Largely, this sense of perhaps easily-earned satisfaction is a result of the chemistry between Rudd and Roberts, two actors whose comedic performance style is heavily dependent upon delivery and timing. The novel spends almost an equal amount of time on Ben getting used to his role as a caregiver. In the short span of a film, the plethora of judgements about women’s appearances would be off-putting and confuse our feelings about the characters. Director: Rob Burnett Other times, you have movies that treat it like a gimmick to fluff an otherwise middling tale. It certainly won't win any awards for subtlety, but 'The Fundamentals of Caring' boasts a talented cast and a funny script to liven the buddy road trip genre. (Originally written by me in December 2016 as part of a uni project), 7 Racist Slurs Which You Should Drop From Your Vocabulary, 10 Signs Someone Doesn’t Care About Anyone Other Than Themselves, Elon Musk’s 2 Rules For Learning Anything Faster, The Only Four Books Bill Gates Has Rated Five Stars, 20 Things Most People Learn Too Late In Life. It may be a very fine line to cross in the cinematic world, but thankfully for Netflix, The Fundamentals of Caring does an appreciable job of treating the disability second, while focusing on the relationships of its characters first and foremost. In the film, when Ben first meets Trevor, Trevor puts on an act of more extreme disability to make Ben uncomfortable. Life expectancy isn’t as important as the quality of life (in my opinion). It’s crass, but fitting, because both Ben and Trevor have been dealt hands in life that are, well, shitty. It’s clear that, when The Fundamentals of Caring isn’t able to exactly mirror the novel, this is largely due to the time constraints of the medium of cinema. We are all in this world to help each other and lend a helping hand. They have an understanding through this shared style of humor, which some might call twisted. In the novel, Ben even has another child, Piper, who is cut from the film in order to heighten focus on his other son’s death. Disability in film can be a very tricky subject to utilize. Replacing the non-stop objectification with the morbid fake-outs alienates the audience less while retaining a level of edgy, “incorrect” behavior in the male relationship. This interaction sets up a long-running game in their relationship: both try multiple times to fake one another out, whether it is Trevor pretending to choke or Ben fooling Trevor into thinking that he lost his medication. ( Log Out /  Strangely, if the road-trip impossible why did his Mum agree to it but not come along? The film’s two main characters, caretaker Ben (Paul Rudd) and muscular dystrophy patient and shut-in Trevor (Craig Roberts), connect over an interview question in which the latter asks the former his plans for wiping his ass. But Burnett manages to present a movie that, while not fresh, still ends up being refreshing. The Fundamentals of Caring stars Ben (Paul Rudd), a newly licensed professional caregiver seeking his first full-time client whilst trying to escape the loss of his son. Do I recommend this movie? One will always live in the sadness of a singular event, the other will inevitably lose his life to his condition far earlier than anyone can define as fair. I Watched My Friend Dying on Facebook. But It Was All a GoFundMe Scam. Words often mean more than how they are formally defined. 77% We rest our case. Legally Blonde 3 coming May 2022. It addresses topics such as disability, heartbreak, fear and depression. It positively portrays DMD and caring in comparison to “Me Before You,” however many themes are simplified or quickly skimmed over. At certain points, it can turn saccharine and focus on cliché instead of character but Ben and Trevor have a great relationship with hilarious pranks and I enjoyed watching from the caregivers perspective. I’m not innocent and angelic like the disability stereotypes. The book combines between Ben’s time as a caregiver with flashbacks to Ben’s time as a stay-at-home father before the accident. Craig Roberts, Selena Gomez, and Paul Rudd in The Fundamentals of Caring (2016). Negatively Trevor doesn’t seem to have a life, does he go to college? However, throughout the film we see a reciprocal relationship develop, helping each other emotionally, without becoming a “teachable” moment. Hoists are an important item in DMD care because lifting can be a backbreaking health-and-safety nightmare for caregivers. That being said, I do think that Gomez overplayed the edgy teenager role just a little bit. “The Fundamentals of Caring” is one of those films in which we meet a man who won’t sign his divorce papers but know, because we’ve seen movies before, that he will by the final scene. All Rights Reserved. In comparison, the trip to see the “world’s biggest pit” commences about twenty minutes into the film, which is an incredibly quick turnaround. By carefully holding these two truths in the proper place, Burnett sidesteps the empty themes of “overcoming” and over-saturated sulkiness that frequently plague similar self-discovery stories and buddy road trip films. Burnett, who adapted the screenplay, never accelerates too aggressively toward the tragic circumstances that define the lives of these two men, but through orchestrated dialogue, he keeps the inevitability and permanency of their bad fortune in scope. The Fundamentals of Caring gets maximum mileage out of the chemistry between its well-matched leads as it follows a fairly well-worn coming-of-age road trip route. Bob also knows that his son is coming to visit. It left me thinking “Is that Trevor when he was younger? Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. Ben’s soon-to-be ex-wife, Janet, is reduced to only a couple of scenes in the movie. Ultimately, despite the differences, the film captures what makes the novel special. Ending with Ben leaving his caregiver role but staying as a friend beautifully illustrates the relationship that can be formed with the right Carer, someone who assists you to carry on living as independent a life as possible. The film implies that Trevor has had a high turnover of carers over the years so he cynically expects Ben to be temporary so he doesn’t get emotionally attached. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. And while his cleverness is so emboldened by the script and the actor’s delivery, Roberts’ face, particularly his saddened eyes, layers in just enough complexity to his intention. Trevor uses/needs realistic care (similar to me), CPAP at night, exercise routine, cough assist machine, medication, contractures in fingers, clearing secretions, disabled vehicle but bizarrely no hoist. Trevor escapes the claustrophic home routine and the extreme caution that has prevented him from going out into the world, while Ben makes peace with the aftermath of the accident and finally feels ready to sign his divorce papers and move on. ​Donald Strohman is a Pennsylvania State University film graduate currently residing in Metro Atlanta, Georgia. He's appeared in several shows and films such as 'Sleepy Hollow', 'MacGyver' and '24: Legacy'. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. The filmmakers’ decision to cut down on these scenes is a smart choice that makes the characters more likable for a movie audience. Films, based on far shorter scripts, don’t have the luxury of including every novelistic diversion. Change ), on Film Review: The Fundamentals of Caring, Titan One Device: Coding your own accessibility – Part 1. Queue in Selena Gomez as Dot the cliché “love interest”, a rebellious teenage hitchhiker there as a plot device to show Trevor’s character development or independence. The movie starts in a classroom where the fundamental requirements of a caregiver are taught to Ben using the acronym ALOHA – Ask, Listen, Observe, Help, Ask Again. In the book, there isn’t the same amount of joking around and pranking. 9 Ways 'The Fundamentals of Caring' Speaks the Truth About My Life With a Disability 1) Classes don’t teach what it’s like to be my caregiver. The World of Gaming Accessibility, Disability Representation, Technology, Comics…. I also have to give credit to actress Selena Gomez, who does a great job lending to the story through the character of Dot. Before being a part of The Young Folks team, he contributed to GameDeck, GameSkinny, and the satire website The Black Sheep. #ElleWoods I would RECOMMEND this movie but bear in mind many interesting themes around disability are not developed enough and slightly fragmented. It also helps that there are many laugh-a-minute moments between the two during said journey, thanks to a script filled to the brim with sharply mature humor. An 18-year-old Brit with muscular dystrophy (Craig Roberts) goes on a road trip across America with his caregiver (), and the pair learn about life from the people they meet along the way.Written and directed by Rob Burnett, The Fundamentals of Caring made its world premiere at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, and co-stars Selena Gomez, Jennifer Ehle, and Bobby Cannavale. The Fundamentals of Caring stars Paul Rudd as Ben who finds himself struggling through life and avoiding his wife who keeps sending him divorce papers. The Fundamentals of Caring stars Ben (Paul Rudd), a newly licensed professional caregiver seeking his first full-time client whilst trying to escape the loss of his son. What makes The Fundamentals of Caring such a worthwhile Netflix original movie is not what it sets out to change, but how much it wishes to encapsulate you with its characters. It’s a “lesson movie,” one in which we’re going to watch people start off in places of grief and bitterness and evolve towards happiness. In the case of the Sundance hit, The Fundamentals of Caring (2016), more than just the title has been changed from the source novel, Jonathan Evison’s The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving. Ben’s first client as a caregiver is Trevor (Craig Roberts), an 18-year-old guy with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Just when you think The Fundamentals of Caring is on the verge of committing the all-too-common indie-movie sin of making the characters a little too hip, clever, and hyper-aware for their own good, the suffering the characters have endured for far too long comes through, and the audience realizes that the hilarious sarcastic humor isn't shoehorned in by the scriptwriter, but is instead the defense … Selena Gomez as Dot and Craig Roberts as Trevor in The Fundamentals of Caring (2016). This change makes sense given the two mediums; there isn’t as much time to tell many different stories within a film as in a novel. Completely different roles, yet both performed equally as good. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. From there, two scenes rarely pass without a shit joke or a physical struggle to get Trevor to relieve himself. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. It was very clever and well thought out. I didn’t connect with this character at all. How is “Me Before You” different than the book. Instead, Trevor’s and Ben’s closeness is shown through their objectification of women. It is not cheesy, it is not over-wrought, it is not unbearably sad, even though it seems like it should have been. But in this film, Rudd’s wit and befuddling charm isn’t as endearing as it is sympathetic, at times almost pitiful. From a first look at the movie, I had no intention on watching this film, mainly due to Selena Gomez — an ex-Disney star and current pop singer being one of the main characters. Parents need to know that The Fundamentals of Caring is a 2016 movie based on a novel of the same name. The blooming romance between the two characters is just as cutesy, yet down to earth as one could hope for. Yet, one day, Ben begins to notice how little Trevor is trying to live life outside of watching television and eating waffles all day.

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