David Duchovny Bares It All (Again) in New Comedy Film
Some nude scenes are meant to be sexy. Others are meant to be funny. David Duchovny definitely went for the latter in his latest movie, "Reverse the Curse", which he wrote, directed, and, yes, stripped down for. The 63-year-old actor plays a die-hard Red Sox fan whose health nosedives whenever his beloved team loses. Enter his adult son, who moves back home and fakes a winning streak to keep Dad's spirits (and apparently other things) high.
In one memorable scene, Duchovny and his co-star Logan Marshall-Green are in a locker room, and Duchovny, baring it all, asks, “Are you uptight naked in front of your father?” before giving his son an unsolicited anatomy compliment. “That’s a perfectly respectable prick you’ve got there, son,” he says. Nothing like a heartwarming family moment!
In an interview with "Salon", Duchovny explained the importance of showing an aging body—his aging body. "You can turn it into humor. You can look at horrific things with a sense of humor, and the humor comes from the fact that it’s going to happen to all of us,” he philosophized. “If I’ve got one of my main characters—me—showing his naked body to his son and saying, ‘It looks like a dead sparrow where my cock should be,’ I find that funny. I think we can laugh at that, and then hug it out."
This isn't Duchovny's first rodeo in the nude. Despite starring in the raunchy comedy "Californication", he admitted years ago that he never gets used to seeing himself naked on screen. “I just think it’s embarrassing to be naked in front of a lot of people,” he said back in 2008. “I guess I’m a bit prudish in a way. I wish I wasn’t—I wish I could let my freak flag fly a little more.”
Apparently, time (and a little more body confidence) has changed things. *Reverse the Curse*, originally penned as a screenplay over a decade ago, became a novel titled "Bucky F*cking Dent" in 2016 before finally making it to the screen in 2023. The film premiered at the Tribeca Festival and is now available on Amazon Prime Video.
Critics are loving it, too. Variety’s chief film critic Owen Gleiberman praised "Reverse the Curse" for featuring the “finest acting” of Duchovny’s career, adding that the film "ambles along with a sweet-and-sour vitality that’s funny and pleasing.”
So, whether you’re in it for the comedy, the heartfelt moments, or just to see Duchovny let his freak flag fly, "Reverse the Curse" promises to be a home run.