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Inside Moves, 1980
Roary (John Savage) is left with permanent injuries after attempting to take his own life. Once released from the hospital, he finds his way to a local bar where he connects with a group of men who all have their own different degrees of disability. In particular, Roary befriends Jerry (David Morse), a man whose leg injury scuttled his basketball potential. Roary also begins a tentative will-they-won’t-they with waitress Louise (Diana Scarwid).
A subtle character drama goes slightly askew with a larger-than-life subplot.
For me, this was a tale of two different movies.
First, let’s talk about the movie here that I liked. Partway through the film, Roary finally finds the courage to talk to his new friend group about how he was injured and his attempted suicide. As he describes the events, he admits that there wasn’t something in particular that led him to that moment. We can see in his inability to articulate what drove him to such a desperate act, and in Savage’s withdrawn performance, that Roary is a person who has not had enough meaningful connection in his life.
What this film shows us in Roary’s story is the importance of community and connection. Roary becomes a part of a group, and this gives him the courage to take the big step of beginning to manage the bar. I really appreciated that Roary does not transform into a social butterfly. In fact, we still see him frequently off to the side, on his own, not part of a rollicking good time. But you can see that he is happier. With children, this is called parallel play. It’s where you are happy doing something, even if you aren’t engaged directly with others. Roary has found a sense of belonging, and I really liked how Savage showed this change in the character as the film went on.
I also appreciated the film’s acknowledgement that dating with any kind of exceptional circumstance can be very challenging. Both Roary and Louise are inexperienced with a romantic/sexual relationship that involves someone with a physical disability. Neither knows what to expect, Louise is obviously worried about doing something wrong, and Roary is obviously worried that he won’t be “good enough.” Roary chooses to friend-zone Louise for a significant portion of the film, preferring to totally avoid the risk of being hurt.
And while she does come off at times a little bit like a Mary Sue, I liked Scarwid as Louise quite a lot. She’s just an all-around nice person. I think that in some ways, it’s important for her to be such a straight-ahead person, because it shows us just how much the threat of rejection and shame is in Roary’s head.
But the movie-in-the-movie here that didn’t really click for me was Jerry’s whole subplot, which feels like some strange wish fulfillment fantasy. Jerry goes to a Golden State Warriors game where he heckles one of the players, Alvin (Harold Sylvester). He then follows that player down the tunnel after the game, challenges the player to a one-on-one game, and almost wins. For me, this just felt disconnected from reality. Morse’s performance is fine, but the storyline is just too outlandish (and only more so as the film goes on).
I was also very torn on the portrayal of Anne/Mouse (Amy Wright), Jerry’s on-again/off-again girlfriend who is addicted to drugs and engages in sex work to support her habit. Drug addiction is a disability, and yet Anne is afforded very little sympathy in the film. She’s presented mainly as an obstacle that stands in the way of Jerry’s happiness and success.
Finally, for a hang out movie, I didn’t love the group of guys at the bar. A guy named Stinky who enjoys porn about having sex with a woman who you babysat when she was a child is not my idea of a fun person. I think that the actors have fine chemistry with each other, and get the job done of drawing Roary into a sense of belonging, but I wasn’t pining for more time with them. Their best moment is when they all go road tripping to try and find Alvin’s house.
I wish this one had confined itself more to a character study of Roary and him finding that sense of community.
Inside Moves, 1980
Roary (John Savage) is left with permanent injuries after attempting to take his own life. Once released from the hospital, he finds his way to a local bar where he connects with a group of men who all have their own different degrees of disability. In particular, Roary befriends Jerry (David Morse), a man whose leg injury scuttled his basketball potential. Roary also begins a tentative will-they-won’t-they with waitress Louise (Diana Scarwid).
A subtle character drama goes slightly askew with a larger-than-life subplot.
For me, this was a tale of two different movies.
First, let’s talk about the movie here that I liked. Partway through the film, Roary finally finds the courage to talk to his new friend group about how he was injured and his attempted suicide. As he describes the events, he admits that there wasn’t something in particular that led him to that moment. We can see in his inability to articulate what drove him to such a desperate act, and in Savage’s withdrawn performance, that Roary is a person who has not had enough meaningful connection in his life.
What this film shows us in Roary’s story is the importance of community and connection. Roary becomes a part of a group, and this gives him the courage to take the big step of beginning to manage the bar. I really appreciated that Roary does not transform into a social butterfly. In fact, we still see him frequently off to the side, on his own, not part of a rollicking good time. But you can see that he is happier. With children, this is called parallel play. It’s where you are happy doing something, even if you aren’t engaged directly with others. Roary has found a sense of belonging, and I really liked how Savage showed this change in the character as the film went on.
I also appreciated the film’s acknowledgement that dating with any kind of exceptional circumstance can be very challenging. Both Roary and Louise are inexperienced with a romantic/sexual relationship that involves someone with a physical disability. Neither knows what to expect, Louise is obviously worried about doing something wrong, and Roary is obviously worried that he won’t be “good enough.” Roary chooses to friend-zone Louise for a significant portion of the film, preferring to totally avoid the risk of being hurt.
And while she does come off at times a little bit like a Mary Sue, I liked Scarwid as Louise quite a lot. She’s just an all-around nice person. I think that in some ways, it’s important for her to be such a straight-ahead person, because it shows us just how much the threat of rejection and shame is in Roary’s head.
But the movie-in-the-movie here that didn’t really click for me was Jerry’s whole subplot, which feels like some strange wish fulfillment fantasy. Jerry goes to a Golden State Warriors game where he heckles one of the players, Alvin (Harold Sylvester). He then follows that player down the tunnel after the game, challenges the player to a one-on-one game, and almost wins. For me, this just felt disconnected from reality. Morse’s performance is fine, but the storyline is just too outlandish (and only more so as the film goes on).
I was also very torn on the portrayal of Anne/Mouse (Amy Wright), Jerry’s on-again/off-again girlfriend who is addicted to drugs and engages in sex work to support her habit. Drug addiction is a disability, and yet Anne is afforded very little sympathy in the film. She’s presented mainly as an obstacle that stands in the way of Jerry’s happiness and success.
Finally, for a hang out movie, I didn’t love the group of guys at the bar. A guy named Stinky who enjoys porn about having sex with a woman who you babysat when she was a child is not my idea of a fun person. I think that the actors have fine chemistry with each other, and get the job done of drawing Roary into a sense of belonging, but I wasn’t pining for more time with them. Their best moment is when they all go road tripping to try and find Alvin’s house.
I wish this one had confined itself more to a character study of Roary and him finding that sense of community.