Mr. Holland's Opus (1995)

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

"Mr. Holland's Opus" was created in the spirit of Frank Capra, in which the story of the life of the main characters is a sort of alchemical process that leads to the knowledge that is most important in life. R. Dreyfuss most excellent performance. Worth mentioning - unlike movies in which the younger actor's mask turns into an older one, Dreyfuss here was rejuvenated at the very beginning of the film.

Taking a position as a high school music teacher in order to pay the bills, an aspiring composer finds the job unexpectedly challenging but also unexpectedly rewarding in this Oscar nominated drama starring Richard Dreyfuss. The film gets off to a solid start with Dreyfuss discovering his every preconception of teaching challenged; there is no "free time", "high school is not a democracy" and it is absolutely impossible to leave campus at the same time as his students do. The movie missteps though by not spending more time on this section of his journey; before long, Dreyfuss transforms into an obsessively motivated teacher who has simply come to accept the demands of the job. A deaf son is eventually thrown into the mix to give Dreyfuss a chance to realise how his obsession with his job is negatively impacting on home life, but there is nothing especially novel or exciting about this plot development. A maudlin music score does not help matters either. In fact, were it not for its towering lead performance, 'Mr. Holland's Opus' would be difficult to endure. Fortunately, Dreyfuss is in fine form, credibly ageing over 30 years during the course of the movie. The film also does a good job capturing his reactions to various historical events over the three decades portrayed on screen (his grief over John Lennon's death is highly memorable). Whether this alone is enough to render the film worth viewing may vary per viewer. Clocking in at nearly two and half hours long, the film is not an easy, breezy watch, but fans of its lead actor might well find it worthwhile.

I chose my path as a social worker knowing the financial rewards will never, ever offset the rewards I savor each time a student, client, family member, friend, coworker (etc.) discovers they do in deed(s) change our world, one word, one action, one step at a time.Mr. Holland's Opus (well reviewed in the hundreds of prior reviews) drives home an important fact. That fact? Fact: no matter what one feels about their life accomplishments, it PALES in comparison to what others feel about you.Now, after almost a decade of teaching people how to re-awaken to their fullest sense of worth (via my classes, books, seminars, etc.) I savor this movie in my small DVD collection. (12 DVD's so far since DVD's became publicly available.) I play this DVD in one of my classes to set the stage for a robust journey of self discovery.In gratitude I bow to all who take the risk to balance dreams with deeds. Your balancing act 'is the journey' of a lifetime!

A well-intentioned redemption movie that follows all its formulas sweetly, then tries one last tear-jerk that just makes us feel dirty, paying off with a nice piece of elevator muzak that is so memorable, it will have you humming something else within five minutes of hearing it.Richard Dreyfus is Mr. Holland, a composer who begrudgingly takes a job as a high school music teacher to make ends meet. His methods are rigid at first, as he forgets that music is meant to be fun. Then he remembers. Then his students forget. And so on.There's the faithful, supportive wife (Glenne Headly), the brash football coach buddy (Bill Meister), the anal principal who butts heads with Holland over his "revolutionary" teaching methods, like teaching rock and roll and other devil's music (William H. Macy), the wet-mouthed schoolgirl with the crush (Jean Louisa Kelly, who sexes Holland with a sensual rendition of "Someone to Watch Over Me"), the black underprivileged kid with no rhythm-- hang on now!-- The wha-? Terrence Howard pretends really badly that whitey Dreyfus teaches him soul... and finally, for this man whose life revolves around hearing - his wife births a deaf son. Writer Patrick Sheane Duncan shows us the Poignant Plot Device Handbook is a harsh mistress.Throughout his career of coaxing musicality from his students and sending out into the world, Holland slaves over a masterpiece that we only hear in snatches as he toodles on his piano and scribbles notes.Then the big payoff. Holland, old, exhausted, forced into retirement, is given a final surprise by his students, as they assemble in the auditorium as an orchestra to perform his magnum opus for the first time. And after 30 years of working on this piece of music which he brazenly calls "American Symphony"; after all that sweat and sacrifice and slaving, his magnum opus sounds like - elevator muzak! In 12/8 time, a tuneless, embarrassing, meandering piece of unmemorable laundry detergent commercial. And look at the faces on the crowd: inspired, majestic, flavor bursting in your mouth not in your hand.MR. HOLLAND'S OPUS is a cry for art, a plea for creativity, a pledge against mediocrity - and The "American Symphony" is the turd in the swimming pool of musical appreciation.It is blathered quite overtly that Mr. Holland's true opus is the collective education of his students over the years. THEY are his masterpiece... Thank Christ! For a moment, we thought we'd have to continue to hold our "inspired" faces for your laundry detergent commercial...