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.
