Music of the Heart

(Miramax)

Wes Craven of Texas Chainsaw Massacre fame makes his first foray into the terrifying realm of tearjerkers with the help of a resonant true story and Meryl Streep, who's chirpy, snappy, vulnerable, and a wise-ass as Roberta Guaspari, a single mother of two who gets to teach violin in a Harlem public school and puts together a public-school program responsible for exposing thousands of inner-city kids to the violin. Audience-pleasing Music certainly is, but whether it comes from the heart or directly from the tearducts is another question.