#bucky f cking Dent

[dd-is-my-guiltypleasure]

Everyone’s gone UFO crazy. Maybe The X-Files should come back

Chrissy Iley

MARCH 2, 2024

Starring in a poignant new film adapted from his own novel, David Duchovny reveals the heartache of almost losing his daughter... and why his most famous show could yet return

No wonder David Duchovny has written, directed and stars in his latest movie Bucky F***ing Dent... it’s based on his own bestselling 2016 novel of the same name. Poignant and funny, it examines a father-son relationship via baseball, with X-Files star David playing Marty the dad, who’s dying of lung cancer, and Logan Marshall-Green from Spider-Man: Homecoming as his estranged son Ted.

The real Bucky Dent went down in history for scoring an unlikely home run for the New York Yankees in a 1978 tie-breaker against arch rivals the Boston Red Sox, and the film’s title is how generations of Boston fans have referred to him ever since, a metaphor for heartbreak. Set in that same year, the film follows struggling writer Ted as he moves back into his childhood home when he hears his father is dying, prompting a whirlwind of dark revelations from the past. Meanwhile, Boston fan Marty’s health dips whenever his beloved Red Sox lose, so New York fan Ted orchestrates the illusion of a Boston winning streak...

Marty has transferred his feelings for an old flame (the secret love of his life, not his wife) to the Red Sox. ‘The intensity of fandom has always puzzled me,’ says David. ‘It has to be a kind of sublimation. My father and I liked playing baseball; my best childhood memory is playing it with him and enjoying the simple communication you can have through a game, but we didn’t share the fandom thing.

‘Marty’s transposed his feelings for this woman to the Red Sox, and the movie is really about the idea of losing. In America there’s a sick addiction to winning and winners, but most of us have to lose every day. Suffering makes us human - it unites us all.’

There’s a moment in the film when Marty is talking about a chest infection that almost killed Ted as a child. Marty says he begged God or whoever to take his lungs instead and let Ted live. ‘One thing I’ve never told anyone is that when my daughter was nine months old she got really ill,’ reveals David. ‘Her mother [actress Tea Leoni] and I had to face the fact we might lose her and I remember feeling so devastated, I didn’t think I could love anything again if she died.’

His daughter West, now 24, has since become a successful actress who seems to have inherited her mother’s stunning blonde looks and her father’s charisma. ‘I think she has a greater passion for acting than either of her parents ever did,’ he says. They also have a son Kyd, 21, and David says the hardest moment of his life was telling them he and Tea were divorcing ten years ago, as his own parents had done when he was 12. ‘It was far worse telling them than actually experiencing it. When you’re a child you just try to get through it, you don’t feel responsible. As a parent I felt at least 50 per cent responsible.’

Tall and thin with good skin and an easy charm, David seems untouched by the ageing process, although this role is a huge shift from the Lotharios he usually plays, such as bed-hopping writer Hank in comedy-drama series Californication. Does getting older bother him? ‘Of course, and as an actor you have to think of the different roles you’ll be offered. When I was writing this script I was thinking I’d play Ted, the son. We tried to make it four or five years ago and I was still going to play Ted, but then when it came to doing it I realised it just wouldn’t work, so I thought I’d play Marty. And that was exciting because it was very different.’

Californication won two Emmys and a Golden Globe, but was notorious for its portrayal of LA’s seedier side. Does he think it could be made now? ‘Certainly they would insist on intimacy coaches, but I don’t think it would be made now, for the wrong reasons. There was a misunderstanding about what it was about. It was meant to be funny, and it was meant to be about family and love. But what everybody got excited about was not that,’ he says, referring to the furore over the sex scenes. ‘In my mind the show was misperceived.’

Another of David’s roles that would spark a row today was a transgender FBI agent in Twin Peaks in the early 90s, when almost no transgender women were on TV. Again it was groundbreaking. ‘But if you’re playing a murderer no one asks you, “Have you murdered people?”’ he says. ‘It was just being an actor.’

David is, of course, best known for The X-Files, in which he played UFO-obsessed FBI agent Mulder opposite Gillian Anderson’s sceptical Scully. The series finally bowed out in 2018 after 11 series, but could there ever be another? ‘Maybe - it might even be more current now,’ he says, referring to the recent release of top-secret UFO files in the US. ‘I’m not personally interested in UFOs so it doesn’t make it more exciting for me to revisit The X-Files. It was a role I played but I wasn’t passionate about the subject. Maybe I’m the only one who isn’t.’

There was a brouhaha at the time about the huge pay discrepancy between David and Gillian, and I wonder if it would be difficult for him to work with her again. ‘As far as I know, by the end there was no difference at all between us, but Hollywood salaries are very weird,’ he says. ‘I’m going to London soon and I’ll see Gillian because she lives there now. I saw her in the West End doing All About Eve and I enjoyed it. She wished me luck with Bucky too.’

In recent years David has explored his passion for music, releasing a couple of folk-rock albums. So does he see himself as an actor, a director or a musician? ‘All of them, I’m an artist,’ he says. ‘I can filter stuff through a song, a novel, a performance or through directing. There are all kinds of ways of being an artist. I write best about dramatic things. There’s a way to deal with suffering to create art.’

Bucky F***ing Dent, Glasgow Film Festival, Wednesday. Visit glasgowfilm.org

[losthavenmine]

Reverse the Curse (2024)

[aimsies-mctaymellburg]

😍 "Aimee. A-I-M-E-E. Aimee. I'll remember that next time."-David Duchovny. He was spelling my name while we took the picture.

Seriously the most genuine, sweetest, kindest, and smartest man.

Meet your heros! Still one of the best days of my life. Thank you David and Malibu Village Books.

[pennyserenade]

The man involuntarily does that calculus again, molds a hypothetical world minus his son. He curses himself and his avoidance of pain, the need for his mind to forecast the worst in order to save itself the future shock. How selfish, he thinks. But maybe natural, maybe human nature. The instinct for survival, self-preservation trumps all. He has read about animals in books, male lions eating their young. Maybe they do it out of love. They swallow their own pain and the child’s pain with the child, no more suffering. The cub is in a better place, a place without worry and pain. Inside the father. Dad will swallow all. Broad-shouldered Dad. Nature is a bastard.

David Duchovny, Bucky F*cking Dent

[shootforthestars-28]

Just seen the premiere of Bucky F*cking Dent and, I can promise you, it was bloody f*cking awesome! 💙

[yepthatsacowalright]

I read Bucky F*cking Dent when it came out so I knew generally what I was getting into watching the movie. But also I've experienced a lottttttt of Life since 2016. And David Duchovny as the Dad (when I had read it picturing him as the son) in the film adaption fucked me up. "I got too scared. I got too scared to love you like that. I was a coward. And I think that as a child you sensed that. That my love was off. And it broke you. It broke you in a place that's too deep to be fixed." Mr. Duchovny, who gave you the right? 😭

[amplifyme]

Hey! Hi! How are y'all? Coming off a self-imposed SM break. What did I miss? Never mind, I'll poke around and find out myself, try to catch up on stuff.

For no particular reason, except that tomorrow is the 10th anniversary of the release of Southeastern (one of the finest albums, start to finish, that I've ever heard), here's a little Jason Isbell for you.

[antoschauniverse]

Did you see West’s Instagram story with her wannabe step monster? Absolutely gross and David should be ashamed of himself. Of course his demented geriatric stans will love it. Disgusting!!

Yes. West didn't even want to meet her father's kept woman for years and suddenly became her best friend? West loves his father and does it for him so that he doesn't look like another Hollywood sugar daddy with a sugar baby. And don't forget who pays for West's expensive life. The fees of an aspiring actress are not posh.

[catharsisxf]

Seven years ago I met David!

[pjstafford]

There are a million ways to tell a life story. Review of Reverse the Curse.

"There are a million ways to tell a life story. As a tragedy or a comedy or as a fairy tale with baseball teams that can keep you alive..."

Reverse the Curse is a movie written and directed by and starring David Duchovny based on his novel Bucky F*cking Dent. Duchovny plays Marty, a man dying of lung cancer. Logan Marshall-Green plays his estranged son Ted, an aspiring writer who works as a peanut vendor at Yankee Stadium. Stephanie Beatriz plays Mariana, a grief specialist nurse. Early in the movie, before we ever see Marty, Mariana speaks this line which foreshadows that, while this is a familiar story with universal themes, it is going to be told in a way that will take you by surprise. As the writer adapts his novel to the screen, it retains the signature style of Duchovny's written works for screen, novel, and song lyrics which is more reflective of life than any specific genre of storytelling. In Reverse the Curse Duchovny creates a story of tragedy, comedy, a touch of a fairy tale, an epic sports season, and a dash of romantic comedy. It's a movie that will take you on a heart-filled journey of loss, healing, and new beginnings while you laugh and cry.

With Duchovny's unexpected style (a critic refers to this movie as genre-bending), he is sometimes criticized for tonal dissonance. This film moves quickly, finds creative ways to express backstory without long exposition, and does a better job than his first movie (House of D which I would recommend) of signaling when the fairy tale aspects are about to begin (literally by asking the question do you believe in fairy tales). The story beats of comedy and drama blend into each other in a way that feels connected.

The story of the 78 Red Sox and New York Yankees works well as the backdrop of the story of the father-son. Sports provides a bridge for the two men to learn how to talk to each other again after years of estrangement. Marty makes the point that baseball is the one sport where theoretically a game might never end. However, the genius of this backdrop is that it anchors the story in our world which happens to be a world where people believe in curses and where sometimes there occurs an improbable outcome such as a shortstop with a poor batting average hitting a legendary home run. The fact that this story is a historical fact lends credibility to the more fairy tale parts of the movie.

What really pours forth from this movie is heart. Duchovny delivers comedic lines with genius and there is a confession scene which many are referring to as the best dramatic scene of his career. He has great chemistry with Marshall-Green whose hesitation with some comedic material works well in the character of Ted who is unsure of himself. Beatriz is a standout in her portrayal of a woman whose career path has been determined by personal tragedy. The most "out there" characters in the movie are the three barbershop boys, Marty's older male friends who spend their days in the barbershop. These characters are exactly that...Characters! Played by Jason Beghe, Evan Handler, and Santo Fazio, what makes the scenes with these characters work is the sense that they have known each other and developed their banter over decades. A storyline that could have been seen as silly becomes a story about true friendship over time.

This movie has the feel of a seventies movie. It is not simply that it is set in 1978. In fact, there are some historical inaccuracies such as the showing of Jimmy Carter's malaise speech which takes place in 1979 not 1978. It is the fact that the movie feels like it was based on the type of movies we might have seen in the theater in the seventies. Some of that is cinematic. The cinematographer, Jeff Powers, said in an interview that he drew inspiration from a lot of the American New Waves films from that time including Five Easy Pieces. It reminded me of movies like Harold and Maude, Midnight Cowboy, and Love Story. It's a character-driven story where the ending is a foregone conclusion that takes its beats getting to the ending because the ending is not the point as much as the journey to the ending. Each step of laughter and each step of tears and even sitting through a scene with an over-reliance on fart humor is a beat of hearts within the film.

For me, my journey of watching the film, my heartbeats, were these. Seeing Marty in a hospital bed with oxygen in the first scene in which we see him instantly transported me to the first time I saw my father after his lungs collapsed. However, the seventies feel of the movie transported me to a time when my father and I used to go to the theater to watch movies together - in the seventies- and how much he liked movies like this one. It was a surprise to me to feel that my father's presence was laughing with me as we had laughed together at so many films while he was alive. It was a gift of heart.

All the stars from me!

Please note I had a difficult time not constantly referring to changes between the book and the movie in this review. I was slightly afraid to see the movie for fear it would hurt the novel for me. I am now fascinated by the decisions that were made that make each so unique while telling the same story. In a few weeks, when spoilers are more acceptable, I will do a written comparison of the two.

[dd-is-my-guiltypleasure]

So I saw Bucky F*cking Dent yesterday at the Fantasporto Film Festival. I thought that this was probably the only opportunity to see this film on the big screen in Europe (hope to be wrong !).

The theater was almost full, the film was in English and Portuguese subtitles.

The audience laughed, a lot. People were also very attentive during the moving scenes and there was a lot of applause at the end.

I'm a bit biased (just a bit)but I really loved the movie. The novel is my favorite so I was a bit anxious to see how it was going to be adapted. It was funny, moving, and it gave David his best role so far. Never saw him more alive and genuine. The banter between him and Logan Marshall Green is nice.

I laughed and cried and I'm super proud and happy for David. People seemed to like the movie. Hope it will be released soon at least in the USA because it deserved a lot of love.

Update : thank you so much for being happy for me. Love you all 💚

[prettyfamous]

Stephanie Beatriz, David Duchovny, Chelsea Peretti & Logan Marshall-Green | Bucky F*cking Dent premiere, Tribeca Festival | 10 June 2023

[aimsies-mctaymellburg]

"Reverse the Curse" Screening and Q and A - June 27, 2024, at The Aero Theatre in Santa Monica, CA

*I apologize for the loud background audio* ❤️ Headphone users beware

[clooneysgeorge]

Did you enjoy Duchovny's show ?

Yes I did! It was amazing. Knowing how talented he is doesn’t come close to seeing him live. There was two opening acts but he performed for an hour and a half and it was just one of the greatest nights ever. I got so much pictures and videos on my camera roll from that night (and the following day since I went to Bucky f*cking dent premiere too). And he’s so funny between songs too plus Ben stiller was a surprise drummer for a couple of songs. If you ever get a chance to see him perform, definitely go.

[pennyserenade]

i’m gonna double down on my liking david duchovny’s “bucky f*cking dent.” it’s been a few weeks and i still like it just as much after some careful ruminating, which means it’s probably true love. i think about it every now and again because some of the passages were really very good! i almost considered buying it the other day ! if you enjoy fredrik backman - specifically “a man named ove” - i think you might enjoy it.

[shootforthestars-28]

His smile 😍

📸 | John Lamparski

📍 | TriBeCa, NYC

🗓️ | 10 June 2023