# Music of the Heart (1999)

### reviewed by
Rose 'Bams' Cooper

    '3 Black Chicks Review...'

Music of the Heart (1999) Rated PG; running time 124 minutes IMDB site: http://us.imdb.com/Title?0166943 Official site: http://www.musicoftheheart.com/ Written by: Pamela Gray Directed by: Wes Craven Starring: Meryl Streep, Aidan Quinn, Angela Bassett, Cloris Leachman, Gloria Estefan, Charlie Hofheimer, Kieran Culkin, Michael Angarano, Henry Dinhofer, Jane Leeves; as themselves: Karen Briggs, Jonathan Feldman, Jean-Luke Figueroa, Ramon Diane Monroe, Mark O'Connor, Sandra Park, Itzhak Perlman, Arnold Steinhardt, Isaac Stern, Michael Tree, Charles Veal Jr.

Review Copyright Rose Cooper, 1999 Review URL: http://www.3blackchicks.com/bamsmusicof.html

I loved "The Red Violin" so much, I was sure that another flick that was more specifically about violins, would be good; especially with two of my favorite actresses--Meryl Streep and Angela Bassett--in it. Was I right, or, in the vein of "Dangerous Minds", et al, would this be Yet Another flick where the White Savior Rescues The Poor Ghetto Chulllldrin?

The Story (WARNING: some spoilers contained below): "Music Of The Heart" is the true story of Roberta Guaspari (Streep), a violinist and former Navy Wife freshly divorced from her philandering ex-husband (his choice), who is pressed to find a job. Having moved around in the Navy so much, she doesn't have a lot of prospects in her suburban environment, where she lives with her mother (Leachman) and sons Nick (Angarano at 7-years-old; Hofheimer at 17-years-old) and Lexi (Dinhofer at 5-years-old; Culkin at 15-years-old), until Brian Sinclair (Quinn), tells her about a teaching job that may be available--in East Harlem. Principal Janet Williams (Bassett) is skeptical at first, but soon she is convinced to let her work as an elementary school substitute music teacher in her school, where Roberta meets Isabel Vasquez (Estefan), an assorted batch of students, and later, Dorothea Van Hauften (Leeves), who may be able to open doors for Roberta and her violin students as time goes on.

The Upshot: Remember the old Mickey Rooney movies where, when the gang needs to raise funds for a project, they just "put on a show!"? 1990's, meet the 40s.

I'll be frank: most of the backstory of this movie was kinda dull; I can't say that I cared much about Roberta's story as it pertained to her husband, or her kids, or her mother, or even the strange relationship with Brian (and boy, did Quinn look weird; haven't seen him in a lonnnng time). Even the normally-strong Streep, nor the equally powerful Bassett, couldn't quite pull the first half of this movie out of the doldrums; and though Estefan was refreshingly natural in her big screen non-music debut, she wasn't really all that integral to this flick, and didn't really make a dent in the snooze factor of the first half. The young actors (whose names I didn't catch, so I won't bungle them here) made it worth watching, but it was a task otherwise.

But skip down to the end of this review, and you'll note I gave it the greenlight. Why's that? Three reasons: the story picked up the pace in the second half (and the final scenes, which I'm desperately trying not to give away--but it ain't Rocket Science, folks--were worth the wait.); Wes Craven, predominately known for his "Freddie Kruger" slasher flicks, played a soft hand here, only giving in to his horror-flick trickery once (hard to describe, but there's a scene in the school where there's movement in the background behind Roberta, and the camera zooms in on her, that made me wonder if some demented demon in gory makeup would come up from behind her); and most importantly, the kids were allowed to be genuine elementary-age kids, not ruffneck hooligans from da hood, read'ta buss' up a be'ouch, nor insufferably cute Projects projects, waiting for Missy Roberta to deliver them up from out of bondage.

[WARNING: SPOILER AHEAD] And I have to give this away, sorry: there was a beautiful moment where Roberta and the students play a song that, as I mentioned in my "Crazy In Alabama" review, I have come to despise for the trivial way it's treated: "We Shall Overcome". But this treatment honestly left me in tears, due to its sincere beauty. Only children, I believe, could've pulled that off; I applaud them heartily for it. [END SPOILER]

Aside from Wes Craven's soft side, as well as the low-cutesiness quotient of the students as well as Roberta's kids, there were no real surprises in this one; the usual tour-de-force that is Meryl Streep, was more subdued (though I loved the way she handled the kids, with a strong hand), and Angela Bassett seemed almost an afterthought. But not every movie needs to be The! Next! Big! Thing!, after all; "Music Of The Heart" ends as a Feel Good movie that left me feeling good--and that's just what the doctor ordered.

The "Black Factor" [ObDisclaimer: We Are Not A Monolith] As a Black woman, I see the "Black Factor"--things that affect me as a "consumer of color"--in many aspects of life; movies included. Whether from the standpoint of noting Black (and other "minority") cast and crew members (if any), to the (lack of) focus toward "people of color" (dag, I hate that term), to the out-and-out antagonistic attitude toward Us (Jar-Jar, anyone?), the "Black Factor" (BF) is something that plays as much a role in my film enjoyment as any other aspect of the movie itself.

"Black people don't play the violin." If you've ever said, or thought, something like that, try to imagine what it's like hearing it directed at you, violin-in-hand. And imagine it coming from a Black person. Stupid, right? And unfortunately, all too common (substitute "skydive" or "go hanggliding"--or any number of pleasures of which I partake--for "play the violin", and you Feel me). We are, far too often, Our own worst enemies when it comes to having access to non-traditional, non-monolithic, events and life-choices; We (rightfully) fight tooth and nail for the ability to gain access to "common areas", then We deride others of Us who go through doors that aren't usually painted Black. So you probably won't be surprised to know that I took great pleasure in seeing so many Black, and Latino, faces in Roberta's classes (and there are some additional treats to be had in the final scenes, but I won't give them away). Almost made me want to take up the fiddle.

On that ubiquitous Other Hand...one of the scenes that the TV networks have been showing in the ObStreep interviews, resonated with me, as it addresses the very point I made in the beginning of this review: Naim's mother, a Black woman, pulls him out of Roberta's class, saying that she would not let her son be treated as an object that needed to be "rescued" by Roberta. I was glad that it worked out for all parties concerned in the end (since this is based on a true story, my assumption is that this is how the situation really happened--though I just read that the folks at the school upon this is based, have taken offense at how the school is portrayed. But that's another story for another time), but the character's concern is one that's shared by this reviewer, when it comes to movies such as this; the assumption is that the parents can't, or won't, make any effort to try to make a better life for their children, and therefore need the paternalistic rescue attempts of people who otherwise have no stake in the neighborhood. The vibe in this movie is that the teacher just wanted to open up a window that none of the kids had opened to them before; the extent to which this has been achieved, should be able to be seen via the real-life students. Next time I'm in Nuevo York, I plan on checking that out first-hand.

Bammer's Bottom Line Wes Craven proves he's good for more than just hack-n-slash; though it won't burn up any ballots come Oscar time, you could do a lot worse with your box office bucks [can you say, "Bringing Out The Dead"?] And there was even a Public Service Announcement giving the phone number to make donations for Roberta's group, "Opus 118": 212-831-4455. Do it...for the Chulllldrin!

"Music Of The Heart": (rating: greenlight) [Bams succumbs to the pressure]: How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Can't hurt if you Know Somebody...

    3 Black Chicks...Movie Reviews With Flava!            /~\
    Rose "Bams" Cooper                                   /','\
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    Copyright Rose Cooper, 1999                        /',',','/`,
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