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

As an out-of-work teacher, I can see and understand Glenn Holland's desire to do more than just be remembered as a teacher but to create a piece of work. As an English teacher, I too aspire to break out the best novel to pull me out of my world. Teaching is hard and rewarding. It's not easy. Don't let anybody fool you otherwise. Richard Dreyfuss' performance as Glenn Holland is not only memorable but unforgettable one of his best roles. Glenne Headly is terrific as his wife. He has a fantastic supporting cast like Olympia Dukakis, William H. Macy, Jay Thomas, Alicia Witt, and others to support the film. The film is kind of a downer about a man who has spent thirty years of his life as a teacher in a small town. I was troubled by the fact that he and his wife stopped having children after Cole was born. I thought the deafness was to create friction between the musical father and his deaf son. Still, it's a good film. You'll cry a little.

Richard Dreyfus should've won the Oscar nomination, he did a riveting job! The storytelling with everything is so good between the teaching and family. Stephen Herek directed such a charming musical delight that I should've seen sooner. Mr. Holland's Opus was much more than I expected, should've had at least 5 nominations instead of one! The sound is magical throughout, pleasant surprise of entertainment that I'd recommend to anyone.