The Unbreakable Boy
Undeniably sentimental and sappy, this true story of a flawed dad who struggles to bond with his special needs son will nonetheless melt even the coldest of hearts.
When it comes to movies like “The Unbreakable Boy,” it’s sort of the opposite of the Forrest Gump aphorism: you know exactly what you’re doing to get.
This based-on-true story is adapted from the book by Scott LeRette and Susy Flory, subtitled “A Father's Fear, a Son's Courage, and a Story of Unconditional Love,” and boy howdy if that doesn’t just tell you all you need to know. It’s about Scott and his wife’s attempt to bond with their son, Austin, who was born with both autism and brittle-bone disease.
Basically, the kid is a hyperactive motormouth who struggles to rein in his endless enthusiasm, and tends to wind up in a cast when it gets the better of him. Austin, played marvelously by Jacob Laval, narrates the film and uses his bone breaks as a storytelling device. (We get into the 40s before the end credits roll.)
Directed by Jon Gunn, “Boy” is undeniably sentimental. You could even call it sappy. And yet it’s such a warm, humanist story that I defy even the coldest of hearts not to melt for it.
(Mine’s pretty frosty, and wound up in a puddle.)
The movie’s also notable for further blurring the line between faith-based and mainstream filmmaking. At one time, faith-based films had zero budgets and stars, and were made by committed people who knew their movie would probably never play outside a church screening.
Now they boast name stars like Zachary Levi (“Shazam!)”, who plays Scott, plus respectable production values and wide play in theaters. “Boy” is being distributed by mainstay Lionsgate, which also produced it in conjunction with Kingdom Story Company, a Christian film outfit.
I’d still call it a faith-based film — Gunn (“Ordinary Angels,” “The Case for Christ”) is a veteran of this oeuvre — but it’s not a Bible-thumper. Church and faith in God are very much present but in the background, most notably in the figure of a pastor, Rick (Peter Facinelli), who turns up to offer a mix of secular and spiritual counsel.
Scott does not fare very well in our introduction to him. He is drinking and partying way too hard at a New Year’s Eve party, which is bad enough, but then he climbs behind the wheel of his SUV with Austin and his younger son, Logan (Gavin Warren) in tow. Ominous narration, delivered in Austin’s perpetually chirpy and upbeat tone, hints at very bad things to come.
Hit the rewind button and we’re taken back to Scott’s meet-cute with his future wife, Teresa (Meghann Fahy), at a clothing store where she works. He is struck by her gorgeous bright blue eyes, which she reveals are actually produced by a genetic defect that also left her with osteogenesis imperfecta, aka brittle bone disease. She has the mildest form, so other than not participating in sports it’s not a big deal.
Movies like this tend to focus on one parent and gloss over the other, and I appreciated the fact the filmmakers give Teresa a substantial presence, if not quite equal footing. She’s also a flawed person who was previously divorced twice — and fails to tell Scott about it. She’s kind of a video game junkie with a dicey family, quipping that she grew up “not knowing if I’m the princess or the ugly stepsister.”
Scott’s a basically decent guy, works a job in medical sales he’s not really keen on, and has the usual young guy tendency toward self-involvement. Certainly he’s not equipped when Teresa becomes unexpectedly pregnant after just a few dates.
His old-school mom (Patricia Heaton) takes it very poorly, hollering and breaking things in her kitchen, though dad (Todd Terry) is more chill.
Along comes Austin, aka Auz Man, and it quickly becomes apparent he’s not a “normal” kid. He cries constantly as a baby (because he broke his ribs during delivery, but nobody knew it) and grows into a hyperactive kid. (Roy Jackson Miller plays the younger Austin.) He has a more severe form of the bone disease and is diagnosed on the autism spectrum.
By age 13, Austin is an energetic bundle of joy who likes to wear a jester’s hat and charms everyone he meets. Problem is, he can’t really turn it off and will just keep yammering away, unable to read social cues that people are feeling overwhelmed by his presence. He naively befriends the class bully, Tyler (Pilot Bunch), who mocks Austin to the other students.
Even Scott and Teresa, while they fiercely love the boy, struggle with controlling his outbursts and keeping themselves on the level.
Scott increasingly turns to booze to self-medicate his problems which, along with frequent business trips, leads to a growing estrangement with Teresa. Logan develops his own issues as the “regular” son who is constantly neglected because all the attention goes to his sibling.
Scott also has a tendency to talk to Joe, his imaginary friend since childhood, played by Drew Powell. Joe’s a typical beefy, beer-drinking dude type, constantly supportive but also willing to call Scott out on his sh*t. There’s a suggestion later on that perhaps Joe represents a facet of Scott’s underdeveloped spiritual side, which plays out in a way you don’t really expect — but I very much appreciated.
But mostly the movie comes down to Levi and Laval in a very atypical father-son relationship. Scott wasn’t ready to become a father, and certainly not to a kid who requires your eyes, ears and heart to be wide open 100 percent of the time. Austin often tells his father he looks at him, but doesn’t always see him.
It’s a wonderful and true parable for any parent, but with the intensity dialed up to 11. Scott is genuinely amazed and grateful for Austin, though often feels pushed into places not of his own choosing.
“I wish I could enjoy anything as much as my son enjoys everything,” Scott says.
I thought about the title as the movie drew to its end. I’m wondering if “The Unbreakable Boy” refers to Scott as much as it does to Austin. In a lot of ways he became a dad while still (mentally) a kid himself, and finds being a parent means constantly worrying that you’re damaging the people around you while trying to support them.
The secret to being a good mom or dad is realizing you will screw up, you will sometimes hurt the very people you love, and things will be left broken. And then, putting the pieces back together and doing it all over again.
As part of their courtship and ongoing relationship, Scott and Teresa will say to each other, “You know what I admire about you?” And then provide wonderful affirmation to their partner. Even if I recognize that “The Unbreakable Boy” is mushy, I still admire the movie for knowing and embracing it.