Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie

Good movie!

Loved it!! I forgot how amazingly charming he is. His comedic timing is superb. He makes jokes about himself and his situation, so you can't feel sorry for him. He hasn't let Parkinson's disease stop him. Loved how they piece together aspects of his movies and tv shows to tell his story. Side note- I still think Back to the Future is the best trilogy of all time!! I had the biggest short man crush on him. It's so crazy that he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in his 20s and for so many years was hiding it from the general public as he continued to act. I wanted to cry as I watched but I had the feeling he doesn't want me to cry about his plight but he just seems and looks like he is trapped. Though he has to fight hard to be still now or take medications to be in that state, he has not remained still and continues to advocate for more research and being unapologetically himself.

I think Michael J. Fox is a very courageous person. I think his getting Parkinson's Disease at such a young age is tragic. All that being said, the documentary about all of this is OK, but just not very good. My wife and I were expecting more meat to be on the bone, and it just wasn't there. And I also didn't care for the device of using stand-ins for Michael J. Fox to recreate scenes that they didn't have footage for. I also didn't care for showing scenes from his movie roles that had nothing to do with those movies but instead, were trying to forward the overall narrative of this life that they were trying to create. I also found it a curious decision that while Michael J. Fox's father was talked about extensively, their are ZERO mentions of his mother. Why? Was this a prerequisite for Michael J. Fox to give his permission and/or cooperation for this movie? It seemed a curious decision.

source: Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie

This is yet another documentary focusing on a film actor post COVID - we have already seen Robert Downey Jnr and Val Kilmer go down similar territory ... actors fallen on bad times using the COVID break to tell their stories... this to me is less inspiring than both its predecessors ... party due to Michael J Fox carrying on without accepting his diagnosis. It's not unusual for Hollywood stars to become obnoxious when stumbling across instant fame, in fact the Hollywood system actively encourages it. What really comes across in this film is the love of his long-suffering wife and family .. why someone with a degenerate disease, wealthy and in a loving family would put his career first is quite dispicable really ... an excuse about drug dependancy and alcohol abuse obviously doesn't tell the whole story .. his wife is still with him when he can hardly walk ... still refusing a wheelchair and the obvious worry this causes to his family ... as an example of how not to behave in Hollywood this is a great film .. as an example of pity towards a selfish star this doesn't do so well although it tries it's hardest.

Interesting and heartbreaking to hear his history. But in some kind of way I was bored. Could have been maked in another way. Little bit too much from movies, cut in to explain things he talk about in his history, this makes you loose the seriousness in the story. Maybe a little bit more facts about Parkinsons disease. But absolute an interesting documentary. Only wish that it was more well done craftmanship from the director. Miss this drive in the documentary that make it interesting and touching, the feeling you have when its a good one, so great to hear the story but could have been an should have been directed in another way.

It's easy to look at Michael J. Fox's career through the prism of pity: once on top of Tinseltown during his Family Ties-Back to the Future-Teen Wolf run, a young diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease curtailed his acting career and made each day now an uphill battle. But of course, MJF has to live that existence--and to him it is simply an everyday occurrence to keep surviving for and with his family. Others may feel sorry for him--but he certainly does not take that attitude for himself and it shows in "Still". For a very basic overview, "Still" director Davis Guggenheim does two things simultaneously: First, he looks back on the incredible shooting star ascent that was Fox's career--from a no-name kid in Canada to an absolute takeover of the both the big and small screens in the 1980s. It wouldn't be unreasonable to call him the actor most synonymous with 80s pop culture. Interspersed with the bio material is how Fox currently battles his Parkinson's symptoms, such as the tremors that make walking difficult and cause him extreme pain without carefully mediated medication. Whether working with a speech therapist or a physical therapist, Fox must constantly learn and re-learn the bodily skills he once took for granted. Ironically, speaking to this doc's title, a man who was once a blur of perpetual motion would now do anything to gain some physical calm. Yet, he projects a remarkably positive, upbeat attitude about his current condition. In fact, one of his biggest obstacles is trying to walk too quickly and falling over! In other words, he still retains the youthful spirit that catapulted him to film/TV stardom. I think the hallmark of "Still", however, are the clips of MJF interacting with his family. Most who will be interested in "Still" already know the backstory, but seeing him laugh and joke with wife Tracy Pollan and their children is a window into his life that will make you smile and bring a tear to your eye. Overall, I really enjoyed "Still" and my only slight critique is that the ending was a bit abrupt--I actually wanted more modern-day MJF material! But as it stands, this is a really inspirational doc that shows the courageous, optimistic spirit of Michael J. Fox in the face of seemingly overwhelming adversity.

You probably know Michael J Fox is Canadian, made Back to the Future and has Parkinson's disease. What you might not know is how resilient, brave, funny and charming he is. What you probably don't know is he falls over a lot and walks like Billy Connolly doing the Glaswegian drunk man impersonation. In this documentary that is brilliantly directed by Davis Guggenheim there are two stars. Michael J Fox who narrates the movie, to camera, with his mangled voice often quite difficult to comprehend and Michael Harte, the editor. It's a piece of magical illusion because somehow the directing/editing team have managed to piece together snippets of Fox's work to sit alongside Fox himself in 'telling the story'. It has echoes of my all time favourite documentary, 102 minutes that Changed America, in that it's essentially 'found footage that's used to tell the story. It's remarkable. But at its core is the sad (not sad) sight of Michael J Fox, that lovable little scamp, at 61 looking like a wreck, but still, somehow defying the hideous encroachment of Parkinsons with dignity and humour. It's very moving and it's very great.

Watched from Greece. I was a teenager in the late 80s in Australia and was absolutely a fan of Michael's. This documentary was extremely well done and very interesting, one of the best I've ever viewed. I wish it were longer! Mad respect to Michael and Tracey. (And his trainer seems lovely) (copy pasting due to the word count requirement) Watched from Greece. I was a teenager in the late 80s in Australia and was absolutely a fan of Michael's. This documentary was extremely well done and very interesting, one of the best I've ever viewed. I wish it were longer! Mad respect to Michael and Tracey. (And his trainer seems lovely) (copy pasting due to the word count requirement)

There is no doubt about it that Michael J. Fox is a very likeable guy, and what happened to him getting Parkinson's Disease is tragic, not just on a professional level, but of course on a personal level. I admire his courage. All that being said, the documentary is OK, but nowhere near the acclaim that people are saying about this on IMDb. Because they didn't have actual footage of Michael J. Fox during parts of the story, they choose to show various reenactments with a lookalike actor, as well as scenes from his movies that relate to his real life story. My wife and I didn't care for any of that cheesy stuff. Instead, we both wanted to see more meat on the bone, and it just wasn't there. One other curious thing...while there is much mentioned about his father, there is ZERO mention of his mother! Why is that? Was this glaring omission a prerequisite for getting Michael J. Fox's permission and cooperation for this movie, or was the director just in the tank for Fox because Fox didn't (for whatever reason) want to talk about his Mom? Yeah, Michael J. Fox is a great guy. Too bad the documentary about him wasn't.