MR. HOLLAND'S OPUS
A film review by Chad Polenz
Copyright 1997 Chad Polenz
**1/2 (out of 4 = OK) 1995, PG, 143 minutes [2 hours, 23 minutes] [drama] starring: Richard Dreyfus (Mr. Glenn Holland), Geane Headly (Mrs. Iris Holland), Joseph Anderson (Cole Holland at age 15), William H. Macy (Vice/Principal Walters), produced by Ted Field, Michael Nolin, Robert W. Cort, written by Patrick Sheane Duncan, directed by Stephen Herek.
There seems to be only two types of dramas: those that are good because they're true to themselves, and those that are sappy and pander to the audience. "Mr. Holland's Opus" is one of the latter. This is a pretty good movie for what it is, but it tries so hard to be something it is not, throwing in every overly dramatic element you can think of.
Richard Dreyfus stars as Glenn Holland, a musician with dreams of composing The Great American Symphony. But, like most dreamers, he is knocked back down to Earth and realizes he better settle for a steady job instead, so he becomes a music teacher in a typical high school in a typical suburban town.
Movies about teachers are pretty much the same: a new teacher comes in... the students do not like and/or do not understand them... the teacher realizes they've been going about it all wrong and all of a sudden figure out what to do... the students love the teacher... a controversy ensues.
Mr. Holland realizes the students are trying to learn notes on paper, not the music itself, and so when he tries to use rock music as a teaching device they are suddenly interested. Of course this is all set in the mid 1960s so the administrators protest his actions and we are supposed to get angry with them alongside Mr. Holland because "they're just plain wrong!" The choppy storytelling style makes it seem as if this is going to be the entire premise of the film, but it is not and I felt confused and anxious while watching the rest of it.
If the movie machine had not already been set into motion, it really starts to kick in when Mr. and Mrs. Holland (Headly) have a baby and later realize he is deaf. What a case of tragic, but cliche irony. It is this kind of sappiness and drama for the sake of being dramatic that is symbolic of the entire film. A more general example of this is the constant musical montages showing pictures of historical events and things that happen in Mr. Holland's life. But the world is not as simple as this movie would make it out to be - life's problems aren't solved by cliche montages. This also detracts from the story and from building characterization.
The last act depicts a brief encounter Mr. Holland has with a beautiful and talented student named Rowena (Jean Louisa Kelly). It seems as if the two might be falling for each other despite their age difference, but one can only assume what they are actually thinking because the story is so quickly paced.
We also suddenly realize his son, Cole (Anderson) is 15 years old already but neither he, nor we the viewers, seem to know him at all. Herek keeps making this mistake of trying to cram too much story into too little space. All the little plotlines and conflicts that happen within the movie could be entirely separate films, especially these two storylines.
I didn't hate "Mr. Holland's Opus," but I didn't love it either. It does have an overall sense of goodness and quality to it, but it is just too sappy and too formulated for its own good.
Please visit Chad'z Movie Page @ http://members.aol.com/ChadPolenz
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