reverse the Curse’ Too Predictable

Image via Vertical

The problem becomes, well, everything else. Duchovny’s adaptation has an inevitable trajectory that operates like an assembly line product. Ted shows up, confronts Marty, and immediately crushes on Mariana. Everyone is following predetermined destinies—there are no curveballs. Marty’s Red Sox obsession doesn’t even feel thematically empowered, downplaying baseball sequences beyond newspaper headlines and radio telecasts. Marty and Ted’s rekindled relationship is the story’s focal point—that’s obvious—but with such a dearth of character, everything reads as unceremoniously mundane.

Duchovny isn’t blowing Reverse the Curse by anyone. It’s a paint-by-numbers tearjerker that comes up dry, swinging and whiffing at too many chances to knock the concept out of the park. Duchovny doesn’t demonstrate control over tonal shifts, grounded performances, or anything beyond actors playing pretend. The “Bucky f*cking Dent” anecdote is a winner, but there’s a lot more movie that feels like slump-era underachievement. Reverse the Curse calls its shot with confidence but doesn’t possess the fundamentals to bomb a home run, barely getting on base with this out-of-synch heartwarmer that’s icy to the touch.