As I sat down to watch this extended VH1 Save the Music commercial, I was overcome by a horrible fear that I was about to watch the equivalent of Patch Adams 2. Thankfully, this film never reached those depths.

Meryl Streep plays a recently separated mother of two who finds solace in teaching violin to a group of inner city kids. This film also has a lot in common with movies like Mr. Holland's Opus and Stand and Deliver. It's earnest and means well, but gets bogged down in unnecessary sap.

What works most of all is Streep's solid performance. You buy every moment of her struggles and triumphs. Can this woman give a bad performance? I don't think so. However, the filmÕs biggest shock is that it was directed by horror-master Wes Craven (Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream). He has obviously strived to make something completely different and succeeded. The problem is that he is not quite experienced in this new element and some of the film's moments are downright clumsy.

Music of the Heart is straight-forward family fare that tries to show the importance of music in our youth's lives. It's a sporadically entertaining film that pushes hard to get the message across. Thankfully, Streep keeps the film's head above water.