Good afternoon,
Peeps, how goes it?
So, what
grounds you when you’re having your pity party?
The movie we
watch when we need to pull our heads out of our asses is Rory O’Shea was Here. It
stars a young James McAvoy, one of two celebrities Joey’d leave me for if she
got the chance. McAvoy plays Rory, a
20-something with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, who’s dad moves him to a home
for crips. Rory’s a free-spirit, so he
ain’t having it, and fight’s it from the get-go with the introduction, “Rory
O'Shea. Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Besides the full vocal range, I have the
use of two fingers of my right hand, sufficient for self-propulsion and
self-abuse. You can shake me hand or kiss me arse - but don't expect me to
reciprocate.”
Now, people
that have known me for a while, know this is totally me. It was my best friend, Noe, before me, and
who had Duchenne. He taught me
everything I know. Now, you know why
this movie means so much to me. Almost
everything that happens in the movie, I’ve either experienced or saw in some
way or form.
Anyhoo, at
the home, Rory meets Michael, who was brilliant played by Steven Robertson. Michael has spastic Cerebral Palsy that
affects his speech, so most people can’t understand him…then, Rory shows
up. Michael is Rory’s
polar-opposite. The home’s the only
place Michael’s known. By the way, Joey
has CP. While we were watching Rory the first time, Joey said I was her
Rory, because, although she’d done some stuff, she hadn’t been as outgoing and
adventurous as I had. She knew my past
with Noe.
The thing
that got us was how well acted McAvoy and Robertson played their roles. Now, both these actors aren’t crips by any
means; although, McAvoy’s played Professor X in the First Class series of the X-Men
franchise for almost a decade. McAvoy
said he spent at least 12 hours in his chair getting the part down. And, Robertson, dude’s a fucking genius to
get that spasticity down from the way he held his arms, and especially in one
shower scene, where we get to see how he held his legs…then, the slur of his
speech, OMFG!
Rory tries
to play nice at the home while coming up with schemes to spice life up like
taking funds from the home fundraiser to the pub to get him and Michael drinks
and chicks, “It's funding for the needs of the disabled. I'm disabled and I
need a drink.”
So, Rory’s forever
scheming how to get out of the home, and get an Independent Living Allowance,
but he’s always turned down, because they don’t see him mature enough with a concrete
plan to live in the real world. He knows
he’s on borrowed time, so this has to get done…like yesterday. That’s where Michael comes into play. Not being as brash, he gets the Allowance, regardless
of his speech impediment…Rory’s his interpreter.
They spend
their time going around Dublin looking for a crip pad in a montage that had
Joey and I rolling, because in one scene, a realtor takes them to an apartment
that has steps to the front door. Rory
watches him go up the steps, and asks, “There's a bit of a problem. Can you
guess what it is?” They also need to hire
a provider to help care for them, which they find (Siobhan played by Romola
Garai) at the market when Rory sees a pair of legs that he likes. Then, they settle into a place to live their
life. Joey and I’ve tried to do the
joint provider thing…it don’t work.
These
sequences are exquisite as they depict crip life perfectly from figuring things
out to the screw ups like Michael brushing his teeth himself and dropping said
toothbrush countless times on the floor to him figuring how to do his hair spiked
like Rory’s. Then, life gets real as
feelings come into play, and dynamics have to change.
The end
comes inevitably, which I could relate to (see Morality’s a Bitch!). And, like Forest Gump says, “That’s all I’m
gonna say about that.”
After we saw
Rory the first time, we raved to
everybody about...even buying the DVD and making the fam watch it. Mom said it was a sight to see my dad and BIL
sharing a box of tissue on the couch in silence. Seriously though, if you want a glimpse into
our world check it out…but, have tissues.
So, after
that long ass explanation of our grounding movie, sound off to share what
grounds you from your pity party.
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