Review of “The Upside”

[lupa-f]

Hi Kevin, just joined the other day partly because I wanted to comment on the issue of disabilities being portrayed by disabled actors. (I’ve also been reading this site for over a year, but was always just lurking).

Have you ever seen Legit by Jim Jefferies? The pilot shows the story he told in one of his early standup specials about how he took his friend with muscular dystrophy (he never says what type, it might even have been SMA) to a brothel. In a later standup special he tells about how he wanted to cast a disabled actor for the part of his friend. He talks about the process of seeing different people and how he decided to hire one person and how that ended up. That person didn’t work out for ridiculous reasons (I won’t ruin it), and after that he says he eventually went with DJ Qualls, partly because that DJ almost looks like someone with muscular dystrophy, but also that Jim found out that even if they hired someone with MD, because of guild rules that person would only be allowed to work a limited number of hours per day. And since they’d often film for 12 hours or more a day, it simply wasn’t possible for it to work since Jim’s friend is in nearly almost scene.

Have you heard anything like this? I’ve tried doing internet searches to see if I can find out about such a rule but haven’t had any luck.

 

[kevin-schaefer]

Very interesting. I’ll have to check out this series. Yeah, factors like that make sense, but they point to how screwed up our system is when it comes to employing people with disabilities. Thanks for the recommendation, and for reading the site!

[adnan-hafizovic]

About Legit tv series I think it wort to watch it.

[kevin-schaefer]

I’ll check it out!

[deann-r]

Great article Kevin!  My next vlog addresses some of the issues I had with the film.  That should post next week.  As Lupa mentioned I think it’s a lot more difficult to cast a disabled actor for these large rolls.  Not that it couldn’t be done.  Just add disabilities to the list with children and animals.  I’ve heard they’re difficult to work with, yet it happens all the time.

[kevin-schaefer]

Thanks! I’m looking forward to your video as well.

And yeah it is a fair point. Though I have to say, if studios can work with people like Jared Leto and Sean Penn, they can handle an actor with a disability lol.

[adnan-hafizovic]

Kevin you right,lol.Best actors are weird people like Penn and Leto,and it would be very interesting to see some actors with SMA how they acting.

[kevin-schaefer]

It would be cool for sure. Regardless of what people think of this movie, I’m glad that it’s generating some good discussion about this subject!

[kevin-schaefer]

Here’s another perspective from my friend Ben Mattlin, a fellow writer with SMA: https://facingdisability.com/blog/the-downside-of-the-upside.

[deann-r]

Very well written.  First time I’ve heard the term “crip-face” but that totally hits the nail on the head.  I have been seeing more disabilities being represented in commercials and such, so maybe that’s a start.

[adnan-hafizovic]

I also like these  comment from Ben Mattlin,and when it is already mentioned that there are no actors with special needs, I recently watched a Romanian film˝Touch Me Not˝a film that won the first prize at the Berlin Festival 2018.One of the actors is a man with a SMA has scoliosis ,cannot sit, and there is a scene in which he make love with his girlfriend, where you can see him naked.Film may be too erotic, but again for praise.

[mike-b]

Great article Kevin. Glad to read some positives about The Upside and I look forward to seeing it soon. I was wondering how people thought it compared to The Intouchables, which I found to be a fantastic movie when I saw it back in 2012.

[kevin-schaefer]

Thanks Mike! I still need to see “The Intouchables,” but it’s on my list. Do you know if it’s streaming anywhere?