Home Entertainment “The Fundamentals of Caring” — An Uplifting Film Streaming on Netflix

“The Fundamentals of Caring” — An Uplifting Film Streaming on Netflix

The Fundamentals of Caring poster
Photo courtesy of Netflix

The storyline in “The Fundamentals of Caring” is not original. Written and directed by Rob Burnett, it is based on the novel “The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving” by Jonathan Evison.  We saw a similar treatment of the subject of a severely handicapped person, whose caretaker changes his life, as well as his own, in “The Intouchables,” a French film dealing with that theme, as did the subsequent “The Upside,” the American version of that film. One might ask why was this theme repeated successfully in three different films? The reason is a similarity in the humanity of the characters.  Based on actual events, we witness the angst of two deeply troubled people, each of whom experiences renewal and redemption through each other.

In “The Fundamentals of Caring,” released by Netflix in 2016, Ben, stirringly played by Paul Rudd, is a lost man. He is a father who is no longer a father, a writer who no longer writes, with a wife who no longer wishes to be his wife. Faced with his tattered life, Ben decides to train as a caregiver and after completing a six-week session, applies for his first job as caretaker to Trevor, a severely handicapped young man with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, brilliantly played by Craig Roberts. His no-nonsense English mom Elsa, skillfully played by Jennifer Ehle, is both a registered caregiver and manager of a local bank.

Jennifer Ehle, Craig Roberts, Paul Rudd in 'The Fundamentals of Caring'
L-R: Jennifer Ehle as Trevor’s mom Elsa, Craig Roberts as Trevor & Paul Rudd as Ben in “The Fundamentals of Caring” streaming on Netflix. Photo courtesy of Netflix.
Craig Roberts & Paul Rudd in 'The Fundamentals of Caring'
Craig Roberts as Trevor and Paul Rudd as Ben, Trevor’s caretaker. Photo courtesy of Netflix.

On interviewing Ben, she is uncertain as to whether or not she should hire him because her 18-year-old would be his first case. Confined to a wheelchair, potty mouth Trevor, is angry, frustrated sexually, and tries to intimidate the applicant by rattling off unpleasant requirements of the job. Ben stays centered even when Trevor taunts him, “You’ll have to wipe the shit from my ass,” replying, “I’ll do whatever is necessary.” Satisfied, he tells his mom to hire him. In the beginning, the relationship is not easy. Trevor is angry most of the time, barking orders, and sticks to a rigid daily schedule. He occasionally feigns choking which scares the hell out of Ben, who later does an one-upsmanship. Realizing that his ward is living a life of not-so-quiet desperation, he proposes a road trip. At first Trevor’s mom says no because of the amount of meds he’s on as well as his sleep apnea machine. However, with assurances from Ben that he will take excellent care of him, she relents and off they go in the handicap van to visit The World’s Deepest Pit.

Craig Roberts, Paul Rudd and Selena Gomez in 'The Fundamentals of Caring'
Left: Trevor (Craig Roberts) on the roadtrip with his caretaker Ben (Paul Rudd) refuses to taste the Slim Jim. Right: Run-away Dot, played by Selena Gomez, is trying to hitch a ride. Photos courtesy of Netflix.

During the first part of the trip, Trevor remains rigid and the verbal fencing between them continues. He remains unwilling to try any new foods and definitely turns down a Slim-Jim (beef jerky.) Ben tries to get him to eat French toast instead of his daily waffles, but to no avail. That is about to change as while stopping at a diner, they spot a sexy young girl named Dot, perfectly played by Selena Gomez, a run-away who is trying to hitch a ride. Trevor is clearly attracted to her and Ben tells him to offer her a lift, which he chickens out of doing. Back in the car, a short time later, they encounter her again, and this time she climbs into the car with them. She’s rather sardonic, smokes, and matches Trevor’s potty mouth with a preponderance of “F-bombs.” Behind the mutual rough exteriors, the seeds of young love are sprouting.

Craig Roberts, Paul Rudd, Megan Ferguson and Selena Gomez
Trevor (Craig Roberts,) his caretaker Ben (Paul Rudd,) the very pregnant Peaches (Megan Ferguson,) and Dot (Selena Gomez) are all together on this special road trip. Photo courtesy of Netflix.

Next up is a pregnant young woman named Peaches, beautifully characterized by Megan Ferguson, who is standing next to her stalled car. She is on the way to her mother’s home to have the baby and she shares that her husband is on his second tour in the military. Ben invites her to join them and now the four of them are off to their destination. On the way, Trevor shares that his father left when he was three-years-old when he found out about his disorder and that the only communication has been letters that he never opened. They all encourage a visit to the car dealership where his dad Bob (Frederick Weller) works. It is not a successful encounter as the dad says that he never wrote those letters and that Trevor’s mom did. He offers money, which disgusts his son who turns his wheelchair around and leaves angrily, demanding to go home. However, the girls persuade him that they have to see the big hole and off they go.

Craig Roberts and Selena Gomez
Trevor (Craig Roberts) works up the courage to ask Dot (Selena Gomez) for a date. Photo courtesy of Netflix.
Craig Roberts is carried up one flight of stairs
Trevor (Craig Roberts) is carried up one flight of stairs to see the biggest cow in the world. Photo courtesy of Netflix.

One evening, in a motel, Trevor works up the nerve to ask Dot to have dinner with him. It’s a charming scene of two teenagers having dinner and chatting away. In another scene, Ben and Trevor arrive at the site of the biggest bovine in the world. Unfortunately, the beast is upstairs there is no elevator.  Ben becomes indignant and accuses the owner of violating the Americans With Disabilities Act and that he was going to report him. The owner figures out a solution, which involved carrying the wheelchair up a narrow flight of stairs and thus Trevor saw this gargantuan cow.

Megan Ferguson as the pregnant Peaches
Peaches (Megan Ferguson) goes into early labor. Photo courtesy of Netflix.

Things are going smoothly when Peaches suddenly goes into labor with the outcome successfully in Ben’s hands. The new mom and her baby are whisked off by ambulance to the nearest hospital and Dot reunites with her father, played by Bobby Cannavale. He had had been following the van throughout the trip, with Ben thinking it was a process server hired by his wife.

In an earlier conversation, Ben asked his charge what he wants to do more than anything. His answer was “I’d like to pee standing up.” The resolution of that dream is one that will have you cheering. And, in my opinion, is why we have seen a variation on this theme several times. We all need something to cheer about, don’t you think?

Load More Related Articles
Load More By Lady Beverly Cohn: The Road to Hollywood
Load More In Entertainment

One Comment

  1. Melinda Brown

    June 18, 2020 at 7:35 pm

    Thanks so much for the great photos and article on this movie… and for publicizing it on your website! Sounds very good and we hope to watch it soon!

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Check Also

Film Review: Ekwa Msangi’s Directorial Debut With “Farewell Amor”

Ekwa Msangi’s directorial debut, Farewell Amor is a tender story about an immigrant family…