The Fundamentals of Caring

Paul Rudd stars in this feel good Netflix exclusive, as a carer with absolutely no experience; what could possibly go wrong? Amazingly, not a lot.

This film is a graceful look into the young mind of a less abled being. A being who goes by the name of Trevor. Trevor has a rare form of muscular dystrophy, making pretty much everything an impossibility, including as he himself so delightfully puts it – ‘wiping his own ass’; a job which his carer is enlisted to help with, amongst many, many others.

Whilst this film is at heart a somewhat depressing outlook on a young boy’s failing prospects as he battles the most horrendous of diseases which has rendered his body useless, the story itself gives a sense of hope and restoration; an aspect that will be able to warm the coldest of hearts.

Or at least it tries to. You see as harsh as it may sound, the director cannot just throw Paul Rudd and Selena Gomez in the mix and simply hope for the best. It is the story that must sell this film, not the people, and sadly this film has been betrayed by its creators with a lack of imagination. At points it feels as though the director simply gave up, and quite frankly it makes the viewer want to reflect this notion, and bail out of the nearest exit.

As indie films go, it is not bad. It certainly has potential, and the idea itself is not a bad one; it is, as is so often the case, the execution that has failed this film.