Commentary: In ‘Still,’ Michael J. Fox reminds us that despite Parkinson’s, he’s here. Thank goodness
Is there anything less controversial than liking — even loving — Michael J. Fox? He’s likable, he’s lovable. Even when he’s playing someone not especially likable or lovable, one feels, “How nice it is to see you, Michael J. Fox.”
In later years — as his Parkinson’s, which was diagnosed in 1991 when he was 29 and made public in 1998, has progressed — this feeling has taken on an extra dimension: that of keeping an eye on an actor toward whom one can feel proprietary, even protective; he’s a stranger who feels like family.
This affection has been poured into Davis Guggenheim’s documentary portrait “Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie,” which premiered Friday on Apple TV+. The title has multiple meanings: Although Parkinson’s is characterized by uncontrollable tremors, its endgame may be paralysis.
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