Gimme moore

David Duchovny has enjoyed something of a revival and gathered quite the fan following since his reincarnation as Hank Moody in Showtime’s popular series “Californication”. While he has successfully managed to reinvent himself from the iconic Fox Mulder, the role that shot him to fame, does this mean that he’s able to hold his own on the big screen opposite 80s sexpot Demi Moore? The answer is, very nearly.

Duchovny and Moore co-star in The Joneses, a rather literal critique of American consumer-driven culture. The pair play Mr and Mrs Jones, two people who are thrown together to inspire retail envy in others by living the perfect life. The Joneses and their two ‘kids’ are employed by a marketing company that seeks to sell, sell, sell using something they call the Ripple Effect — if people like you, they’ll want to buy what you have. The fake family is paid to live in a big house with fancy toys and has to deal with all the trappings of leading secret lives. Halfway into the assignment, business starts looking like pleasure and Mr and Mrs Jones find they’ve developed feelings for each other. But will they ever progress beyond separate bedrooms?

The plot is fairly straightforward and the dialogue is just engaging enough to keep you in your seat for 90 minutes. Ultimately, however, you’re viewing the drama to watch two intriguing actors interact. Duchovny and Moore have more in common then you think. They’ve both managed to resurrect their flagging careers in their 40s, no easy feat in Hollywood, and virtually unheard of for women. They’re familiar enough to give the movie some gravitas but don’t fall back on playing characters they inhabited 10 years ago, and in Moore’s case, 20 years ago. Surprisingly, and fortuitously, they do share that mysterious and elusive quality, on-screen chemistry, one of those things you can spot but can’t describe.

Though it isn’t ground-breaking, Moore’s performance is convincing and it doesn’t hurt that she’s looking good these days (though I suspect the plastic surgery that got her there may have been somewhat painful). She’s grown into playing more mature characters well and thankfully doesn’t sport that horribly stretched, botoxed look that most actresses over 30 are wearing these days. Duchovny is rumpled and lovable but borrows too many of his character’s tics from his “Californication” gig. A man who’s now been in the industry for several years and not quite pulled off the big screen magic yet, he struggles somewhat playing the neighbourhood sex symbol, his potency appears restricted to a more intimate medium and he is thus outshined by Moore, who, oddly, was never known as much of an actress in her heyday.

All in all, watching the film is a decent way to pass a slow weeknight. If you’re looking for a deep insight into your meaningless consumer-driven life though, this isn’t where you’ll find the answers. What you will discover is that having a talking toilet will inspire such envy in your neighbours that they’ll by bitchy when you invite them over for dinner. So take it easy on the bathroom accessories.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 12^th, 2010.