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Mr. Holland's Opus poster

Mr. Holland's Opus

year 1995decade 90sdirector Stephen Herekgenre Drama

143 minutes

Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Richard Dreyfuss Glenn Holland
Glenne Headly Iris Holland
Jay Thomas Bill Meister
Olympia Dukakis Principal Helen Jacobs
William H. Macy Vice Principal Gene Wolters
Alicia Witt Gertrude Lang
Joanna Gleason adult Gertrude Lang
Jean Louisa Kelly Rowena Morgan
Terrence Howard Louis Russ
Damon Whitaker Bobby Tidd

Mr. Holland's Opus | The Rewatchables

host Bill Simmonshost Sean Fennesseyhost Van Lathan format 25th anniversary
Explore episodeClose episode

Producer credits not yet identified.

What’s Aged the Best?

Dreyfuss’s restrained crying, multi-decade structure, young Howard and teaching/performance details.

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 00:22:25Read transcript
  • Dreyfuss trying-not-to-cry face perhaps best ever,lip bite/head drop repeated and conducting finale succeeds.
  • Young Terrence Howard likability,charisma,handsomeness raises career do-over and Will Smith-scale potential wish; off-set issues acknowledged.
  • Multi-decade aging,being pushed to care,rock-and-roll alarm,Howard funeral callback,Rowena coaching and credible conducting admired.
  • Cole sign for asshole enjoyed.
  • Title joked as ready porn title;Mr Hollands O Face proposed with speculation whether parody exists,not confirmed.

Apex Mountain

Second-career Dreyfuss, Jay Thomas, restrained crying and Stockman solo career; teacher-film and song-use alternatives differ.

In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 00:28:08Read transcript
  • Jay Thomas clear apex following Murphy Brown/Love and War television run.
  • Overall Dreyfuss no,but second career this over Stakeout/What About Bob agreed;100million success and star showcase.
  • Kelly uncertain against long-running TV show observed yesterday;Jay Thomas yes.
  • High-school teacher movies:Stand and Deliver favored over this;Dangerous Minds,187,Lean on Me candidates;Hoosiers/Coach Carter coaches excluded from narrow comparison.
  • Trying-not-to-cry face clear peak.
  • Someone to Watch Over Me song use finalist vs same-name Barringer/Rogers film, latter preferred due repeated/pivotal use;film praised despite rough last15minutes.
  • Others no,Portland floated without settled answer.
  • Sean Stockman solo career apex Visions of a Sunset;one of four best voices,possible solo breakout if huge hit,expected Wanié solo instead.

Roger Ebert's review

3.5 stars (scale not stated)

Ebert three and a half stars; importance of teachers noted, scale unspoken.

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:34:03Read transcript
  • Ebert three and a half stars,review discusses teacher importance;no excerpts read.

Most Rewatchable Scene

Ending and Beautiful Boy are distinct final preferences; other emotional teaching and family scenes admired despite flaws.

In the discussion (12)
Approx. transcript time · 00:34:36Read transcript
  • First strong scene about35minutes in:clarinet student breakthrough after desire to be good at something;music heart/fun beyond notes.
  • Coach chastises teacher for not teaching willing Lou Roy,followed by enjoyable but implausible rhythm montage.
  • Parade/kitchen discovery of Cole deafness,denial and Beethoven classroom reflection;Dreyfuss best acting to one speaker.
  • Headly I want to talk to my son kitchen scene excellent,perhaps unbeatable.
  • Principal retirement/favorite teacher and subsequent70s montage work;first not-crying face.
  • Rowena singing Someone to Watch Over Me after emotional coaching and wife realization well executed despite creepy plot;live voice essential.
  • Adult-looking24-year-old actress makes character age easier to forget;Rowena represents lost ambitions/former self,minor plot tweaks could avoid inappropriate romance.
  • Age-of-consent Google inquiry mentioned with surveillance joke;not legal verification.
  • Historical consent age16 is claimed as imagined defense,unverified and does not remove discomfort;Beautiful Boy works partly because Dreyfuss voice imperfect.
  • Named-for-song personal connection makes Beautiful Boy overwhelming;asserted post-Lennon-death release leads timing uncertainty.
  • Layoff talk with coach about expendability after30years relatable and effective.
  • Ending auditorium crowd/governor/opus succeeds;one ending preference vs Beautiful Boy preference.

Picking Nits

Song-release timing questioned; Rowena attraction and the concealed, flawless final performance challenge plausibility.

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 00:44:56Read transcript
  • Could Holland know Beautiful Boy in time? asserted1981release after Lennon death raises uncertainty,not independently verified.
  • Rowena apparently favors50yearold teacher over quarterback;others note such situations happened in their schools.
  • Final surprise500people invisible to Holland/empty parking lot implausible despite favorite-scene status.
  • Governor not-rich/not-famous speech unexpectedly mean.
  • Unrehearsed long-lapsed highschool musicians/instruments hidden yet flawless unseen score,odds1000to1 or higher.

What’s Aged the Worst?

Length, student-romance plot, marital behavior, dismissive treatment of deaf son and Dreyfuss’s later career.

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 00:49:13Read transcript
  • 143minutes too long;117–118minutes ideal.
  • Bus station plot:parents absent,midnight Portland–New York trip,leave before graduation and uncomfortable prolonged side-mouth kiss;teacher-support rewrite proposed.
  • Naming composition Rowena and lying Greek goddess then inviting wife to program implausibly careless potential adulterer behavior.
  • All-black cast remote-button fantasy,Danny Glover/Angela Bassett confrontation;era marital power imbalance considered but personal flaws emphasized.
  • Anti-sign-language stance and dismissing deaf son understanding Lennon death brutal.
  • Dreyfuss post-opus career decline despite age49 and nomination;W and Krippendorfs Tribe exceptions discussed.

The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance

Rowena, with Howard considered and Dukakis a medalist.

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:57:05Read transcript
  • Rowena/Jean Louisa Kelly vs Howard;Rowena15minutes must nail songs or movie unravels.
  • Macy one-note noted and defended as uptight60s foil;through his eyes,Holland misconduct is managerial nightmare and dismissal justice.
  • Rowena final agreement;Dukakis strong medalist but not winner.

Half-Assed Internet Research

Deaf casting, Kelly’s performance and reported personal details, and Dreyfuss’s reported memory problems.

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:59:33Read transcript
  • All deaf characters reportedly played by deaf actors;mainstream portrayal built awareness and connection to music-centered father.
  • Kelly did singing/dancing,trained performer;reported Jimmy Patero marriage prompts ESPN party anecdote about Holland critique.
  • Dreyfuss memory loss and inability to recall Whose Life Is It Anyway filming reportedly linked to cocaine;later earpiece for stage lines and Old Vic criticism used to explain career decline.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Opus quality, uptight principal, coach hypothesis, budget/farewell choices, Rowena’s future and Cole’s name debated.

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 01:12:58Read transcript
  • Is final opus good? Wacky guitar/music-teacher ambition and triumphant-but-cheesy Disney ride sound;Soren California preferred to world version aside.
  • Principal Walters more uptight than Little Bill because latter works on porn sets;Boogie Nights script-reading joke.
  • Coach secretly gay hypothesis opposed by different women evidence and lack of prior thought;modern dance/service/era cues speculative only.
  • Would restored program ending improve film? Governor could provide budget,Portland music cuts doubted.
  • Why invite firing principal and why would he attend final goodbye?
  • Rowena absent from finale;wife excluded her imagined,New York success/failure unknown and possible followup movie.
  • Coltrane Gershwin Holland name criticized;imagined drive-home Rowena argument with all-black cast button,Sam Jackson and Regina King preferred to Megan Good.

Who Won the Movie?

Dreyfuss is the explicit choice; teachers receive a small-case alternative.

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:24:15Read transcript
  • Dreyfuss explicit choice addressed Sean,career capstone and Oscar nomination;teachers tiny-case alternative,not settled second ballot.
Podcast choices

More from the conversation

25th anniversary; affection for decades of teacher life,personal family educator connections and manipulated tears. Teachers continue lives after students leave; Butler/Matrix comparisons.
Approx. transcript time · 00:02:55Read transcript
Teacher films often savior stories; time-spanning structure like Forrest Gump. Baby-boomer film arc and cultural dominance fading; historical montage somewhat lazy,modern version might canceled ABC series.
Approx. transcript time · 00:05:25Read transcript
Dreyfuss early Jaws/Close Encounters/Goodbye Girl status,cocaine-interrupted career and comeback run; sports analogies Thompson,Hamilton,Gooden contested.
Approx. transcript time · 00:08:03Read transcript
Stakeout is explicitly praised as a really good1980s buddy-cop movie.
Approx. transcript time · 00:08:36Read transcript
Dreyfuss top-ten beloved actor for one speaker because childhood films,despite rarely playing cool aspirational figure unlike Pacino/DeNiro.
Approx. transcript time · 00:10:27Read transcript
70s white male actor Mount Rushmore Pacino,DeNiro,Nicholson,Hoffman; Dreyfuss probable fifth,smart director avatar rather than conventional handsome idol.
Approx. transcript time · 00:11:52Read transcript
Difficult actor reputation reported alongside Hoffman; uncertain Competition vs Whose Life Is It Anyway cocaine-era anecdote.
Approx. transcript time · 00:12:59Read transcript
First35minutes could compress to5; film improves from Terrence Howard arrival and beloved teacher flaws emerge on rewatch.
Approx. transcript time · 00:13:44Read transcript
Proposed Are we sure Mr Holland didnt suck section: pregnancy news gets no positive reaction and makes wife cry; principal/coach must push him to care about students.
Approx. transcript time · 00:14:20Read transcript
Misses child birth for drivers ed and resists private school for deaf son.
Approx. transcript time · 00:15:18Read transcript
Prioritizes students over son,Rowena crush/theme lie and near departure, dismisses son understanding Lennon; mustache reportedly impedes lipreading.
Approx. transcript time · 00:16:00Read transcript
Self-centered despite modest prior bar-mitzvah music career,acts as though family support a favor; no credit deserved for not sleeping with student,cheek kiss objection.
Approx. transcript time · 00:16:57Read transcript
Near-kiss should be cut;90s age-gap plots in Beautiful Girls,Professional,Lolita compared. Narcissistic interpretation with sincere feelings and misdirected care.
Approx. transcript time · 00:18:38Read transcript
Creative failure rejected:students and life impact are the opus,more meaningful than single hit; final governor speech works despite corny framing.
Approx. transcript time · 00:20:15Read transcript
Whether flaws intentionally redeemed or unnoticed debated; Macy foil suggests unintentional,while Beautiful Boy payoff needs earlier cruelty; real-life admissions scandal joke kept separate.
Approx. transcript time · 00:23:01Read transcript
1995 best actor field argued: Cage Leaving Las Vegas win defended but retroactive uncertainty,Dreyfuss/Hopkins Nixon/Penn Dead Man Walking/Troisi observed El Pasino; alternate Morgan Freeman Seven and Heat lead actor nomination,WayneGrove supporting joke.
Approx. transcript time · 00:25:22Read transcript
Elisabeth Shue judged better than Cage in Leaving Las Vegas by wide margin.
Approx. transcript time · 00:25:59Read transcript
Only Cage might survive re-nomination; Freeman Seven advocated,one of Heat leads must be nominated.
Approx. transcript time · 00:26:33Read transcript
Headly defended for recognition of Rowena program/aging light;McDormand alternative;Dukakis underrated and Macy flat top praised.
Approx. transcript time · 00:27:26Read transcript
Best Man smooth antihero role typecast Howard; Marvel exit and Dead Presidents/Sunset Park/Players Club run;Crash good performances despite undeserved award, Hustle and Flow breakout hope.
Approx. transcript time · 00:29:19Read transcript
Black halfback poor grades/no rhythm trope criticized;athletic coordination makes drumming lesson implausible though not all players dance;Portland setting noted.
Approx. transcript time · 00:31:23Read transcript
31million budget106million gross reported;Michael Kamen arrangement of finale won1997Grammy.
Approx. transcript time · 00:33:46Read transcript
Herrick underrated director run Critters,Bill&Ted,DontTellMom,MightyDucks then101Dalmatians hit,Holy Man disaster but defended.
Approx. transcript time · 01:05:28Read transcript
Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead is called a personal classic during the Herrick run.
Approx. transcript time · 01:05:46Read transcript
Eddie Murphy defender spinoff joke;Metro defended,Pluto Nash indefensible assertion,other movies queued.
Approx. transcript time · 01:06:42Read transcript
Most indefensible Murphy movie described girl/tree/lying,first uncertain MrJohnson then rejected MrChurch and agreed ImagineThat;identity confused,do not independently resolve. Defending Eddie spinoff joke.
Approx. transcript time · 01:07:14Read transcript
Cast-switch fantasies:Regina King vs Meagan Good,SamJackson,Friday Smokey/SethRogen;BadNewsBears remake worse,Caddyshack-style remake disliked,SteelMagnolias and AboutLastNight Black remakes,BigChill wish,Wood comparison and IndianSummer defended.
Approx. transcript time · 01:19:46Read transcript
The all-Black About Last Night remake is considered pretty good.
Approx. transcript time · 01:20:49Read transcript
A desire for more nuanced Black ensemble films about people gathered with their regrets and emotional baggage over several days is expressed;The Wood is compared with The Big Chill but distinguished by its specific occasion.
Approx. transcript time · 01:21:10Read transcript
BoyzII Men/ColorMeBadd90s harmony aside,I Wanna Sex You Up imagined opus and90210 episode comparison.
Approx. transcript time · 01:24:15Read transcript
Wire podcast completion,Jemele thanks,season5underrated,2021plans;producer Craig addressed and replies about youthful perspective,list choices.
Approx. transcript time · 01:25:48Read transcript