I loved watching this film about teacher/composer Glenn Holland, played by Richard Dreyfuss. His Best Actor Oscar nomination was well deserved. Glenne Headly actually studied American Sign Language in preparation for the role of his wife Iris Holland.
Olympia Dukakis as Principal Jacobs, William Macy as Vice Principal Wolters, and Jay Thomas as Bill Meister the football coach kept me interested in their characters. They’re good actors in interesting roles. I was satisfied with Jean Louisa Kelly’s performance as high school student Rowena Morgan when she sang “Someone To Watch Over Me” as well as other songs, even though she was 23 years old at the time. The writing was responsible for some of my delight. Patrick Sheane Duncan was nominated for a Golden Globe award for writing the screenplay.
In this film, Richard Dreyfuss shows the many changes Mr. Holland went through over the years. Holland’s high aspirations of being a composer dwindle while he teaches music at a high school where he gives much more to the students than he realizes. This inspirational movie about music is also a nod to those who give many hours teaching deaf students. I loved the humor, and I always look forward to the emotional ending.
