Mr. Holland's Opus

It's not about the direction you take. It's about the direction you give. A symphony of life. Of all the lives he changed, the one that changed the most was his own.

Deutsch

Summary

A young composer, Glenn Holland (Richard Dreyfuss), is forced by economic considerations to take a job as a music teacher in a local high school in order to save up enough money to support him during the realization of his dream as a full-time composer. Already he had been working on a symphony in his spare time and he expected the long summer vacations to provide ample time for him to continue his work. Fate, however, intervenes and his wife Iris, played by Glenne Headly, soon finds herself pregnant with their son.

The picture follows the lives of Glenn Holland, his son Cole, and Iris as Holland attempts to reconcile the stresses of his family life against the demands of the school and the formidible presence of his muse. At the school, headed by Principal Jacobs (Olympia Dukakis), he is guided along the path to being a true teacher and a positive influence of the new generation by the principal and the head coach Bill Meiser (Jay Thomas).

In the end, he is forced to retire and he feels as though he has accomplished nothing. The schoolboard has dismissed him as if he were useless, his symphony, if ever finished, is not likely to make him well known, and his son and wife resent all the attention and effort that the school took from them. He discovers, however, that the little acts of a lifetime add up to a powerful amount of influencial changes and his life, although not spent the way he envisioned it, was not wasted.

Cast and Crew

Glenn Holland, played by Richard Dreyfuss, is the protagonist of the film, and the story follows his life.
Born October 29, 1948 in Brooklyn, New York, he is a veteran of the screen having appeared in Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Down and Out in Beverly Hills, and Stakeout.

Iris Holland, played by Glenne Headly, is the supportive wife of Glenn Holland who attempts to continue to be supportive of her husband while still attending to the needs of their child.
Born March 13, 1957 in New London, Connecticut. She is probably most well known for her Emmy-nominated performances in the CBS television series Lonesome Dove. She has also appeared in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Dick Tracy, and Mortal Thoughts.

Bill Meister, played by Jay Thomas, is Glenn's best friend and the coach at the high school. He is one of those rare teachers who still believes that the goal of a school is to inspire children.
Born in New Orleans, he started his career off as a radio disc jockey. From there he progressed to the television series Mork and Mindy where he played the deli owner Remo DaVinci. Later, he won an Emmy for his portrayal of the tough television reporter Jerry Gold in the television series Murphy Brown.

Principal Helen Jacobs, played by Olympia Dukakis, is a real gem and believable as the director of Glenn's high school and the person who started him on the path to making a difference in a student's life.
Born June 20, 1931, she has appeared in numerous films including Steel Magnolias, Working Girl, I Love Trouble, and The Naked Gun 33 1/3.

Other characters: Assistant Principal Wolters (W.H. Macy), Getrude Lang (Alicia Witt), Rowena Morgan (Jean Louise Kelly).

Stephen Herek, Director
Born November 10, 1958 in San Antonio, he is known for having directed Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, Critters (his first film), Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead, and The Three Musketeers.

CineNet-Review

Technical Details

Michelle A. Hoyle

Copyright © 1996 Elite Film AG (Bilder)
Copyright © 1996 CineNet (Text)