Mr Hollands Opus: The Review

Mr. Holland's Opus [1995]

The Movie Poster

I told myself that I was not going to do a review for this movie, I was trying to get off of doing reviews. I'm not exactly sure why I don't want to do reviews anymore, I actually love talking about the things I see and if I liked them or not. Still, this movie turned out to be hard to not want to make a review for. So I give to you my review of Mr. Holland's Opus.

Synopsis:

The movie starts out with Mr. Holland as a young man. He's got a wife, they're settling down, and he's got this new gig at the band teacher at John F. Kennedy High School. And I use the term gig on purpose, because previously he was in a band. He loved his life in the band and he wishes he could have stayed in it, but when everything happened he needed money and settling more than he needed the band. So he's taking a bit of a different roll on now.

At the beginning of the movie you learn that he hates teaching. Every day he goes to the school and every day he's rushing out. Turns out he's not really into teaching that much, or so he thinks. Well, the principal of the school cracks down on him and tells him he needs to get into gear and start making the students learn and want to use that knowledge. So then he starts helping the students learn on a different level, one they can appreciate and one they can enjoy.

The rest of the movie is watching his life through the generations. Literally it goes from the start of his career to the end of his career and the viewer really gets to see what happens with him and with what he does. By the end of the movie, you'll feel that you really know him.

Verdict: 4.75 / 5 Stars

I love this movie and I don't think there is any better way to start this review. From start to finish you learn to love Mr. Holland and what he does, you like his reactions and you like how he teaches. So from beginning to end of the movie, it was just interesting and fun to watch. And on an emotional level I felt attached to the characters as well. That's something that is rare.

Now, maybe I'm a sucker for movies with teachers who prove to be real teachers, the ones that get the point across and make you love them because they bring you to the next level. That might be because in my own life I've felt this same sort of thing happen, but it is what a good teacher does. So to capture that essence as beautifully as it is done in this movie, with the drama and the back-story that is expected, is what sends it over the top for me.

And I bet now, after raving on how much I've liked it, you are wondering why I gave it less than a perfect score. Well, although I love everything and the emotions are there (which is usually that last missing point in a lot of movies), I felt that some scenes went on a bit too long or were a bit too slow. It's definitely worthy of the score, and most certainly worthy of a watch, but the director should have learned to cut certain things and make it speed through the scenes that were less interesting. And I know it maybe would have taken only ten minutes or so out of the entire almost two and a half hour long movie, but that does make a huge difference when coming to the final vote.

Still, this is an excellent film packed with emotion, drama, timeless values, a look into the past, and a great teacher. If you have not seen then, go get a copy and watch it. It is a great movie. 4.75/5 stars!