Monica and David - On Demand → On Demand Weekly

Monica and David - On DemandOctober 15, 2010

HBO

On Demand Weekly provides new movie reviews of hot movies on demand from the POV of watching from the comfort of your home. Today’s review: “Monica and David" (HBO).
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Monica and David are two sweet, helpful, warm-hearted, charming people in love. Ok, so they are developmentally disabled. Both have Down’s Syndrome. They’re getting married. How does that work? Well, that is the subject of the HBO Documentary, “Monica and David.”

At first, the film makes it look almost easy. The families have the necessary resources to provide all of the necessary love, guidance, schooling, and therapy for their kids. Monica and David’s wedding is lovely, and David moves in with Monica’s loving family. But when the family moves to a new city and David is diagnosed with diabetes, their routines have to adjust, and they’ve got to start taking steps toward more independence.

Monica and David’s mothers provide for them with such love and care, the worry is that they won’t be able to function without them. We all have to learn how to live when our parents are gone, but for Monica and David, it means so much more. Their love, although it may seem childlike to our eyes, holds strong through the tough times.

It’s almost harder on the parents. Although they fear that people will treat their kids differently, they realize that they themselves treat them differently, and in order to shield them from the real world, they aren’t allowing them to grow to their full potential.

This touching film leaves you with hope that, with their love, Monica and David will be able to make it. Even out in the real world.

- Jean Tait

Jean Tait is a contributing writer to On Demand Weekly. Currently the Director of Programming for the Connecticut Film Festival, Jean has programmed for the Jacksonville Film Festival and Sundance Channel.