Mr. Holland's Opus
Mr. Holland's Opus
PG
7.0
·

1995

·

143m

Mr. Holland's Opus

Summary

In 1965, passionate musician Glenn Holland takes a day job as a high school music teacher, convinced it's just a small obstacle on the road to his true calling: writing a historic opus. As the decades roll by with the composition unwritten but generations of students inspired through his teaching, Holland must redefine his life's purpose.

Director

Stephen Herek

Writer

Patrick Sheane Duncan

Reviews

Wuchak

Wuchak

May 29, 2019

7

***Taking a bypass from your dreams and finding your true calling***

A composer (Richard Dreyfuss) puts his lofty ambitions on hold to become a high school music teacher in Portland, Oregon, from 1965-1995. Glenne Headly plays his wife, Jay Thomas the coach, Olympia Dukakis the principal and William H. Macy the irritating vice principal.

"Mr. Holland’s Opus" (1995) is a good school-oriented drama that’s episodic in nature since it spans 30 years. The first 40 minutes were decent, but I was wondering if the film would be able to absorb me into its story, especially considering its considerable length. It did, particularly the episodes concerning Terrence Howard (playing Louis Russ) and angelic Jean Louisa Kelly (Rowena).

The movie’s kind of a meshing of “Dead Poets Society” (1989) crossed with “Forrest Gump” (1994), although not great like either of those flicks. But it’s a solid drama. A 19 year-old Alicia Witt is on hand as one of the students in the first act.

The film runs 2 hours, 23 minutes and was shot in Portland, Oregon, and nearby Marylhurst.

GRADE: B

Media

Status:

Released

Original Language:

English

Budget:

$31,000,000.00

Revenue:

$106,300,000.00

Keywords

high school
husband wife relationship
composer
music teacher
mentor
deaf-mute
portland, oregon
marching band
teacher student relationship
high school teacher
disabled
teaching
retirement party
sign languages
forced retirement
1960s
1990s
father son relationship
inspiring teacher