Meryl Streep has the ability to make even the worst movie material watchable. And when the the idea behind the material is already interesting, as it is with "Music of the Heart," she can make it that much better.
And make no mistake about it, this melodrama is based on an already-fascinating story — about New York music teacher Roberta Guaspari, founder of the East Harlem Violin Program, which brings violin instruction to inner-city schools.
But somehow, the filmmakers (including veteran horror director Wes Craven, making a stylistic divergence) nearly fumble this prime story away. If anyone else but Streep were starring, the too-long film might have drowned amidst all the warm-and-fuzzy scenes and sappy story contrivances.
(For a less-preachy version of Guaspari's real-life story, check out the wonderful documentary, "Small Wonders," on which this movie was based.)
"Music of the Heart" picks up her inspirational tale in the early '80s, a time when Guaspari and her Naval officer husband were separated, and she and her two sons were forced to move in with her mother (Cloris Leachman) in New York City.
On the advice of her mother, as well as an old friend, Brian Sinclair (Aidan Quinn), Roberta decides to look for a job, and quickly finds herself substitute-teaching at a racially diverse elementary school in one of the city's toughest neighborhoods.
At first, she faces opposition from her fellow teachers — and even parents — who don't understand why she's trying to teach their children the music of "dead white men." But as her program starts to work its wonders on the students, that opposition begins to fade.
Flash-forward 10 years to see that the program has grown significantly — it's now in three different schools and 150 students are receiving instruction yearly.
But Roberta now faces a new challenge, namely funding, as her program is one of many educational programs on the chopping block.
So, with help from her longtime friend, and the school administrator (Angela Bassett), as well as concerned parents and some of her prized pupils, Guaspari begins a battle to restore the program's funding, as well as make learning music an educational priority.
Guaspari's professional struggles are so interesting that it's sort of disheartening to see that part of the story reduced to quick vignettes, as it is here. But that's just one of the problems with the screenplay (by "A Walk on the Moon" scripter Pamela Gray), which gives the story a typical Hollywood spin.
For instance, Gray and Craven also spend so much time on Guaspari's personal life — which is interesting, but not that interesting — that all of the other characters receive too little screen time (though if their characters were given any more time, the film would have to be even longer than its 124 minutes).
Fortunately, Streep is such a compelling presence here that it really doesn't matter. She turns what could have been a cliched role into a three-dimensional character, including her Guaspari's less-glamorous side.
"Music of the Heart" is rated PG for scattered profanities (some of them religiously based) and brief violence (the aftermath of a schoolyard brawl and a tantrum).