Here I am geeking out with Brad Cohen and Jimmy Wolk at the Hallmark Hall of Fame premiere of Front of the Class. It's the story of Brad Cohen (middle picture) and his battle with TS - how he worked through adversity and not only became a teacher (after 23 interviews) but won Teacher of the Year.
My friend, M (top left) laughed at me. As I entered the lounge before the movie, there were all these stars around us, including Patricia Heaton from Everyone Loves Raymond (who plays Brad's mom) and Maria Shriver, first lady of California. Who do I make a beeline for? Brad!
"I saw you on Oprah!" I shrieked, shaking his hands. You are such an inspiration to me! "Thank you so much," he grinned, totally soaking up the limelight. As he said it best in his speech before the movie, "This is a very surreal experience." I can only imagine.
Throughout the film you could hear Brad coughing and ticking pretty loud (apparently Jimmy's tics on screen set him off... wow, was Wolk amazing) and yet, after a while, Brad's noises became background noise.
I realized how lucky Stink is in so many ways - his TS will probably never be that noticeable. And for those of you with kids who are new to TS, your children will probably not have it as extreme either.
This leads me to the one thing I did not like about the movie. While it was wonderful in showing how one can rise above their setbacks, it did not tell the audience in any way, even through a voiceover at the end, that not all TS is so loud or extreme, nor does it have to alienate our children socially. I think we need to see more variations on TS in the media so that we as moms don't freak out if our kids tic and think, "Oh, no, they'll be shunned just like Brad Cohen was!"
Other than that small issue, the movie was awesome. And Jimmy Wolk? Holy hell, man, he is gorgeous. (The photo does not do him justice. You must watch the movie just to check him out.) Such an amazing actor, too. I see Emmy written all over his face. Look out, George Clooney, there's a new superstar in town.
Front of the Class is airing this Sunday at 7PM on CBS. Don't miss it!
More of my writing can be found daily at BabyCenter and Good Housekeeping.
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