I recently saw for the first time The Fundamentals of Caring, a film starring Paul Rudd, Craig Roberts and Selena Gomez that, although it is nothing out of this world, immerses us in a warm and optimistic story that addresses fatherhood and the right to a second. opportunity from many angles.
[Source](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt2452386/)
Although I generally don't usually watch films of this type, they are always a pleasant surprise, not because their quality is above what was expected, but because they generally have a light and pleasant approach to their own themes, something that is not usually very common in dramas.
And although we could not say that Fundamentals of Caring lacks a conflict, it is developed in a plane that knows how to mix very well its optimistic nature with a crushing realism, without needing to make the viewer uncomfortable but generating enough tension so that worth giving it a chance.
Essentially we follow the story of Ben, a man in the middle of a divorce who has just lost his son and who decides to dedicate himself to working as a caregiver to fill that apparent void.
This is how he meets Trevor, an 18-year-old young man who suffers from muscular dystrophy and who is characterized by having a rather mocking and pessimistic attitude towards his own life.
What begins as an enmity progressively becomes a journey where both discover that they have a lot to learn from the other.
The Fundamentals of Caring does not represent much beyond this premise, but it is undeniable that its execution is extremely neat: Rudd and Roberts do a wonderful job and in the second half of the film they are joined by a brilliant Selena Gómez, giving us many funny moments and emotional moments as we see these characters grow and heal.
Score taken from my Letterboxd Account.
In short, it is a "feel good film" with an effective ending, solid direction and a rhythm that will be able to keep us hooked.
Recientemente ví por primera vez The Fundamentals of Caring, una película protagonizada por Paul Rudd, Craig Roberts y Selena Gomez que si bien no resulta nada del otro mundo, nos sumerge en una historia cálida y optimista que aborda la paternaridad y el derecho a una segunda oportunidad desde muchos ángulos.
[Source](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt2452386/)
Aunque generalmente no suelo ver filmes de este tipo, siempre resultan una sorpresa grata, no porque su calidad este por encima de lo esperado, sino porque generalmente cuentan con un acercamiento ligero y agradable a sus propios temas, algo que no suele ser muy común en los dramas.
Y es que si bien no podríamos decir que Fundanmentals of Caring carece de un conflicto, el mismo se desarrolla en un plano que sabe mezclar muy bien su naturaleza optimista con un realismo aplastante, si necesidad de incomodar al espectador pero generando suficiente tensión como para que valga la pena darle una oportunidad.
En esencia seguimos la historia de Ben, un hombre en medio de un divorcio que acaba de perder a su hijo y que decide dedicarse a trabajar como cuidador para llenar ese aparente vacío.
Así es como conoce a Trevor, un joven de 18 años que padece de distrofia muscular y que se caracteriza por tener una actitud bastante burlona y pesimista con respecto a su propia vida.
Lo que empieza como una enemistad progresivamente se va convirtiendo en una viaje en dónde ambos descubren que tiene mucho que aprender del otro.
The Fundamentals of Caring no representa mucho más allá de esta premisa, pero es innegable que la ejecución de la misma es extremadamente prolija: Rudd y Roberts hacen un trabajo estupendo y en la segunda mitad del filme se les suma una brillante Selena Gómez, brindandonos muchos momentos divertidos y otros emotivos a medida que vamos viendo a estos personajes crecer y sanar.
Puntaje sacado de mi cuenta de Letterboxd.
En pocas palabras es un "feel good film" con un final efectivo, una dirección sólida y un ritmo que será capaz de mantenernos enganchados.
›The Fundamentals of Caring (review)@roadstories1986d
El inicio de esta película fue un tanto confuso para mí, vemos a un niño riendo, al parecer alguien haciéndole cosquillas, por un momento pensé que iba a ser una trama de comedia, incluso creo que cuando elegí la película pensé que sería sobre eso, pero de cierto modo fue así porque en el desarrollo de esta película se ve mucha comedia un tanto bizarra pero que te hará reír de alguna u otra forma.
Ben es un escritor retirado que se incursiona en el mundo de cuidador de personas, por lo que hizo un curso base para desempeñar ese tipo de trabajo, la verdad es que al principio no se deja claro la razón por la cual un escritor termina obteniendo esa idea de cuidar personas, lo que yo al instante pensé es que sus escrituras no se estaban vendiendo bien o que simplemente ya no tenía el deseo de hacerlo.
Sin embargo, durante la película se deja ver que es por un trauma que ha cambiado totalmente su vida, la pérdida de un hijo hizo que la confianza por sí mismo para seguir adelante sin tener el pasado en su presente le afectara en todos los sentidos, incluso lo suficiente como para provocar un bloqueo mental, el divorcio con su esposa y una vida escabulléndose de sus responsabilidades bajo su nueva vida.
The beginning of this movie was a bit confusing for me, we see a kid laughing, apparently someone tickling him, for a moment I thought it was going to be a comedy plot, I even think that when I chose the movie I thought it would be about that, but in a way it was because in the development of this movie you see a lot of comedy that is a little bit bizarre but that will make you laugh in one way or another.
Ben is a retired writer who has gone into the world of caregiving, so he took a foundation course in that kind of work, the truth is that at first it is not clear why a writer ends up getting that idea of caring for people, what I instantly thought was that his writing was not selling well or that he just did not have the desire to do it anymore.
However, during the film it becomes clear that it is because of a trauma that has totally changed his life, the loss of a child made him confident enough to move on without having the past in his present to affect him in every way, even enough to cause a mental block, the divorce with his wife and a life slipping away from his responsibilities under his new life.
Luego de terminar el curso por la necesidad de obtener un trabajo, Ben va a su primera cita con cero experiencia, lo cual le dificulta las cosas, sin embargo, cuando conoce a su paciente y estos dos intercambian palabras, el chico con distrofia muscular dice que es el indicado. Desde ese momento comienza la aventura de este par de hombres bizarros, pues Ben tuvo que adaptarse a los tantos malos chistes de Trevor.
Desde el momento que Trevor se deja ver, entendemos que su personalidad bizarra es una forma para descargar sus frustraciones al tener que vivir una vida muy complicada de salud desde muy pequeño, además que su padre lo abandonó a los 3 años de edad, entonces comprendemos que es como una defensa, o algo que usa para no sentirse menos que los demás.
Luego de que Ben se da cuenta de la difícil vida de Trevor y las limitaciones que este tiene para divertirse o hacer su corto tiempo de vida algo agradable, se le ocurre la idea de visitar diferentes lugares favoritos que Trevor siempre quiso conocer. Al principio Elsa, su madre rechazaba la idea de que Trevor saliera de casa tan lejos, más que todo por el temor de que su equipo médico alguna medicina se perdiera en el camino o se presentara alguna emergencia con Trevor que pudiera costarle la vida.
After finishing the course because of the need to get a job, Ben goes to his first appointment with zero experience, which makes things difficult for him. However, when he meets his patient and these two exchange words, the boy with muscular dystrophy says he is the one. From that moment on, the adventure of this pair of bizarre men begins, as Ben has to adapt to Trevor's many bad jokes.
From the moment Trevor shows up, we understand that his bizarre personality is a way for him to take out his frustrations by having to live a very complicated life of health from a very young age.
We then understand that it is like a defense, or something he uses so that he does not feel less than others.
After Ben realizes how difficult Trevor's life is and the limitations he has in having fun or making his short time of life enjoyable, he comes up with the idea of visiting different favorite places that Trevor always wanted to see. At first Elsa, his mother rejected the idea of Trevor leaving home so far away, mostly because she feared that his medical equipment or some medicine would be lost along the way or that an emergency would arise with Trevor that could cost him his life.
Durante el viaje suceden muchas cosas, Trevor le juega muchas bromas a Ben con el afán de hacerlo molestar, haciendo ver que se está muriendo pero solo es jugando, además de ello, en el camino se encuentra con Selena Gomez quien hace el papel de Dot, una chica que escapa de casa de su padre para empezar una nueva vida, y de la cual Trevor se enamora, pero se acompleja de conocerla ya que nunca antes había tenido contacto con alguna chica y tiene ciertos complejos y frustraciones sexuales, como la de no poder orinar parado.
Luego de ello van a conocer al bovino más grande, lo que resultó ser un poco decepcionante al ver que se trataba de un animal disecado que estaba en el segundo piso del establo, algo que fue muy gracioso de ver porque fue más el esfuerzo para subir a Trevor hasta el segundo piso y bajarlo luego de que no pasará más de 5 minutos de ver lo que tanto ansiaba conocer.
Una vez más se encuentran a la chica Dot mientras hacían una parada para comer, y es cuando Ben le da la idea a Trevor de invitarla para darle un aventón. Ben accede y cuando estaba ya por acercarse a ella se regresa al restaurante, por lo que Trevor tuvo que pasar a ser un posible "pervertido" ante los ojos de Dot, al momento que este le invita a comer y luego a viajar con ellos.
En el viaje también notamos que hay un carro que los está siguiendo desde hace rato durante el viaje, por lo que Ben intuye que es tal vez su esposa que mandó a alguien con los documentos del divorcio. A ellos luego se suma una mujer embarazada cuyo carro se quedó accidentado en la vía.
Trevor tiene la oportunidad de tener una cita con Dot en un restaurante cercano donde pasan varias horas hablando, algo que le hizo sentir bien a Trevor y sentir ciertas seguridades ante sus ansiedades.
En la película vemos que las cartas que supuestamente fueron enviadas por el padre de Trevor, simplemente era una mentira de su madre ya que ella las escribía por él. Se deja en claro que su padre nunca tuvo un interés de acercarse a él una vez que lo abandonó, algo que después de todo invadió negativamente a Trevor negándose a seguir viajando hasta su lugar más favorito, sin embargo la influencia de Dot en el grupo de viajeros, hizo que el viaje siguiera el rumbo, algo que valió la pena para ellos porque realmente era algo impactante a la vista. En ese mismo momento la mujer embarazada da a luz a su hijo, algo que hizo que ven se sintiera vulnerable al recordar a su ya hijo fallecido, pero además de eso se descubre que la persona que los seguía no era quien él creía.
During the trip a lot of things happen, Trevor plays a lot of jokes on Ben with the intention of making him feel like he is dying, but it is only a game. On the way he meets Selena Gomez who plays the role of Dot, a girl who escapes from her father's house to start a new life, and with whom Trevor falls in love, but he has a complex about meeting her because he has never had contact with a girl before and he has certain sexual complexes and frustrations, such as not being able to urinate standing up.
After that they go to meet the biggest bovine, which turned out to be a bit disappointing when they saw that it was a stuffed animal that was on the second floor of the barn, something that was very funny to see because it was more of an effort to get Trevor up to the second floor and get him down after he didn't spend more than 5 minutes seeing what he wanted to see.
Once again the girl Dot is met while making a stop for lunch, and that is when Ben gives Trevor the idea to invite her for a ride. Ben agrees and when he was about to approach her he goes back to the restaurant, so Trevor had to become a possible "pervert" in Dot eyes, at the moment he invites her to eat and then travel with them.
On the trip we also noticed that there is a car that has been following them for some time during the trip, so Ben intuits that it is perhaps his wife who sent someone with the divorce papers. They are later joined by a pregnant woman whose car was left in an accident on the road.
Trevor has the opportunity to have a date with Dot at a nearby restaurant where they spend several hours talking, something that made Trevor feel good and secure about his anxieties.
In the film we see that the letters that were supposedly sent by Trevor's father were simply a lie from his mother as she was writing them for him. It is made clear that his father never had any interest in getting close to him once he left, something that after all, negatively invaded Trevor by refusing to continue traveling to his most favorite place, however Dot's influence on the group of travelers, made the trip go on, something that was worthwhile for them because it was really something that was shocking to watch. At that very moment the pregnant woman gives birth to her son, something that made them feel vulnerable when remembering their already deceased son, but on top of that it was discovered that the person who was following them was not who he believed.
Una de las cosas que debemos esperar de esta película es que siempre vamos a estar tensos ante las diferentes situaciones, ya que hablamos de un paciente con una condición muy seria y cualquier error podría costarle la vida. Sin embargo, también nos deja muchas enseñanzas y mensajes sobre la vida, y el aprecio que debemos tener por la misma, siempre que tengamos la oportunidad no debemos dejar que nuestras limitaciones siempre sean un excusa, pues al final Trevor se enamoró por primera vez de una chica cuyo gusto fue correspondido por ella, aunque ella tuvo que irse a otra parte para empezar su nueva vida.
One of the things we should expect from this film is that we will always be tense in different situations, since we are talking about a patient with a very serious condition and any mistake could cost him his life. However, it also leaves us with many teachings and messages about life, and the appreciation we should have for it, whenever we have the opportunity we should not let our limitations always be an excuse, because in the end Trevor fell in love for the first time with a girl whose taste was reciprocated by her, even though she had to go somewhere else to start her new life.
Ben empezó a escribir nuevamente y aceptó divorciarse de su esposa, dejó de ser el cuidador de Trevor para convertirse en su amigo, y pues el final es extrañamente inesperado pero de cierto modo era de esperarse.
Ben started writing again and agreed to divorce his wife, ceased to be Trevor's caretaker and became his friend, and so the end was strangely unexpected but in a way to be expected.
›The Fundamentals of Caring on Netflix@netflixr2006d
I'm kind of enjoying the way in which Paul Rudd is kind of stepping outside of comedy to move towards more serious roles. He is yet to do something (that I am aware of) that is devoid of comedy aspects, but this is about as far as I would like to see him go because although there are some comedy moments this is more of a drama film than anything else.
I have tried to avoid spoilers but there could be a few so just know that I recommend this film for its subtle humor, touching storyline, and overall pace
While this film has been on Netflix since 2016 after appearing at a film festival or two, I never knew it was there until it was featured on my home screen about a week ago. Therefore, this might not be a new film to you, but it is to me since a lot of my choices on what to watch are made by the team over at Netflix.
Basically, this story is about a guy named Ben who we can see is depressed himself as he is attending a caregiving course that qualifies him to be a caregiver for people in need. After graduating he goes on his first interview and meets Trevor, a teenager with Muscular Dystrophy. Although it appears as though Ben is not going to get the job because of his lack of experience, Trevor chooses Ben as his caregiver based on the answers he has to his questions, rather than his mother's. Trever simply says "he is the one" and that was that. Of course we already knew that Ben was going to get the job because he is one of the stars of the movie so this isn't exactly a cliffhanger.
At first they don't really get along because Trevor is a bit of an antagonizing jerk and continually berates Ben but for some reason this leads to them having a bond with one another. Ben learns more about Trevor than he knows about most of his adult friends and convinces the boy to abandon his home life, just a for a bit in order to go on a road-trip to see some of the things that the boy is fascinated with but never pursues because of his affliction.
They have some adventures together, they argue, and Ben introduces Trevor, who has a very particular diet, to the joys of Slim Jims and helps the boy to enjoy life outside and to not let his life be entirely about his affliction.
I'm not going to get into specifics for the sake of not ruining the story but let's just say that if you are the type of person that like a touching story with a bit of humor mixed in then there is a very good chance that this movie is going to appeal to you.
Most compassion stories out there are about some sort of romantic love and those are fine and all, but I do enjoy having a bit of diversity and have a film focus on simple kindness and how important that really should be to all of us. This isn't exactly a tear-jerker or anything, but it is a feel good film eventually.
Should I watch it?
For some this may be a bit slow-moving and while that wasn't the feeling I got I can see it being a bit too slow for some. I really enjoy movies that are about the need for more compassion in the world and even though it isn't explicitly about that it is the message in the end. Also, the "side quests" aren't really evident until later in the film. They are just as compelling as the main storyline and I can all but guarantee that they will surprise you.
Score taken from my Letterboxd Account.
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