The Fundamentals of Caring (2016)
Having suffered a tragedy, Ben becomes a caregiver to earn money. His first client, Trevor, is a hilarious 18-year-old with muscular dystrophy. One paralyzed emotionally, one paralyzed physically, Ben and Trevor hit the road on a trip into the western states. The folks they collect along the way will help them test their skills for surviving outside their calculated existence. Together, they come to understand the importance of hope and the necessity of true friendship.
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That was an excellent one.
Good start, but then it gets ruined
Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.
I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.
Lots of talent (bar the ludicrous Selena Gomez in a career-killing performance) but absolutely no inspiration. A clueless drama that trots out every awful cliché imaginable and is utterly predictable at every dreadful turn.
Ben Benjamin (Paul Rudd) plays a caretaker of Trevor (Craig Roberts) a teenager with Duschene Muscular Dystrophy (he can't move anything besides his hands and head) as they go on a road trip to see the world's largest pit, despite single mother Elsa's (Jennifer Ehle) warnings, picking up a quirky cast of characters including a rebellious girl who ran away from home named Dot (Selena Gomez) and Peaches (Megan Ferguson), a pregnant woman who's car broke down. The brilliantly comedic and dramatic banter between Rudd and Roberts is amazing and the supporting cast does a great job especially, and surprisingly, Selena Gomez. It's probably the best buddy road trip comedy since Dumb and Dumber though not as stupid and more realistic. 9.5/10 watch it on Netflix now.
A writer (Paul Rudd) retires after a great personal tragedy and becomes a disabled teen's (Craig Roberts) caregiver. When the two embark on an road trip, both of their abilities to cope with the real world is put under a test. Also appearing: Julia Denton, Jennifer Ehle, Selena Gomez et al. There's something enduringly endearing about Paul Rudd. He's only an OK actor, and he does way too many bland and generic comedies but I still find him cool and want to see most everything he shows up in. This is actually one the better ones. It's not really good, per se... but at least one of the less bland and generic ones. Based on a novel by Jonathan Evison, written and directed by Rob Burnett, produced as a Netflix original, it's a bittersweet comedy about not being a pussy and trying to live every once in a while. It has a heart in right place but looking back, I'd like to criticize more than applaud the result. Writer-director Burnett has tried definitely too hard creating an authentic and hip story to really get away with it. it would probably help if two of the three main female characters were more realistic or at least more compatible with the general tone, not as exaggerated and shallow as they are now. Also, Burnett seems to be much better at adding the story lines than working with them, so most of the stuff brought in gets carelessly thrown overboard at some point without proper development or closure. Well, at least the central story of taking a road trip gets enough attention. Rudd is charming as usual, but he doesn't quite have all the range needed for playing this character. He's fine most of the time because he speaks little and acting grumpy is easy, but all in all, it's easy to notice a certain lack of depth to his acting. Wish they used somebody more diverse actor for that role. The best thing here is Craig Roberts giving a quirky, deadpan performane as foul-mouthed disabled teen. Roberts is probably still best known for his breakthrough role in 2010's Submarine", but this is certainly a good follow-up. I kind of felt him channeling young Edward Norton and young Joseph Gordon- Levitt, which is a good company to hang out in. "Fundamentals" is quite OK but it doesn't really hold together well, if you begin to think about it. But... there's still Rudd!
The Fundementals of Caring is a hilarious and heart warming film that shows insight into the fact that you cannot provide proper care for some one with out in turn loving them, as well as the idea that the best way to help yourself is through helping others. I truly enjoyed the mystery of what happened to his son carried through out the film, leaving us to feel the whole gravity of his death hangover is while another child was being born. The parallels of life and death making the moment all the more intense. Altogether this films delicate balance of comedy and drama kept you on your toes, you'd be rolling on the floor one minute and on the brink of tears and just before you'd start to cry you'd be laughing again.