I’ve spent a lovely night at home tonight, alone, dutifully exploring leisure in several formats.
My evening’s viewing schedule lead me to the very last feature in my instant que, Never Been Done. I didn’t really know what I was getting into with this documentary and I sure couldn’t remember ever adding it to my netflix que, but I was on a heavy roll of skateboard movies and Nic and Tristan Go Mega Dega didn’t look like it’d cut the mustard tonight. The synopsis for Never Been Done said it was about a pro skater, Jon Comer, who lost his leg when he was a kid and wound up pushing on to become a professional skater despite his disability.
I had just finished watching X-Games: The Movie, which, as far as gritty inspiration goes, was no slouch in it’s own right. Watching Danny Way break his foot slamming down on the coping only to return and finish the competition, dropping in to that monstrous 20+’ X-Games ramp and sticking a back flip followed by a mctwist, had me literally jumping out of my increasingly lazy seat and hollering at my tv like Elvis on a bennies bender.
The production value of Never Been Done had me paranoid for the first 30 minutes or so that this was going to turn into some kind of christian propaganda tract. I’m happy to report that there was no scripture passed. No scripture, just about 60 minutes of footage of a kid thick with heart who found a deep love for skateboarding.
The rub of Jon Comer, and Never Been Done, is that, while it is a story about overcoming adversity, the real story isn’t the disability, but the passion that Jon brings to his life. The impression is quite clear – he’s not a pro skater because of or in spite of his missing leg, it just happens that losing his leg was another topographical hiccup on Jon’s way to going pro. And that is what makes his story so compelling.
I’ll be the first to admit it, I’m a sucker for this kind of shit. If ‘carpe diem’ was a wet noodle and available for battery, I’d be convicted of being a fat, Italian mother at least twice a week. But, beyond my own obnoxious proclivities, this Jon Comer kid is worth your time. He’s different. He’s not like the others. You should watch him, feel alive, and then go outside and be alive yourself, dammit.
Oh and did I mention…