Dallas Film Now.

Danny Kurtzman, Brett Dier and Jessica Parker Kennedy star in a movie that’s about much more than one disabled person.   

Full disclosure: I am partially disabled. 

My partial physical disability limits my activity to a certain extent, but I can still move around my apartment, walk with a cane, and drive my car. Walking with a cane, though, has made me more aware of how the population at large treats disabled people. 

Some strangers, including a number of my neighbors, have shown great kindness toward me. For the most part, however, they don’t stop to get to know me. They see my partial disability, and they respond to what they see, often in a kind way, yet they usually don’t see past my cane, to the person that I am.

In Good Bad Things, Danny Kurtzman plays Danny, a man with a physical disability. His particular physical disability is very obvious, as it affects his entire body. Really, it’s impossible for anyone who sees him to ignore his disability entirely. 

Yet his best friend and business partner, Jason (Brett Dier), who is also Danny’s caretaker and housemate, looks past his disability. They are friends because their personalities are compatible; they can joke with each other and also be serious with each others. They are absolutely confident that what is discussed in private will be kept private. 

Danny runs the business side of their boutique design firm, while Jason runs the creative side. The company is running on fumes, though, and desperately needs a new client, a dating app. Neither is inclined to use a dating app for themselves; Jason has no problem lining up a series of one-night stands, while Danny is still recovering from a past painful breakup. 

Still, Danny feels the need to research the service so they can make a good pitch to the potential client. Reluctantly, he downloads the app; certain that no one would be interested if he reveals his disability on the app. To his surprise and immediate suspicion, he matches with Madi (Jessica Parker Kennedy), a gorgeous, cheerful, fully-abled photographer who is nursing emotional wounds from past relationships. 

Yet, is Madi hiding some sort of secret agenda? And can she truly see beyond Danny’s disability? 

Directed by Shane D. Stanger, who is credited for the original screenplay alongside Danny Kurtzman, Good Bad Things is frank about Danny’s disability, without pushing the viewer’s face into anything profoundly upsetting. Simultaneously, it refuses to sentimentalize or gloss over any of the challenges that he faces on a daily basis. 

Instead, the film places a disabled person at center stage; Danny Kurtzman is not an actor who is pretending to be disabled with the help of physical or visual effects; he is an actor who is disabled, yes, but also an entrepreneur, a model, and an advocate for the disabled community. All these truths bleed into the character, and allow the film to take flight into the realm of extremely relatable comedies, dramas, and romances. 

Brett Dier and Jessica Parker Kennedy nail what could be viewed as stereotypical characters: Best Friend, Romantic Interest. They go far beyond those easy descriptions by providing a welcome depth of humanity to their roles, creating people who are warm and likable and relatable. Of course they are the type of people Danny would want — and need — in his life.

Let’s be frank: we are all disabled, to one extent or another. In Good Bad Things, Danny Kurtzman stands up, opens his heart, calls for change, and gives a wonderful performance as an imperfect man who wants love in his life. As do we all. 

The film opens Thursday, August 15, in Dallas AMC movie theaters as part of a nationwide release.  For more information about the film, visit the official site.