Front of the Class (film)
Encyclopedia
Front of the Class is a 2008 American drama film based on the book by Brad Cohen
, Front of the Class: How Tourette Syndrome Made Me the Teacher I Never Had, co-authored by Lisa Wysocky
.
The book was made into a Hallmark Hall of Fame
TV movie starring newcomer James Wolk
—a 2007 University of Michigan
graduate—and featuring Treat Williams
and Emmy Award
-winning actress Patricia Heaton
as Cohen's parents; the movie aired on CBS
on December 7, 2008.
. With his mother's help and the support of his school principal, Brad eventually becomes an award-winning teacher.
Thanks to his mother never giving up, Brad is a success story and shares his success with everyone around him.
Dominic Scott Kay portrays Cohen as a child.
Following his 2006 appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, in 2007 Cohen spoke at a conference after Timothy Shriver of the Special Olympics
. According to Shriver, "The audience 'was laughing, then crying, then laughing, then crying, then cheering, and at the end, they gave him a huge standing ovation.'" Shriver suggested the movie to Cohen, and became the executive producer one year later.
To portray Cohen's tics accurately, Wolk and Kay viewed videotapes and worked with a dialect coach, describing their preparation as a "Tourette's boot camp". Cohen said the portrayal of his tics is "very, very authentic". Heaton, the mother of four children, was attracted to the script because she related to the strong mother: "Finally, she went to the library herself—as mothers will do to fight for the end for their kids and find out what's wrong—and realized he had Tourettes," Heaton explained.
Although tics steadily decline for most children as they pass through adolescence, Cohen still has frequent and loud vocal tics and barking. He joked: "I'm hoping I don't get kicked out of my own movie."
Brad Cohen
Brad Cohen is an American motivational speaker and an award-winning teacher and author who has severe Tourette syndrome . Cohen described his experiences growing up with the condition in his book, Front of the Class: How Tourette Syndrome Made Me the Teacher I Never Had, co-authored with Lisa Wysocky...
, Front of the Class: How Tourette Syndrome Made Me the Teacher I Never Had, co-authored by Lisa Wysocky
Lisa Wysocky
Lisa Wysocky is an author, motivational speaker and equine clinician who was born in Mound, Minnesota. She spent her early years showing horses on the WSCA horse show circuit and later received a degree in Light Horse Management from the University of Minnesota...
.
The book was made into a Hallmark Hall of Fame
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Hallmark Hall of Fame is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City based greeting card company. The second longest-running television program in the history of television, it has a historically long run, beginning in 1951 and continuing into 2011...
TV movie starring newcomer James Wolk
James Wolk
James Joseph Wolk , also credited as Jimmy Wolk, is an American actor, known for his roles in the 2010 series Lone Star and the film You Again.-Career:...
—a 2007 University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
graduate—and featuring Treat Williams
Treat Williams
Richard Treat Williams is a Screen Actors Guild Award–nominated American actor and children's book author who has appeared on film, stage and television...
and Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
-winning actress Patricia Heaton
Patricia Heaton
Patricia Helen Heaton is an American actress, comedienne, producer and model, best known for portraying Debra Barone on the CBS sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond from 1996 to 2005, for which she won two Emmy Awards....
as Cohen's parents; the movie aired on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
on December 7, 2008.
Plot
Brad Cohen's story starts as a young boy whose mother helped doctors to realize that he had Tourette syndromeTourette syndrome
Tourette syndrome is an inherited neuropsychiatric disorder with onset in childhood, characterized by multiple physical tics and at least one vocal tic; these tics characteristically wax and wane...
. With his mother's help and the support of his school principal, Brad eventually becomes an award-winning teacher.
Thanks to his mother never giving up, Brad is a success story and shares his success with everyone around him.
Cast
- Patrica Heaton as Ellen Cohen
- Treat WilliamsTreat WilliamsRichard Treat Williams is a Screen Actors Guild Award–nominated American actor and children's book author who has appeared on film, stage and television...
as Norman Cohen - Jimmy Wolk as Brad Cohen
- Johnny PacarJohnny PacarJohnny Pacar is an American film and television actor who portrayed Cody Jackson in the television series Flight 29 Down. He is also starred in the Disney Channel Original Movie Now You See It.... He had a main role in the 2004 film Purgatory House, and a recurring role as Jimmy Francis in...
as Jeff Cohen
Dominic Scott Kay portrays Cohen as a child.
Production
The script was adapted from the book by Tom Rickman and the movie was directed by Peter Werner. Production was in Shreveport, Louisiana.Following his 2006 appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, in 2007 Cohen spoke at a conference after Timothy Shriver of the Special Olympics
Special Olympics
Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and competitions to more than 3.1 million athletes in 175 countries....
. According to Shriver, "The audience 'was laughing, then crying, then laughing, then crying, then cheering, and at the end, they gave him a huge standing ovation.'" Shriver suggested the movie to Cohen, and became the executive producer one year later.
To portray Cohen's tics accurately, Wolk and Kay viewed videotapes and worked with a dialect coach, describing their preparation as a "Tourette's boot camp". Cohen said the portrayal of his tics is "very, very authentic". Heaton, the mother of four children, was attracted to the script because she related to the strong mother: "Finally, she went to the library herself—as mothers will do to fight for the end for their kids and find out what's wrong—and realized he had Tourettes," Heaton explained.
Although tics steadily decline for most children as they pass through adolescence, Cohen still has frequent and loud vocal tics and barking. He joked: "I'm hoping I don't get kicked out of my own movie."