The Fundamentals of Caring

You want it fast and sweet right? Paul Rudd and Craig Roberts allowed this movie to become revolutionary in my mind. Paul Rudd is known for being hilariously pessimistic (I do not like this acting style), while Craig gave me something I've not felt for a long time... which is hope. I'm not familiar with Craig Roberts, but he made me laugh... a LOT in this movie. Selena Gomez was nothing special and I'm sure they could have cast anybody to play this role. Craig stole the show with the realistic aspects that he played true. Paul Rudd did show maturity in his role, although I personally am not a fan of him. I give props when they are due. Normally, I do not give reviews. This movie although deserves the time that it gave to us. I found it beautiful in a sense.

Paul Rudd is Ben, a depressed ex-writer with a tragic secret who decides to start a new career as a caregiver. His first job is with obnoxious Trevor, a British boy suffering from muscular dystrophy. What follows is a "meet cute"/"take no prisoners" kind of relationship, so popular in contemporary "family movies". Trevor is not a likeable guy, although suffering from a terrible and incurable illness, I found it impossible to sympathise with him. Ben is supposed "not to get emotionally involved" with Trevor, which looks like not requiring too much of an effort... but of course, he does get all fatherly. A Ben/Trevor road trip ensues peppered by several sub-plots, one of them about Dot, a foul-mouthed runaway who thinks she's the wisest girl on earth and - again, obviously - has a fling with Trevor. With the entrance of Dot I lost interest. She is - as described in "Gone Girl" - a "cool" girl, the type of stereotyped female that infests most contemporary movies. She is also a convenient plot device, ready to give Trevor his much needed sexual experience and to prove that "cool" girls have no prejudice - no matter how bad their language may be. A very "indie' movie, from the look & feel to the straight to Netflix distribution

The Fundamentals of Caring is a good film. I've never seen Paul Rudd in a drama before, but he surely did nail this role. His character is a caretaker for children, and he starts caring for a handicapped boy who shares his thoughts about family. I've never seen a Netflix Original movie, excluding Calibre, that I can actually call: "worth your time". Selena Gomez is also in the movie. Although her character is a little aggravating and hard to like, she does fulfill her character arcs and grows from a broken and traumatized person, to a fixed and light-hearted person in the end. This goes for all the characters In the film as well. I also admire how this film is based on a novel, and has no narrator. Films like Ready Player One and The Kissing Booth, have unnecessary narration. The Fundamentals of Caring does not have this though, which makes it more subtle and easier to love. This film is definitely worth the watch and I'm giving it a 7/10.

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.

The Fundamentals of Caring (2016) A sweet, uncomplicated movie. Paul Rudd is solid if a bit restrained (though he has a handful of great lines), but the younger counterpart played by Craig Roberts is really sharp and funny. They way they support and redeem each other is the whole of the movie. There is an attempt to add some depth, from the straight up mother who overplays her custodial role to a couple of people who get picked up along the road trip, both quirky but neither very convincing in the larger story. They are all add-ons that have little depth. Too bad. Yes, this is a road movie, with some well used ideas about finding weird Americana along the way to discovering yourself. It's fun, sure, but you'll find enough predictable parts to make you wish someone had take some chances. By the time they get to the highlight (which is a literal low point—you'll see), both of the add-on characters are pushed to extremes that don't resolve well. I enjoyed the movie in some simple warm way, but don't expect brilliance. I think, in a way, brilliance was not the idea, but something more sincere and heartfelt. Hate to feel like I'm bashing a feel-good movie, but it's really the movie-making and writing, not the sentiments, that are the problem.