Fundamentals Of Caring Themes
“The Fundamentals of Caring” Melds Great Characters, Crude Humor, and Genuine Emotion
In The Fundamentals of Caring, which debuted at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival and was subsequently bought by Netflix, writer/director Rob Burnett aptly mixes black humor and genuine pathos to craft an engaging story about loss, love, and the pursuit of dream. The film stars Paul Rudd as Ben Benjamin, a bereaved writer who decides to enter a career as a caregiver while in the throes of a messy divorce.
Ben’s client is Elsa (Jennifer Ehle) and her 18-year-old son with Duchenne muscular dystrophy named Trevor (Craig Roberts). This film follows the formula of the “dramedy” pretty closely, but offers a number of fresh surprises that make it stand out from …show more content…
But, he (and his mother) are afraid of having him leave the security of the house, so he has never actually seen any of them. Ben convinces them both that a road trip will be beneficial, and they’re off to see “The World’s Deepest Pit”.
Along the way they meet a few more characters, including a hitch-hiking runaway named Dot (a surprising Selena Gomez), and a very pregnant woman with car troubles named Peaches (Megan Ferguson). Dot is a crucial character in the story, as she serves as the first real crush Trevor has ever had, and much of the humor of the second act of the film is dedicated to playing out their burgeoning relationship and Trevor’s various insecurities and peccadilloes.
The true value of this film lay in the development of these characters and their interactions, which often pay off in powerful ways. Trevor uses an acerbic, foul-mouthed sense of humor to insult others and distance himself from any genuine connection. He also enjoys practical jokes, many of which are stunningly inappropriate (but still fun). Trevor is more than just a jokester, as there is a strong emotional aspect to his arc that involves confronting his father, who left his mother after learning of Trevor’s
In The Fundamentals of Caring, which debuted at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival and was subsequently bought by Netflix, writer/director Rob Burnett aptly mixes black humor and genuine pathos to craft an engaging story about loss, love, and the pursuit of dream. The film stars Paul Rudd as Ben Benjamin, a bereaved writer who decides to enter a career as a caregiver while in the throes of a messy divorce.
Ben’s client is Elsa (Jennifer Ehle) and her 18-year-old son with Duchenne muscular dystrophy named Trevor (Craig Roberts). This film follows the formula of the “dramedy” pretty closely, but offers a number of fresh surprises that make it stand out from …show more content…
But, he (and his mother) are afraid of having him leave the security of the house, so he has never actually seen any of them. Ben convinces them both that a road trip will be beneficial, and they’re off to see “The World’s Deepest Pit”.
Along the way they meet a few more characters, including a hitch-hiking runaway named Dot (a surprising Selena Gomez), and a very pregnant woman with car troubles named Peaches (Megan Ferguson). Dot is a crucial character in the story, as she serves as the first real crush Trevor has ever had, and much of the humor of the second act of the film is dedicated to playing out their burgeoning relationship and Trevor’s various insecurities and peccadilloes.
The true value of this film lay in the development of these characters and their interactions, which often pay off in powerful ways. Trevor uses an acerbic, foul-mouthed sense of humor to insult others and distance himself from any genuine connection. He also enjoys practical jokes, many of which are stunningly inappropriate (but still fun). Trevor is more than just a jokester, as there is a strong emotional aspect to his arc that involves confronting his father, who left his mother after learning of Trevor’s