Synopsis
Having suffered a tragedy, Ben becomes a caregiver to earn money. His first client, Trevor, is a hilarious 18-year-old with muscular dystrophy. One paralyzed emotionally, one paralyzed physically, Ben and Trevor hit the road on a trip into the western states. The folks they collect along the way will help them test their skills for surviving outside their calculated existence. Together, they come to understand the importance of hope and the necessity of true friendship.
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Cast
- Paul RuddBen Benjamin
- Craig RobertsTrevor Conklin
- Selena GomezDot
- Jennifer EhleElsa Conklin
- Megan FergusonPeaches
- Frederick WellerBob Richardson
- Julia DentonJanet
- Alex HuffJodi Benjamin
- Samantha HuskeyKaitlin
- Bill MurpheyMike
- 75
The Film Stage
It’s only frustrating that however funny Fundamentals is, the dynamic is something we’ve seen many times before. - 75
Entertainment Weekly
Caring may be fundamental, but it never quite feels necessary. - 70
Village Voice
As in Ant-Man, there's lots of shopworn redemption-plotting to get through here, and a sense that the filmmakers find the kind of jobs actually available to Americans a little beneath someone as twinkly-cute as Paul Rudd. But — also like in Ant-Man — the pleasures of Rudd overpower the programmatic elements. - 67
The A.V. Club
The Fundamentals Of Caring is about as generic as indie dramedies come. (It even has ukulele on the soundtrack.) That doesn’t make it a bad movie—the cast all turn in convincing performances, and the dialogue is occasionally quite clever—but it doesn’t make it a memorable one either. - 60
Variety
Solid performances and some genuinely sharp humor elevate writer-director Rob Burnett’s second feature. - 60
The Guardian
Inevitably, perhaps, it pulls its punches, and soft-pedals on any authentic misery that its scenarios might evoke. But its essential amiability and decency comes through. - 50
RogerEbert.com
The only reason it’s not unbearably saccharine is that Paul Rudd, again, grounds a film in something that feels genuine. He’s never an actor that comes across forced, and he does his best to find the truth in Burnett’s overwritten script. - 42
Consequence
It’s true that few movies are this aw-shucks nice these days, and for a short while The Fundamentals of Caring finds ways of retaining that kindness without lapsing into platitudes.