One of the most moving films I caught at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was, without a doubt, Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie. A deeply personal journey through the actor’s career and battle with Parkinson’s, director Davis Guggenheim made a real crowdpleaser that should become a big hit for Apple TV+. Now, the streamer has set the film for a May 12th debut, so audiences can see this inspiring documentary for themselves soon.
The documentary is riveting, with Fox uncommonly open about his battle with the disease. He allows Guggenheim and his crew to see him at his worst, when his meds have worn off, which is quite powerful as Fox, typically, is on enough medication when he makes public appearances to manage his symptoms pretty well. His goal with the documentary is to show people the truth about his illness, but here’s the thing – it sounds depressing but it’s not. Michael J. Fox hasn’t an ounce of self-pity in him, and the movie celebrates his life and career, with Fox still, as he titled his autobiography, a “Lucky Man.”
The movie takes us through his daily routines as he fights the onslaught of symptoms each and every day, but we also see his life story, told through clever re-editing of clips from his movies and TV shows. Fox is pretty open about a serious bout with alcoholism he had around the Doc Hollywood years, which is when his symptoms started to manifest themselves, and how his feature career ground to a halt in the mid-nineties before he launched a big comeback with Spin City. He also tells a ton of stories about making the Back to the Future trilogy and Family Ties (at the same time) and explores what it was like being one of the biggest stars of the eighties, all with a healthy dose of modesty and good humour.
You can read my review here, but suffice it to say Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie is a must-see.
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