The Fundamentals of Caring

Ben, a writer who has withdrawn from his work after a personal tragedy, trains as a caregiver to make a living. His first assignment is Trevor, an eighteen-year-old with muscular dystrophy whose sharp tongue and taste for crude humor contrast with the routine he has built around his wheelchair. Reluctantly at first, the two set off on a road trip across the American West, visiting the odd roadside attractions Trevor has collected from television, among them the world's largest stuffed steer and the deepest hole on earth.

Rob Burnett directed and wrote the film, which was released in 2016 and runs 97 minutes. It is the first of the two features he has directed, ahead of In Memoriam (2026), and he produced it with Donna Gigliotti and James Spies. Paul Rudd plays Ben, Craig Roberts plays Trevor, and Selena Gomez appears as Dot, a runaway they meet on the road. Jennifer Ehle plays Trevor's mother Elsa, with Megan Ferguson as Peaches and Frederick Weller as Bob Richardson among the 21 credited cast.

The film drew a mixed critical response, scoring 6.4 out of 10 from 35 reviews, while general audiences were warmer: it holds 7.3 out of 10 on IMDb from around 86,000 votes and the same 7.3 on TMDB from roughly 2,370 votes.