Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie
By
Leonard Zwelling
I used to review a lot of movies on the web. Not so much anymore as I don’t go to the theater all that much (pricey, sticky floors, cell phones, and loud patrons), but I still watch television. My viewing tends toward the character-driven streaming series with a complex plot and surprise twists and turns. I think the last time I went to the movies was when I saw Air and before that only The Fabelmans and Top Gun: Maverick in 2022. I think that’s the total since Covid.
That being said, I cannot recommend this documentary to you highly enough and you don’t have to go to the theater to see it. It’s on Apple TV.
Michael J. Fox had a dazzling movie and TV career that is well-chronicled here. At one point he was filming Family Ties during the day and Back to the Future at night barely sleeping in between. He was starring in the top two films in the country in Back to the Future and Teen Wolf while winning on Emmy for his TV work. He was at the top of his game and the top of the world. Then his left pinkie started to twitch.
It is well-known that Mr. Fox developed Parkinson’s Disease while still in his twenties. He is now 61 and out of the acting business. He did perform up until recently despite his disease and did so with great skill and success on The Good Wife.
But that’s not what is at the heart of this film.
It is a portrait of a man who had all the success he ever dreamed of and only grew into a complete person once he was afflicted with a disease that threatened to take it all away. He has a long-standing marriage to a fellow actor, Tracy Pollan, and four children. He has retained his wicked sense of humor even as he struggles just to stand. All of this is on view in this film. He hides nothing and hides from nothing. He is clearly courageous. He is also benevolent as his foundation has raised over $2 billion for neurologic research, but again, that’s also not what the film is about.
It is really a profile in courage. How one man realized his wildest success, had it taken away prematurely, fell into alcoholism, and then rose above it all even as he can barely safely walk down the street. A fall is still a fall, “even from my height.”
I think this documentary will be under consideration at the next Academy Awards and it’s there for you to see without paying extra for parking or popcorn. I cannot recommend this highly enough.
This is one that exemplifies the human spirit and it’s all true.
Dr. Zwelling’s new novel, Conflict of Interest: Money Drives Medicine and People Die is available at:
barnesandnoble.com,
on amazon if you search using the title and subtitle,
and
directly from the publisher Dorrance at: https://bookstore.dorrancepublishing.com/conflict-of-interest-money-drives-medicine-and-people-die-pb/m
