Mr. Holland's Opus

Senator Barry Goldwater|is campaigning in Colorado.

The Warren Commission, almost a full|year after the Kennedy assassination...

- Glenn, it's time.|- No, just a little more.

If you don't get up right now,|I'm gonna cut one of your piano strings.

Ugh...

- What time is it?|- Quarter to seven.

- A quarter to seven!|- Mm-hm.

Oh, God.

Does the sun really come out this early?

It was a surprise to me, too. I took|a picture in case it never happens again.

- Nobody gets up this early.|- Oh, yes, they do.

Come on, come on, come on.|Please, please, please, please, please!

- Come on, come on, come on, come on.|- No, no, no! This is a stupid idea.

Oh, this is definitely not my scene, Iris.

It's just a gig. If it doesn't work,|you can try something else.

- What time am I supposed to be there?|- 7.30.

7.30!

What kind of people like to|go to work at 7.30 in the morning?

# One, two, three

# Oh, thats how elementary

# Its gonna be

# Come on, lets fall in love

- # It's easy|- # It's so easy

# Like taking candy from a baby

- # A, B, C|- # A, B, C

# Falling in love with you was

# Easy for me

# And you can do it, too

- # Its easy|- # It's so easy

# Like taking candy from a baby

Hi. I'm Glenn Holland.|I'm the new music teacher.

Vice Principal Wolters.

Holy cow!

- A Corvair.|- Yeah.

I take it you didn"t read|Ralph Nader"s book.

Well, unless Ralph|is willing to buy me a new car,

I'm gonna have to stick with this one|until the wheels fall off.

Well, you may not have to|wait that long. Heh-heh.

- Have a nice day.|- Thanks.

- # Its easy|- # It's so easy

# Like taking candy from a baby

You look lost, Mr Holland.

Helen Jacobs. Remember? I hired you.

Oh!

Of course you did. I'm sorry. It was not|that I'm lost. I was just looking for the...

- Well, yes, of course I'm lost.|- What an auspicious beginning.

This way.

Your first day as a teacher,|Mr Holland. Excited?

Nervous. Boy, I never thought I"d be here.

No? Why not?

Well... like most people,|I only got my teaching certificate

so I"d have something to fall back on.

This isn't a drive-in, Mr Claridge.|Hands off!

You know, Mr Holland, I don't think|of teaching as a fallback position.

- No, no...|- I grow nervous around people who do.

I'm... I'm really very happy|to be here. Really.

Good. You"ll drop by my office later on.|I have a list of students you"ll be advising.

Advising? Can I ask when|I'm supposed to be doing this advising?

That's for you and the student to arrange.|You meet your orchestra when?

Fifth period.

- Are they any good?|- They try hard.

By the way, I'll need a complete|lesson plan from you by Friday.

- Right.|- For September and October.

Right.

All right. People, come on,|let"s take our seats a little quicker, please.

A little quicker. We"re losing time.|Come on in, come on in.

My name is Mr Holland.

This, of course, is a title of courtesy|that I will extend back to you -

"Mr" or "Miss",|as the circumstances allow.

Welcome to Music Appreciation.

This is a class in which we will be|studying the history of music.

Um, who would like to give me|a definition of what music is?

Any music. What do you think?

What do they think that music is|in... in general? What do they think?

Anybody?

Nobody?

OK. Let"s, uh... let"s go to the text.

And we turn to page, um... four.

And we read that "Music is sound|in melodic or harmonic combinations,

whether produced|by voice or instrument. "

Now, questions?

Anybody... at all?

No?

Hm?

Good.

All righty, uh...

Now, I just... you know, I just...|want you all to relax, have a little fun.

We"re not here to impress each other.

OK. All right, let"s get ready.

Everyone? Come on.

You ready?

OK, here we go.

It was good.

Miss Aronson.|Would you stand up, please?

Stand up, please.

Is that skirt regulation length?|On your knees, both of you, right now.

I thought so. Come with me to the|principal"s office. You are going home.

You can come back|when you"re dressed properly.

- You"re not being fair.|- I am.

If I allow you to do it,|everyone is allowed to do it.

- Hi.|- Hi.

Come on, out of my way.

- Teachers don't wait.|- Pardon me?

High school is not a democracy.|Teachers don't wait.

Bill Meister. Phys ed.

- Glenn Holland. Music teacher.|- Hi.

- There you go.|- Oh, my God!

- What is this?|- It's Monday. It's Turkey Spam Surprise.

You could mortar walls with it.

Word of advice:
Always bring a bag lunch.

- Where"s yours?|- I ate it in second period.

Sylvie! Don't tease me. I need extra.

So what have you been doin"|for the last ten years?

I've been playing music.|Been on the road.

You know, um... clubs and weddings|and bar mitzvahs. That sort of thing.

Wait a minute. I bet you met|a ton of chicks in those clubs, huh?

So you"re in these clubs,|there are all these women there...

- Why"d you become a teacher?|- Well...

Actually, I started teaching|because I was hoping

it would give me some free time to do|some composing. I'm a composer.

- What? What's so funny?|- Oh, the free time.

Glenn, I can't remember|the last time I had that was free.

I've got it all figured out.

With your salary, plus what I take in|with the photography,

in four years we should have|enough for you to quit

and do nothing but compose music|and become famous and make us rich.

- I'll never make it.|- I made us $32 today.

Big deal. I made 32 kids|sleep with their eyes open.

Oh, right there! Yeah.

Right there. Yeah.

Iris... I think this is gonna be|a lot rougher gig than I originally thought.

You know, when I was in high school...|I wanted to be someplace else, you know.

Anyplace.

It never occurred to me that|my teachers would feel the same way.

Well... you can still quit.

- Nah. We"ve been through all that.|- The band"s getting pretty good.

We could play Holiday Inns|for the rest of our lives.

- Or Los Angeles.|- I don't wanna be a studio musician.

So, It's four years" teaching, then.

Come here.

When you were in high school...

did you ever wonder|if your teachers got it on at night?

When I was in high school|my teachers were all priests and nuns.

I had such a crush on Mr Griffith.|He could"ve taken me home any time.

- Really?|- Mm-hm.

And who was this Mr Griffith?

Oh... he was my music teacher.

OK. OK.

That wasn't bad. That wasn't bad at all.

- Miss? I'm sorry.|- Lang.

- Pardon me?|- Lang. Gertrude Lang.

OK. Miss Lang, um... would you|take it from bar 37, please?

OK. OK.

Good. Good. That's enough for today.

I'll see you all tomorrow. Very good work.

Miss Lang? Would you mind|hanging for a moment, please?

You seem to be having a little trouble|getting through the break.

I know.

- How long have you been playing?|- Three years.

Really?

Uh...

Do you find that you get|all the practice time that you need?

I practise constantly, yeah.

Well...

then I think... I think maybe|you and I should find some time

to work on an individual basis.

- That would be great.|- I don't have a lot of time, but...

that's OK. Whatever you can give me.|I really, really wanna do good at this.

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