Front of the Class

"It's okay to be different"

Movie Name: Front of the Class
Language: English
Genre: Drama
Cast: Jimmy Wolk, Treat Williams, Patricia Heato
Director: Peter Werner
Year: 2008

When I first saw the trailer of the movie Hichki it reminded me of an English film I had watched a few years ago. After searching a little I found out the name. As it always happens I urged hubby to watch it again. I know he would love this one. That is how we rolled in this weekend.

Story in Nutshell: At the start of the movie we see Brad narrating the story. As a kid he is often teased by other children and reprimanded by the teachers to behave in the classroom because of the noises he makes. Teachers often sends him to principal because they think he is mischievous. His father is embarrassed by him and believes he should work hard on controlling his tics. After the divorce of his parents Brad and his brother are raised solely by mother, Ellen. When the doctors fail to find out what Brad's condition is, his mother does her own research only to find the name of the condition, but no cure. The principal in his middle school asks Brad to talk about his condition in front of an audience and he gets a huge applause after doing that.  From then onward he is determined to become the teacher he never had in his entire life.

He moves to Georgia. After turned down by 24 schools he gets job at Mountain View Elementary School. But it is not a cakewalk either. A student is pulled out from his class by her father because of Brad's ticks. Along the line he meets Nancy on a dating site and they hit it off immediately. He was concerned that Nancy will get tired of him because of his condition, only to be reassured by his mother not to let TS get in the way.

Soon he has been chosen to receive "Teacher of the year" award in front of his family, friends, and students. As the end credit rolls I get to know that it is based on a real life person.

My Take: I first heard about Tourette syndrome in this movie. A neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by multiple motor tics and at least one vocal tic. Some common ticks are eye blinking, involuntary noise, coughing, throat clearing, neck jerking, facial movements. I have not met any person with this condition so far. It is a Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie, so it is ought to be sloppy, mushy, corny, and really silly. No surprise there, they make the greeting cards. Though in existence, the cards will soon be extinct in this rapid techno era or maybe not considering there are still some old souls like me who still go for a beautiful, catchy greeting card. I digress.

The story is beautiful. It oscillates between life lessons, relationship, fears, frustration, determination, disability, and humor. Brad's positive attitude towards life, courage in accepting his disability, and the determination to fulfill his dreams is inspirational. The relationship he shares with his father is tumultuous yet very much relatable . His supporting mother is endearing.  She instills in him the attitude of never let your TS (Tourette syndrome) get in your way. Jimmy Wolk is brilliant as Brad. He is too handsome to be true. His performance is extraordinary and praiseworthy. He sunk his teeth into the role. He makes Brad and Tourette Syndrome much more believable. I wonder why I have not seen him before. The supporting actors did their part as well. I had my eyes welled up many times. A perfect film to lift one's spirit and restore your hope in goodness. Who says movie is just for entertainment. A good film always teaches you to be a better person, one day at a time or shall I say one movie at a time.

It is based on the book "Front of the Class: How Tourette Syndrome Made Me the Teacher I Never Had" by Brad Cohen co-authored by Lisa Wysocky. Hubby and I deduced the frequency of tics may not that prevalent as they have shown in the movie. They probably did it to establish the characters and move forward with the story. Must watch if you are looking for good movies.