Richard Dreyfuss has done something in Mr. Holland's Opus every actor dreams of doing. He makes the audience forget that he is acting. He makes you forget he is Richard Dreyfuss, the Oscar-winning actor of the '70s and '80s who is now making a John Travolta-like comeback. As music teacher Glenn Holland, he carries this spectacular, epic film about a man who realizes that touching people's lives is greater than being rich and famous. The character calls for Dreyfuss to laugh and cry, and throughout the movie he makes most of the audience do both. There has been talk about Dreyfuss getting the Oscar again for best actor, and based on the performance, he should.

Mr. Holland's Opus is a long, touching story about an aspiring composer who decides to teach music to make money and still compose on the side. He soon realizes that it is harder than he thought to teach, as it consumes his time. However, he grows close to the students and begins to find new ways of teaching them to love music. He succeeds, and the lives he touches pay off in the end, as they give back what he gave them.

The film spans a period of 30 years, and the audience amusingly sees how the students and styles change. The main story is how Mr. Holland changes his stubborn character flaws and wins the love of not only the community, but also his family.

Mr. Holland's Opus has no any violence, sex, or "offensive" language that most teenagers love, but recently those qualities haven't exactly made a movie worthwhile. Take,for example, the recent "Assassins" and "Money Train," Both were awful, dumb movies.

This is a warm, sometimes funny, entertaining movie. It's about following your dreams and not giving up. It also teaches caring about family and those who love you. I recommend it especially for those who love music (or who play an instrument). Seeing this movie made me wish that I hadn't quit the clarinet in sixth grade. But then again, I quit because I had a bad music teacher. Anyway, at two and a half hours, Mr. Holland's Opus is one of the longest, but one of the best, films of the year