The Fundamentals Of Caring Movie Review (2016)
A sweet and salty comedy about a teen with muscular dystrophy and the man who becomes his caretaker, The Fundamentals Of Caring is the movie you never knew you needed in your life.
There are some movies that, when they are over, leave you with a smile. They aren’t great cinema and you can’t dissect exactly how it was filmed or the score because that would ruin it. It just makes you incredibly happy. And this is one of those movies.
The Fundamentals Of Caring is about Ben, a man who has suffered a serious loss and is refusing to sign divorce papers from his wife. To find any kind of direction, he takes a course in caretaking, and applies for a job to be a daytime caretaker to Trevor, a teen with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Trevor’s condition can be life threatening, and his mother, Elsa, is looking for someone who can both take care of Trevor and maintain the very rigid schedule he expects. After a time, Ben and Trevor set off on a road trip (with Elsa’s permission) to do something different and see the oddities that Trevor has only ever talked about seeing.
Oh my goodness, I love this movie. It is a charming, funny, and very sarcastic comedy with lots of dry banter between the two main characters. There are many laugh out loud moments (particularly due to many of their quips to and at each other), but there is an underlying sweetness as well.
At the same time, there is a bittersweetness that threatens to break in. While you don’t feel sorry for Trevor for very long (you get to know him and most of that aspect fades), it is true that he is in a life-threatening situation, cannot care for his own needs, and will die young. Ben is struggling with the memories of a horrible instance that he cannot forgive himself for, and he seemingly has nothing in his life outside of Trevor.
Paul Rudd plays Ben in only the way that Paul Rudd can. He is affable and playful, but gets all of the serious notes just right. You connect with him in a way that I cannot see any other actor playing this role.
Craig Roberts plays Trevor, and he is brilliant. I am not going to discuss whether an abled person should be performing as a disabled person (you can have the same discussion about Daniel Day-Lewis in My Left Foot), but Roberts understands Trevor both in body and mind. While his body is always vulnerable, he maintains a sardonic wit that would hold anyone’s feet to the fire. I thoroughly enjoyed watching him in this role.
Selena Gomez also has a role as Dot, a teen runaway who seems to be the perfect foil for Trevor with her contemptuous demeanor.
The Fundamentals Of Caring is a different kind of road trip buddy comedy and it is absolutely worth your time. It is witty and sarcastic, but when it’s over, you will have a really tough time wiping the smile off your face. I just love it.
Runtime: 97 minutes
Motion Picture Rating: TV-MA
Languages Spoken In The Film: English
Should You Watch It? Yes, definitely
Did I Cry? Yes, I got teary
My Rating: 4.25/5 Stars
Available: Free on Netflix
