Strictly average movie

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

The story of a schoolteacher (Meryl Streep)'s struggle to teach violin to inner-city Harlem kids.Now reportedly, Wes Craven got this directing job by saying he would not do "Scream 3" without doing this first. What does this say about Craven? Besides horror, thriller and adult films, he has a passion for something more. Of course, you know, he does hold a masters degree in English and philosophy.Angela Bassett is back in a big way. Those who had only seen Bassett in Craven's "Vampire in Brooklyn" may not expect much from her, but here she is among her strongest. With Streep getting an Oscar nomination, maybe Bassett deserved one, too.Roger Ebert gave the film three stars out of four and wrote that "Meryl Streep is known for her mastery of accents; she may be the most versatile speaker in the movies. Here you might think she has no accent, unless you've heard her real speaking voice; then you realize that Guaspari's speaking style is no less a particular achievement than Streep's other accents. This is not Streep's voice, but someone else's - with a certain flat quality, as if later education and refinement came after a somewhat unsophisticated childhood." The other music teacher seems a bit one-noted, not believing in the kids. Whether this is supposed to be racism, a commentary on the inner city, or just a dislike of children is unclear. How easily Demetras is able to get their attention seems a bit strange, although she does tend to lose them as time goes on.Where does the reality meet the fiction, or vice versa?

Wes Craven (yes, THAT Wes Craven) directed this inspirational biopic about Roberta Guaspari (Meryl Streep), who started a music program in an impoverished inner city middle school that eventually went on to win national attention and acclaim.This film treads awfully close to made-for-T.V. territory, but Streep is such a good actress that she keeps a tight grip on the runaway sentimentality that's always present in the screenplay. But in any case, who cares? This IS a feel good story, and it's a good enough movie that you can simply give in to letting it make you feel good without also making you feel guilty by being suckered.Grade: B+

I,in my opinion,out of all of Meryl Streep's movies,think that this is her best performance ever."Music of the Heart" was a movie that took me a long time time to finally watch because I had it in my collection for over 5 years,but when I finally got down to watching it,I was blown away.When I watch this movie,I wonder,if her husband had not left her,Roberta would never have inspired people the way she did and still does today.I think that Meryl's performance truly shows us that,in whatever you do,people are watching,and you can make a difference in someone's life,in whatever profession you are in.It shows in the film how many hours a day Meryl practiced the violin.My favorite scene is the Carnegie Hall event.

This kind of "inspirational" saccharine is enough to make you sick. It telegraphs its sentiments like the biggest semaphore on earth. It removes from the audience its own interpretation and feeling by making the choices for it. The big finish is swimming in weeping orchestration that must supposed to work like jumper cables on a dead car; I guess you'd need such prompting to feel if you're stupid enough to watch a film as simple-minded and sappy as this. Streep glows and you wonder if she really has the depth of feeling on display or if it's just that---a display, switched on and off like a light. Because I can't for the life of me see how she could possibly find life in such a dud of film. Even though it's based on a true story, and an inspirational one at that I'm sure, the set-up, execution and performances play like a third-rate TV movie or half-witted high school drama.