Hi everyone!
I am Young Adult and Middle Grade author Barbara Binns, writer of contemporary and realistic fiction for adolescents and teens. As my tagline says, I write Stories of Real Boys Growing Into Real Men - and the people who love them.
This month's topic involves happiness.
Maybe money “can’t buy me love” as the old Beatles song said, but it can help, at least according to the recently released movie
The Upside.
It’s part buddy picture, part drama, the kind of thing Hollywood knows how to do well. Although, who knew faking a seizure could be so much fun?
I am not a professional movie critic, but I will give this English Language remake of the 2011 French film,
Intouchables, four stars. (The original gets 5.)
The Upside is the somewhat-true story of a wealthy white man turned quadriplegic after a hang-gliding accident. He hires a street-wise Black man as his 24/7 "life auxiliary." Although Dell, played by Kevin Hart, had no expectation of actually getting the job or what it entailed, once he does they form a fun-to-watch duo. Each gains something greater than money from their relationship.
Not that money isn’t involved, Phillip is a millionaire residing in a New York penthouse. Dell learns to change a catheter and that even quads can have an erection. He also learns to appreciate opera and classical music. Just don’t ask him to sit through either in silence.
In return, Phillip gets exposed to music from groups like Earth, Wind & Fire, and “modern art” as created by Dell. Mostly, both men learn to laugh at their troubles and expand their worlds, in spite of mobility issues. PS, I gained a new word, epistolary. (You’ll have to see the movie to hear that one used in a sentence.)
The major disappointment was watching Kevin Hart portray a black stereotype, the
irresponsible husband/father. That Hollywood-esque change to the original story of a man helping his nephew, was unnecessary and diminished the story in my opinion.
Click to see The Upside movie trailer
More than one person, myself included, consider the original 2011 French film, The Intouchables, as a mini-masterpiece. As I wrote earlier, I give it a full five stars. The Upside is good, but nowhere near as good as the film that starred François Cluzet and Omar Sy. That movie was a huge hit in France, without the tired cliche's the American version inserted. Intouchables became the No. 2 box office hit in France and one of the highest-grossing non-English-language movie ever ($281 worldwide). It received eight César nominations (the Césars are like the French Oscars). Omar Sy won in the Best Actor category. Having seen him in this movie, he deserved it.
There is no miracle cure at the end of either The Upside or Intouchables. Sorry if you consider that information a spoiler. The story is not about a medical miracle. Instead, its old-fashioned human resilience and the power of friendship. The men in both movies learn to laugh through their troubles. Best of all, we laugh
with the disabled characters, not at them.
It helps that the two main characters are based on real people, Philippe Pozzo di Borgo and his caretaker and now friend Abdel Sellou. In fact, Philippe served as an adviser on the set of The Intouchables adding an #ownvoices vibe to the result. The two men who remain friends to this day, long after the end of
their employee/employer relationship.
Both movies show us that a
full and satisfying life can be found, even after a crippling injury.
That's a better lesson than the
"better dead than disabled" attitude of Will, the suicidal main
character in the 2016 movie Me Before You. That story one posits that
suicide is a preferable alternative to life as a cripple. The story has
been called a "breathtaking romance," that manipulates audience
heartstrings until many agree with Will's decision to end his own life
and that he is indeed better off dead than crippled. This even though he
has money, a loving family who wants him alive, a
caretaker who really cares about his well-being, the potential for new
adventures, and a
girlfriend who truly loves him.
Looking at the differences between Will and
Phillip, I see a question of maturity versus youth. One knows the value of embracing life, the other only how to make a grand gesture, too much like the young Romeo. Or maybe its just that having a friend is more conducive to a good life than having a love interest.
Leave a comment to tell me what you think, romance writers?
Taking A Good Photo - I love photography and when I manage to take a picture that pleases my eye, it also pleases my heart. Because it looks good and because I did it. Inevitably it will have taken many discarded efforts to get the one good result, but that I got there is exciting. The ones I like best aren't necessarily anything others would find fabulous, but they please my eye.
Dancing - I've danced all my life. Mainly ballet, but also jazz, tap, ballroom, Latvian folk and belly dance. Love it all. Moving to music is instinctive for me and whether it's going to my weekly adult ballet class, or prancing around the house while I dust, dancing will always make me feel good. Always. I'm so thankful that mum sent me to ballet classes when I was 8 and that I inherited her love of dancing. I can't imagine my life without it and it makes my heart (and my body) smile. 
