A very few movies leave their imprints in your mind. And when that happens, we know that we have just seen a masterpiece. Today, after seeing the movie “Front of the Class”, I have the same feeling. This Hollywood movie from the production house “Hallmark” is a masterpiece in itself. It’s based on a book an autobiography by Brad Cohen (with Lisa Wysocky)
Cut to Georgia, USA, where we are introduced to Mr. Brad Cohen, who’s ambitious, focussed and a dreamer. This story is about Brad and his “constant companion”.
Brad’s constant companion is a rear mental disease that he is suffering from, which is called the “Tourette Syndrome”. As a result of this disease, Brad can’t help but doing funny noises that sounds like barking accompanied with twitches and jerky movents of head and legs. He does it everywhere – including the classroom, and that’s where his challenges begin. No one around Brad, are able to understand his behaviour – his teachers, fellow students and even his father. This makes his life a living hell!
He grows up wanting to achieve his dream job – the teacher. But his constant companion always poses the biggest hurdle. He is rejected in each and every interviews one after the other because of his Tourette syndrome. But his dedication of never letting his constant companion to win, keeps him going. The journey of Brad Cohen, right from his childhood, to the struggles of finding a job and then eventually getting one, and then his success is very well portrayed by Director Peter Werner.
The screenplay of showing Brad’s present life-story and his childhood in parallel is done quite nicely. Jimmy Wolk playing as the diseased Brad is fantastic, and does justice to his character. Treat Williams as the frustrated father also does well. The legendary Patricia Heaton as Brad’s understanding mother is sincere in a very significant and supporting role to the central character.
The Best thing about the movie that makes it a classic, is it’s message. It conveys a message that one should keep on chasing the dreams despite the hurdles and hardships life offers. It also gives a lesson on how to cope with your disabilities and learn from them, don’t let it stop you, and how to keep going. And last, it educates about the rear disease of which many of us are oblivious of – The Tourette Syndrome.
This movie is one of the best I have seen, and certainly the one which I am going to remember and take inspiration from, for a very long time to come.
My Rating: ****
