4 stars out of 5
When it comes to summer 2018 movies about guys with disabilities, I ultimately couldn’t drag myself (pun intended) to Skyscraper, but was very excited about the John Callahan biopic Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot. Starring Joaquin Phoenix! Written and directed by Gus Van Sant! I was sure it would be at my nearby multiplex very soon.
But instead of coming to more theaters, the number of screenings has dwindled. Why? Are we too far removed from Callahan’s heyday? (I think I was in college when I first fell under the spell of his twisted, rude, hilarious cartoons.) I don’t know, but it’s a shame, because this is a real good movie.
Phoenix is great — hey, he always is. Early on, we see him as a blissed-out, drunk-off-his-ass, Spicoli type in early 70s southern California, on Callahan’s last day as a walking person. It’s all good times with women, booze, and partying with a stranger (Jack Black in a small but impactful role), until the car crash that rendered Callahan a quadriplegic.
Callahan returns home to Portland to recover, and I couldn’t help but compare his arc to my own — depression and the sense of helplessness; frustration; the small achievements that slowly, slowly bring normalcy; etc. Of course, just as much as his disability, Callahan was also grappling with alcoholism.
On that front, we meet a somewhat less chunky Jonah Hill as an AA group leader. It’s a nice, laid-back performance, exuding love and faith but without taking any shit. Van Sant places a couple of rockers in the group: Kim Gordon (!) and an especially impressive Beth Ditto. (Appropriate for Portland, we also get Carrie Brownstein as a disability-services employee.) I did not recognize Rooney Mara as Callahan’s love interest.
It’s a powerful story about the search for meaning in our lives, the help we need to get there, and the healing wonders of creativity.
Jack Silbert, curator