The Fundamentals of Caring
Release: June 24, 2016 on Netflix
Directed by: Rob Burnett
Screenplay: Rob Burnett, Jonathon Evison (Novel)
Starring: Craig Roberts, Paul Rudd, Selena Gomez
Rated: TV-MASynopsis: A man suffering an incredible amount of loss enrolls in a class about care-giving that changes his perspective on life.
My Rating:
This movie made me laugh and cry and it just one of those adorable feel-good movies. It completely surprised me. While I love Paul Rudd, I’m not the biggest fan of Selena Gomez’s acting, then add that it was a straight-to-Netflix release — I didn’t have high hopes.
But, guys, it was wonderful.
I don’t think the synopsis provided by IMDB does it justice. So, here is my non-spoilery quick summary:
Ben (Rudd) takes a job as a caretaker for a young man, Trevor (Roberts). Trevor has Duchenne muscular dystrophy and is confined to a motorized wheelchair. He’s very set in his ways, having a specific routine every day that he can’t detour from. But he also has a map of odd off-road attractions that he would love to visit, including the world’s deepest pit. Ben convinces him to go on this road trip, and what ensues is a very cute, coming-of-age story.
It’s a familiar story, one we’ve watched or read plenty of times, but I still think this movie brought some fantastic humor and friendships to the table.
What made this movie stand out to me was the relationship between Ben and Trevor. They had some great moments that included a somewhat cruel sense of humor — which I don’t want to spoil if you see it. But, I really did enjoy their friendship. I also enjoyed the performances from both Rudd and Roberts. I think they had great on-screen chemistry and I think they are what rounded out this whole movie and made any flaws totally worth it.
At the same time, I wish the movie developed the characters outside of Ben and Trevor a bit more. At one point, Dot (Gomez) comes in and I feel like they barely skimmed the surface with her character development.
This movie tackles great loss, family connections, friendships, taking risks and disability. It was a fantastic blend that left you with a great lesson to learn. I highly recommend this one.
Side note: It is based on the novel The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving by Jonathon Evison. I have not read this book, so I don’t know how it compares.
4 Comments
I totally looked at this movie and couldn’t decide whether I wanted to watch it or not. But I’ve been furiously searching for books with characters with physical disabilities so I’ll be reading the book for sure! And then watch the movie after. Thanks for sharing this, honestly, I have a character in a wheelchair in my own book so I’m pretty excited
I thought it was really good. It got some mixed reviews, but I liked it. I do want to read the book now. And I noticed a lot of people are looking for books with disabilities so this is a perfect recommendation (even if I haven’t read it) 😀 Also, that’s really cool that your character is in a wheelchair also (ok, that came out weird. But what I meant was that you can connect with it on some level)
I can’t believe I’ve never heard of this one before! I love Paul Rudd too and judging from your review, I think I’d love this one. It sounds really heartwarming. Did Dot play a big part? I’m also kind of ambivalent about Selena Gomez’s acting. 😛
It was heartwarming! It definitely made me laugh and get a tad emotional. Dot is in it for a while, that’s why I expected a little more character development for her, but overall, the story is about Trevor and Ben. So, you don’t get TOO much of Gomez’s acting lol