The disability community shouldn’t settle for what little scraps Hollywood throws at us. The Fundamentals of Caring is proof our community is desperate for ANY representation, no matter how good it is. As a film, Fundamentals is cliché and boring. It’s nothing we haven’t seen before, at least when it comes to road trip movies. Most of the jokes are overdone and tired (i.e. Trevor choking), and the screenplay has moments of awkwardness. Yet, because some of the narrative around caring for a disabled person are on point, the disability community has been praising the film.

The Fundamentals of Caring debuted at Sundance, and was picked up by Netflix. It stars Paul Rudd as Ben, a grieving father whose life fell apart after the death of his son. He quit his job as a somewhat successful writer, so his wife left him, and he’s been hiding ever since. Though he refuses to sign divorce papers, Ben is slowly starting to live again. Part of that means getting a job. After taking a course to become a certified caregiver, Ben is hired to work for snarky 19-year-old, Trevor (Craig Roberts), who has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD).

What Fundamentals gets right is how some with DMD see themselves. My best friend had Duchenne. I have a similar neuromuscular disability. I’ve been around people with DMD for decades. Many boys/young men are sheltered by their families, especially their mothers. Because many with DMD die between their late teens and late 20s, most do not go to college, look for employment, or have Intimate relationships. Some are led to believe they are just waiting to die.

Trevor does nothing with his life, but sit around and watch television. He never leaves his house, and does not travel. He doesn’t seem to have any friends, and remains relatively isolated. The sad thing is, for every person with DMD who remains secluded, there are others living with DMD who are going to college, having relationships and dating, getting jobs, and traveling the world. It’s kind of a positive since the film tries to show that those with DMD can leave their homes, even if it is just to go on a road trip. However, why not explore the notion of independence or even the idea Trevor’s future is uncertain and he may live beyond what doctors expect, as many others with Duchenne have?

Unfortunately, the moments of goodness are wrapped in a clunky package that sometimes seems like an awareness campaign (1 in 3500 boys get DMD, which completely ignores girls and trans people with it) and a disabled savior film rolled into one. I’m sure some will argue that Ben and Trevor save one another, and that is kind of true. However, as the savior of Trevor, Ben does things to Trevor without his consent, because he thinks he knows what is best for him – a really damaging and potentially harmful message to send about disability. A great example is when he forces Trevor to stand up – a terrifying experience to watch for any of us with similar disabilities who have been held up before. Additionally, Trevor is often spoken about as though he has no voice, by others around him.

Trevor is old enough to organize his own care, but his mother is clearly the one in control. It would have gone a long way for her to make it clear he is in charge. While this may be accurate for some with neuromuscular disabilities, especially those whose parents control/handle all of their care needs, the film easily could have made the argument that Trevor was capable and should have been handling his care for himself. The problem with others speaking for Trevor, even though his mom does sometimes consult him and generally listens when he asks for things, is that audiences again seem to be led to believe disabled people remain dependent on their families, and are incapable of letting our needs be known. We have no counter message to this narrative in any form of media, so this notion will go unquestioned.

One other plotline that was progressive was Trevor having a relationship. Most disabled characters are not seen as sexual. Trevor is reminiscent of every friend I have with Duchenne. He is a potty mouth who likes to joke about sex, and he talks about himself having sex to shock nondisabled people, mainly Ben. The fact that Trevor openly speaks about liking girls, and manages to find a girl that likes him, disability at all, is far more accurate than the idea we don’t have romantic thoughts. However, the idea we don’t know how to act around potential dates is less disability and more anyone. Just sayin’ cause some of us got game!

The biggest letdown though, is that Craig Roberts is not actually disabled. Let’s be real. He relied completely on physical stereotypes to depict disability. For many, disability goes beyond set physical motions. The physical stereotypes were not even consistent or accurate, and I never believed he was truly disabled because of that. This could’ve been a breakout role for a disabled actor, and they did not get that chance, because the decision-makers behind the film did not think that a disabled actor would be capable of portraying the role. They said as much in interviews.

The disability community needs accurate and true representation. While it’s great that some of the aspects of disability were accurate in The Fundamentals of Caring, there were also many missed opportunities for a greater narrative. If someone with a disability had been involved in the writing, directing, and/or acting, it could have been so much more. We do not have to settle for cliché road trip movies. We should aspire for something greater. When we do that, we also need to make sure we cast disabled actors. We’ve been left out of the game for far too long already.

Contact Dominick Evans