Reverse the Curse

I know David Duchovny had a good run back in the days with the hit series "X-Files. I never saw the show but noticed recently he's been involved with a number of projects as a director, writer, and actor. And I must say, several of his newer movies have really impressed me. Especially this one. It also stars Logan Marshall-Greene and Stephanie Beatriz. I loved her character she played in "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," but she proves here that she can play a lot more than a snarky, hard-assed cop.

When Marty (Duchovny) discovers he has cancer, his estranged son Ted (Marshall-Greene) decodes to take care of him. The two have a lot to work out, since their relationship wasn't the best. The grief counselor Mariana (Beatriz) assisted to Marty is a sweet, lovely woman and before long, Ted ands up falling for her. All this action takes place against the backdrop of the Boston Red Sox and their battle with the Yankees to win the pennant. The "Curse" in the title refers to the famous "Curse of the Bambino"which, if your a fan of the game, you'll know what it signifies.

Well, the pennant race isn't going quite like they wanted it to, so Ted arranges for Marty's friend to engage in a bit of clever deception--faking a Boston winning streak. This proves to be one of the funnier parts of the film. The interactions between father and son are equally amusing and poignant. Marty is an old advertising guy (as am I), and he has all sorts of tales to tell.

This movie was a lot better than I thought it was going to be. If you're in the mood for something a bit different, be sure to check out this little indie flick. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

--MovieJunkieMark.

This film is about three people brought together by one thing, impending death. Marty (David Duchovny) has a fatal illness. Marty's only child, Ted (Logan Marshall-Green) a Peanut slinger. Mariana (Stephanie Beatriz) is Marty's 'Death Nurse' someone who helps make a persons last days a little better. Ted decides to also make Marty's brief future a little better as well. I really enjoyed this film that Duchovny wrote and directed as well. It will make you laugh, feel good, and at times shed a tear or two. The supporting cast was strong as well with Pamela Adlon (Blauner), Jason Beghe (Tango Sam), Evan Handler (Benny), Santo Fazio (Shticker) and Daphne Rubin-Vega (Eva). This film will definitely make you decide to call your Dad especially if you haven't done so in a while.

I finally got to see this movie and it did not disappoint!! From the start and throughout the whole movie I found myself laughing out loud which not many movies make me do that these days. Duchovny also had cool shots and cut aways that added cool elements to the story telling. I loved Duchovny and Logan Marshall together and thought they had seamless chemistry. Stephanie is phenomenal in this and the three really balance each other out very well. The parts that were meant to be touching were and compared to the book I think he did a pretty good job of translating it to a movie. I laughed, I cried and then I laughed some more. David really put his heart into this film and role and it shows!

I'm trying to think of some lame baseball reference to sum up this movie. Passed Ball, maybe. Balk. Foul out. Hit by pitch. These choices don't really get there.

Neither did the movie.

I was rooting for it. I really was.

The baseball part of it was barely part of the plot. And there were so many holes in the idea (no spoilers) they became hard to ignore. It's a comedy. There is some length here. Some times it was really strained.

And lots of scenes that didn't reveal anything, didn't raise the stakes, didn't move the plot. There was never much tension about what might happen. The scene in the trailer with the two leads standing naked together -- what was that for? You could go out to for more popcorn and you wouldn't have missed much except for a vague dick joke.

So many pitches fouled off.

It felt like there were a lot of choices made just to keep the budget low. Best example was the finale. Meh. Also hard to believe. There are no Red Sox fans in New Jersey. :-)

Great acting. Production values fine. I loved the Yankees fan kid.

Hard to get behind this team.

I was lucky enough to catch this movie at the Glasgow film festival. The basic story is an estranged son comes back into his fathers life after a cancer diagnosis. It sounds like it could be a little depressing, quite the opposite. It has many light hearted moments,and some down right hilarious ones. The theatre was laughing practically throughout the entire movie. David & Logan have great chemistry and work well as the father son duo with a matching sarcastic humour. The more dramatic scenes are brilliant too, they appear more toward the end. The movie has a lot to offer, I laughed, I cried, I left the cinema completely satisfied. A Beautifully charming heart warming little movie. Well done to David for the great writing, and Logan Marshall-Green for always delivering a steller performance .