Cherry Hill High School East’s Charlie Musumeci, 58, coaches softball, formerly coached the girl’s cross country team, is involved in theater productions and is the testing coordinator.
He also created, co-wrote and co-produced a parody and satire film on education amid an ongoing battle with adrenal cancer.
The 83-minute film, “Ain’t Nobody Left Behind,” recently was screened at the Rave Theater in Voorhees and is a parody on the No Child Left Behind law.
For Musumeci, the film was a long time coming.
He and co-director Rich Reiner wrote the mockumentary six years ago to make fun of education in a serious way.
“But it’s a comedy,” said Musumeci.
There is a duality in the plot, with half the movie focusing on issues in the educational realm and the other part following the relationship of Musumeci and Reiner, who are longtime friends.
Several teachers and students make appearances, as well as Musumeci’s late mother, who passed away in 2007 and was 93 at the time of filming.
One of the tenets of the law, he said, is having a qualified teacher in every classroom.
“In my mockumentary, this particular principal whom I play is having these government officials come,” he said of his acting role.
Right before the officials arrive, the home economics teacher at the fictional Tiuta High School decides she’s not coming back for work.
The principal tells his secretary to find a new teacher, and she travels to a nursing home, finds a foul-mouthed cook, Musumeci’s mother, and chooses her as a replacement.
“This is the joke of education,” he said. “The people who run the building are the secretaries.”
In another section of the film, testing comes to light.
Since the start of filming in 2006, he said, “there have been major testing scandals with cheating,” including in Camden, Philadelphia and Atlanta, he said.
“I call it in the movie ‘educator assistance,’” he said.
With the camera rolling all of the time, great outtakes were acquired, he said, making for some great parallels in the movie.
When government involves itself in education, there is dysfunction.
When Charlie and Rich do a movie, there is also dysfunction, Musumeci said.
And with nine hours of film to sift through, there were plenty of people to use in vignettes.
“We used all the bad outtakes to enhance Richie’s argument to me that some of the people in the movie stunk,” he said.
A full-time cameraperson was on hand to film the behind the scenes action, he said, including mealtimes.
Roughly three years ago, the team had the movie in a good place. Producers began to look into film festivals.
And then the cancer struck.
According to Musumeci, adrenal cancer is rare, affecting one in 3 million people at his age, and one in 1.5 million in the general population.
“It’s so rare that nobody specializes in it,” he said.
He has been receiving treatments from Sloan-Kettering and Fox Chase cancer centers.
The cancer has metastasized in his femur, causing him to need a walker, and spread to his organs.
“They’re holding it at bay,” he said. “Because of this, (the movie) got put on the backburner.”
Still, people have wanted to view the movie.
Musumeci’s wife, Cindy, made sure the film was completed.
“It was my wife who really resurrected the entire movie,” he said. “She was relentless.”
The screening, which was organized by Jane Abo in support of Sloan-Kettering, sold out nearly immediately.
More than $4,000 was raised for the cancer center, he said, from that night.
“It was a wonderful evening,” he said. “It was very nice to finally see it.”
While educators love the movie, he said, the section focusing on the filmmakers makes the plot more universally appealing.
“All of us have been educated,” he said. “Most of us in the public schools.”
Now, the producers are back to square one, looking into admission at film festivals.
“We’re in the process of doing that,” he said.
Any potential showings in the future would not come until after the holidays, he said.
Soon, Musumeci will begin his participation in a three-month experimental study for a new cancer drug with Fox Chase.
“We just have to play it by ear,” he said.
Musumeci remains optimistic, smiling and exuding energy from his perch on his couch.
“They’re coming up with new remedies every day,” he said. “You gotta be positive. You just have to make adjustments.”
