Opus Day

I'm basically a fan of Richard Dreyfuss. I'll admit that if you told me to "quick, name 10 actors you like," he wouldn't make the list. I don't even know if he'd show up if the challenge were expanded to 20, maybe even 50. But he is a solid actor. He was recognized with an Oscar for The Goodbye Girl, and nominated again for a movie I recently decided to watch, Mr. Holland's Opus.

The movie is the simple story of a struggling composer in the 1960s who decides to make ends meet for his family by becoming a high school music teacher. This "just for a few years" necessity becomes his permanent career, as the movie takes us through the next 30 years of his life.

The movie is a blend of elements that work and elements that don't. Dreyfuss' presence alone tips the balance more toward the former, I'd say, but the whole isn't rock solid. The ultimate summation of the movie is that the wonderful masterpiece the main character was trying to compose all his life is actually the accomplishments of the students he teaches over the years. But I'm not sure the movie really builds to this closure.

Don't get me wrong; I believe that teachers can have profound impact on a student. I need only think back to my own schooling to come up with multiple examples of teachers I think really shaped me. (And one that had a very memorable negative impact.) But this movie only really touches on Mr. Holland's interactions with three or four students. One dies, and another isn't seen again at the conclusion of the movie. Sure, we see an auditorium full of students that praise the main character at the end of the movie, but we only really know two of them. So I get the "idea" of the point being made; I just don't think the movie actually makes the point as effectively as it could.

Nor do I find the interactions with the students particularly convincing. Your affection for these scenes in the movie will undoubtedly hang on whether you believe that an instruction to "play the sun" would instantly turn a teenager into a skilled clarinet player. I'm doubtful.

But while the movie is largely about a teacher and his students, it also follows the man's family. And here is where I think the movie really shines. Glenne Headly plays a wife who is supportive, but realistically so. The two characters end up having a child born deaf, and the harshness of a man steeped in music failing to communicate with a son who can't hear it is far and away the most powerful material in the film. These scenes excel in a way that made me miss this part of the story whenever the focus returned to the classroom.

Richard Dreyfuss does indeed give a strong performance. There are some good people in the supporting cast too, including William H. Macy and Olympia Dukakis. But overall, I think the fact that Dreyfuss was the only Oscar nomination in any category for this film is telling. It's a likable enough movie, but its reach exceeds its grasp. I'd rate it a B-; worth seeing if you like Richard Dreyfuss, and quite possibly one you could skip otherwise.