The plot of David Duchovny’s new film, “The Joneses,” doesn’t seem so far-fetched.
“That’s the magic of it,” says the actor in a drawl like his character, Steve Jones, the perfect husband to his perfect wife, Kate, played by Demi Moore.
Only Steve, Kate and their kids aren’t really a family — they’re employees of a stealth marketing firm, hired to lure everyone in town into wanting the products they own. (We’re convinced a marketing firm somewhere is running with this idea.) The movie is a satire on sneaky advertising and consumerism, something Duchovny doesn’t get wrapped up in.
“I enjoy a beautiful bicycle or a nice jacket, but I certainly don’t obsess on it, or think that it would make me happy to have a different one,” he says. “I grew up without much money so I’m kind of molded by that.”
The 49-year-old actor says he’s making his kids savvy to the game of marketing.
“If we watch television we ask them, ‘What’s that commercial trying to do?’ And my son will say, ‘It wants me to drink beer!’ We explain they’re selling what will happen to you if you buy this — you’ll get the pretty girl if you buy that beer. And that’s a strategy.”
