Rating: 
Summary: Forget it
Review: This movie is worthless. The pathetic, lifeless characters are whiny and poorly developed. The plot is a joke. Mr. Holand is made out to be hero, but he really doesn't deserve that title, considering how he treats his son and wife, not to mention his students. Except, of course, for the ones he sleeps with. In short, Mr. Holland's Opus is the perfect film for rotting brain cells.
Rating: 
Summary: The Thinking Man's Forrest Gump
Review: I'm not a Richard Dreyfus fan. I rooted for the shark, and was disappointed when the aliens came in peace, so you can see why I expected to hate Mr. Holland's Opus. And in fact, this film is a two and a half hour parade of stereotypes equaled only by the seven dwarves. It's the thinking man's Forrest Gump, and the crowning achievement of screenwriter and cliché master Patrick Duncan. I rarely remember who said something first, but I can guarantee you Patrick Duncan said it last. Look for the shy student who learns self-confidence, the devoted wife who stands by her man, the dumb-but-honest kid who dies for his country, the small town kid with big city talent who risks everything for a shot at Broadway, the dedicated educators, the bureaucrats who stand in their way... lay the beans on your card and you can hit bingo before the denouement. But wait. I saw this film for just one reason: to see how badly they handled the Deaf character. In Hollywood, Deaf characters slide along a sorry continuum between the shy and melancholic, and the isolated and hostile, all symbolic, none bearing any similarity to any actual Deaf person I've ever met. Hearing people have no idea what Deaf people are actually like. The community of Deaf people in America is tight, it's vibrant, it's joyful, and every child born Deaf in America has this tremendous society just waiting to embrace it. But this isn't common knowledge among hearing America, who can only imagine themselves, suddenly cut off auditorily from the world they know, and so they project this onto characters they don't know, and create a sad stereotype with no basis whatsoever in reality. Anyway, so I walked into Mr. Holland's Opus already composing in my head the nasty things I could say in a review, but lo, this film-- once I found a poison ivy ointment that actually worked, and the relief I felt when the itching immediately subsided, THAT is how I felt watching this film. The Deaf kid is funny, bright, fights with his parents, and likes cars and science. Among all the symboloids that cross this film, the Deaf kid is the only real, three dimensional person. That has a lot of bearing on the actual lives of actual Deaf people. Since I was working as a sign language interpreter at the time, people kept asking me "Have you seen Mr. Holland's Opus?" and I'd say "Yes," and then they'd say "How realistic is it that this kid has a musician father? How many Deaf people have parents like Mr. Holland?" And I'd answer "All of them." Seriously. Take a guy who listens to news in his car, who doesn't own a CD player, tell him his child is Deaf, and suddenly he's weeping that junior will never hear the melodious strains of "Mozart." He pronounces it to rhyme with "Beaux arts." So Glen Holland is the symbolic, universal parent-of-Deaf-child. This time around hearing people are the symbols, and the Deaf kid is the one who is real. It's about time.
Rating: 
Summary: mediocre film
Review: First, the good thing about this movie: I think that it has called to people's attention the great dedication that many music teachers have for their work. It also may have raised people's consciousnesses about the lack of funding and support for public school music programs. There are some funny and touching moments in this issue. And then the bad: It's Hollywood, and it's cheesy. All of us who have struggled with a musical instrument know that you don't really get THAT MUCH better by "playing the sunset." The good-bye concert for Mr. Holland is also cheesy, as is the idea of a lovely young high school student falling in love with old Richard Dreyfuss.
Rating:
Summary: A bit sugary and even arrogant at times.
Review: (Some "spoiler" warning) I saw only parts of it, but I think I understood the whole story behind it. It's all about a soppy fairy tale that a music composer lives in and how it gets dashed to bits and how he eventually learns to live with it. Like, for instance, the "hero" hurries desperately through the wrong-way street to the hospital so he can see his "beautiful, precious, and perfect" little baby boy...only to suddenly find him not only hearing-impaired (aw, how can he enjoy music?!), but he also grew into a rebellious brat to boot. And what's more, his sweet, sweet little wifey-wife also seems to be blissfully unaware of the fact her beloved, devoted husband had messed around a bit with some long-maned vixen who had came to him for advice in singing and eventually became a successful singer headed for New York, all thanks to his unselfish urging and support. And he gets to kiss her thick, luscious quivering lips in sincere gratitude. How sweet! And in the very end, all the devotion and obsession the "hero" has for music (he's afraid the whole civilization will come to an end if it doesn't maintain its interest in classical music) all comes down to his very last waving of a stick before a musical group of students who had been in his classes a long ago before he retires forever. Ah...well, goodbye, I guess. And one more thing...the little wifey-wife doesn't seem to age much over the whole thirty-year span!
Rating: 
Summary: Fine Acting and Good Screenplay.
Review: Richard Dreyfuss gives the performance of his acting carrer in this true story of a composer who tries to teach students the joys of music, is only able to finish a small percent of the music he wanted to compose, and then is rewarded by becoming a good father to his young son, who is deaf, but can still feel the love his father puts into the music anyway. And having students who he's taught, finish the music composistion for him. A real feel good movie.
Rating: 
Summary: A Fascinating Teacher Movie with a lesson for everyone
Review: I would like to begin this review by thanking my mother. You don't want to be at a video store with my mother. While you're trying to pick out a couple of films, she's wandering the aisles recommending movies left and right until you can't remember all the names anymore, grabbing a box with Helen Hunt and one with Leelee Sobieski and trying to get you to see the similarities, and finally ending the trip by trying to get you to hurry (after all that!) because she's tired. She's the one who picked out this film. Originally, I turned it down and rented something else. But after those movies were returned, my mom showed up at home after work with this movie in tow. My sister and I watched it, now I realize what an excellent work it is. This movie is found in the drama section, so if you don't like weepy films, don't rent this. You should also see this before you see another of Richard Dreyfuss' movies, the comedy Krippendorf's Tribe, because if you see that first, your viewing of him as a music teacher will be influenced by your viewing of him in a grass skirt. Luckily I saw KT afterwards, otherwise drama would have been turned into comedy. Wonderful performance by unknown Joseph Anderson as Coltrane Holland, the deaf son of our title character. Excellent movie all around.
Rating:
Summary: ethanski@y
Review: A great, great movie about: teaching, [great] music, being patient and dedicated to something you believe in, being a father, a husband, and a caring person. I took a dozen good friends and relatives to see it with me! Treat yourself to feeling good and watch it.
Rating:
Summary: What an awful film...
Review: I had high hopes for this film based purely on my admiration of Richard Dreyfuss as an actor. What a disappointment. Dreyfuss is fine (though I don't think he deserved the Oscar nomination). The movie is treacle of the worst kind. I don't mind being manipulated by a film, but when that manipulation is so obvious, I just can't get past it. The harder they try to make me cry, the harder I resist. (Don't think I'm unfeeling; I bawled my eyes out at "Terms Of Endearment", "The Elephant Man" and many others). The whole subplot of the deaf son was unnecessary and there only to "tug at your heartstrings". Yuck. To make matters worse, Mr. Holland's "Opus" is awful and any true musician will tell you this. It's really bad. So's the movie.
Rating:
Summary: A great film...
Review: about music, people and finding direction in life. I don't have much to add to what other reviewers have written but I think you could learn a lot from this film while you are enjoying watching it as a story. I also feel that it would be a very good film to watch if you are a trainee teacher in any subject. I have been through that mill myself and I think it would have given me inspiration. people often say that people don't make "nice" movies anymore...not so! Watch it!
Rating:
Summary: OVERWROUGHT BUT TOUCHING
Review: The film runs too long and is a bit overdramatic, but the excellent performances of Richard Dreyfuss and Glenne Headly save the picture from being completely dismal. It tells the tale of a man whose dream is to be a musician, but the dream is constantly set aside by other considerations. First he takes a position as a music teacher just so he and his wife can get on their feet. Then she becomes pregnant. Before you know it (well, actually you will know it. You will be looking at your watch to find out how much time has elapsed. The story and its vignettes are not that gripping that you will lose track of the hours) this man's entire life has passed and he never leaves the small town where he teaches. His career has been as a music teacher not as a musician, but in a sappy but happy ending some of his former students come back to thank him as he is retiring. They convince him that his students and the success stories of his teaching ARE his symphony. In tribute to him they play his work. An interesting part of the story is that his son is born deaf, which is the greatest sadness and irony for Mr. Holland because of his own intense love for music. He had expected to share it with his son. He has incredibly difficult relations with his son for years because he refuses to learn sign language to communicate with his son and feels that his son cannot relate to him at all. Eventually their relationship is restored, but it was an interesting angle to examine these family problems.
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