'Autism: The Musical' is Awesome, But (Really) Don't Take My Word For It

I was talking to a friend recently and as is my habit these days I started going on and on about "Juno," how it was my favorite movie and how great it is and how it - yes, this is the best part - it was written by a blogger! Which for some strange reason failed to elicit an overly enthusiastic response from my friend - I think her actual words were, "Really? And it was good?"

A few days later she told me she had finally gone to see the movie (something about needing to shut me up) and when I asked her how she liked it I could tell it hadn't quite measured up to my psychotically-glowing, overly-fawning, bordering-on-unnatural-love review.

I tend to do this, glom on to something and then yammer on about it incessantly, beating it to death until everyone around me is just plain sick of hearing about it and eventually develops an aversion to whatever it was that I was trying to sell them on in the first place. It's happened with movies, books, songs - even my totally amazing not to be believed tabbouleh salad, which now makes everyone roll their eyes when I approach the table with my big Moroccan bowl. It's a special power I posses that I haven't yet figured out how to use for good and not evil.

Which is why I don't dare say how wonderful Autism: The Musical, a documentary debuting tonight on HBO, really is. I don't want to do my usual over selling by urging you to make sure and watch this amazing story of Elaine Hall, the single mother of an autistic child who is determined to put on a musical comprised entirely of children with autism and who succeeds with flying colors. So don't listen to me when I tell you that you must watch this heartbreaking, heartwarming, funny, sad, enlightening and brutally honest program tonight, even if means skipping your pilates class or - gasp - missing American Idol.

And I won't even try and convince you further by telling you that I went to a screening of the film and saw a live performance by the talented kids from the show and they really are that amazing, even in that spontaneous setting. And don't let me influence you by telling you how I cried through practically the entire movie and performance and even saw Kevin Charnas, who was sitting next to me, dab at a moist eye.

Because really, I don't want to jinx it. But if you watch it I promise never to mention "Juno" again.

AUTISM: THE MUSICAL premieres tonight on HBO at 8pm

(For those of you without HBO, they will be live-streaming it on their website.)

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tags: autism: the musical | hbo | autism | elaine hall | world autism awareness day

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