Watch The Fundamentals of Caring on Netflix
Written by: Rob Burnett (screenplay), Jonathan Evison (novel)
Directed by: Rob Burnett
Starring: Craig Roberts, Selena Gomez, Paul Rudd, Bobby Cannavale
Rated: TV-MA/R
Plot:
A caretaker with a troubled past cares for a teenager with muscular dystrophy. Together they overcome emotional barriers.
Verdict:
This
is a made-for-tv premise that delivers a made-for-tv experience. It has
two funny jokes, but it's not worth watching the entire movie. There's
little entertainment and even fewer surprises. It's predictable and
contrived.
Skip it.
Review:
This is the platonic version of The Fault in Our Stars (2014) without
the clever writing and emotional impact. Craig Roberts does a good job
as Trevor, but he can't carry this movie. This is a movie where the main
characters life dream is to urinate standing up. It delivers, but it's
as exciting as you'd imagine.
Paul Rudd as Ben is
jobless and getting divorced. This looked like a down on his luck guy
who finds purpose as a caregiver with someone worse off than himself.
That's exactly what it is.
It handles muscular dystrophy well, not
afraid to make a few jokes about it. When Trevor comments that after
one night with him the pretty news reporter on television "wouldn't be
able to walk properly." Ben responds, "Would you give her muscular
dystrophy?"
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| The Fundamentals of Caring - Predictable, buddy, road trip, made-for-tv, comedy. |
The mall/muh conversation is also hilarious.
The
movie has a parallel plot about what happened to Ben's son. When Trevor
makes a flippant comment about Ben never having kids, knowing that Ben
did have a son, Ben flies off the handle and tells Trevor to to live his
life and stop hiding behind his disease. This kicks off a road trip. No
longer able to hide behind his wheelchair, Trevor isn't as snarky. This
movie is one big trope. I get he's out of his comfort zone, but the
movie doesn't balance his personality well.
There is
one scene where a character holds a phone in portrait orientation to
take a photo. This is made by filmmakers. None of them thought to hold
the phone correctly? I personally find this extremely annoying. It makes
me want to smack the phone out of the person's hand.
Ben
and Trevor run into Selena Gomez again. It's no surprise. The movie
might as well flash "you'll see her again" on the screen when they meet
and then leave her initially.
The tragic accident with
Ben's son was a parking brake failure. Which doesn't just stretch
credibility, but is much lamer than I ever would have imagined.
Ben
comes to term with the tragedy when he helps a woman give birth with a
level of contrivance I didn't think was possible. The movie's crowning
moment is a CGI urination sequence, and then we conclude with Ben
turning the events into a book. His prose is terrible, much like this
movie.
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| Title Card |
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