I've always been annoyed that we didn't find out Rowena's future. I know we're just supposed to assume she drifted away into mystery, but dammit, I want to know if she made it in New York or not.
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Screws fall out all the time, the world is an imperfect place.
I don't really want to know because I imagine those twinkling stars of hope in her eyes were beaten down to earth as fast as New York could make it happen.
She's a cocktail waitress making good money and getting rounds of applause on karaoke night.
Some days, you just can't get rid of a bomb! (Batman 1966)
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Rowena is a gifted young singer from Anywhere, USA. Going beyond the film for a moment, how many Rowenas would there be in all the towns and cities in America? Sure, they wouldn't all go seeking fame in New York, but it's fair to assume that the Big Apple would see a constant influx of hopefuls.
Her chances of making it beyond "minor lead in an off-Broadway production" are remote.
I think Rowena comes at a pivotal point in Holland's life. He knows he is middle-aged, he sees the choices he has made, and he has the maturity to see the folly in running off to New York chasing glory. This was his last chance and he made (in my opinion) the right choice. Once you take on responsibilities like teaching and parenthood, you can't lightly relinquish those duties.
Yes, it would be nice to know, but it's just not in the script for us to know.
Rowena's (Jean Louisa Kelly's) voice is clearly exceptional. It fact the actress has performed on Broadway. Someone with a voice like that, combined with extremely good looks is a can't miss star. I believe its suggested by Mr Holland that she was destined for greatness. If he didn't believe this, he wouldn't have encouraged her, instead, he hooks her up with a place to stay and a contact in the business.
For me, they bigger question is why didn't she attend the ceremony? Its quite possible that she was too busy to attend. But my belief is that she had fallen in love with Mr Holland, and that it probably took her a long time to get over him. Seeing him again would be too difficult.
I believe Rowena was a muse to Mr Holland in their brief time together. Within the muse/artist relationship there are often elements of seduction/temptation. As you suggest, she also appears at a time in his life where he may be having a "midlife crisis". Mr Holland was, in the end, a moral and ethical man, who made the right decision for all concerned.
Rowena was talented and good-looking but I think nothing that New York wouldn't have seen a thousand times over. She was leaving to chase her dreams, which tapped into an unfulfilled vulnerability on Holland's part, but she probably would have greatly struggled to achieve that success. She either would have become a voice or drama teacher, or toiled with bit parts in small productions. Hopefully she would have avoided falling in with the seedier elements of the city.
shareI don't think Rowena would have succeeded to any great degree. She was a typically pretty face with a typically pretty voice and a typically underdeveloped personality. Totally vanilla. She likely would have vanished into the sea of hopeful faces very quickly.
"Now, bring me that horizon."
I agree with the points made by various others here. Rowena would have been a small fish in a big ocean of pretty girls with nice voices in New York. The chances are very slim that she'd have made it big.
If true to real life, the reason she mightn't have come back to her hometown for Mr. Holland's farewell concert was that she hadn't made any outstanding success of her life. It can be difficult when a teacher has had great dreams for you (Mr. Holland wanted Rowena to fulfill his own dreams in a sense) to encounter that teacher years later and have him see that those dreams were never realized.
I have the feeling she had her ups and downs. It is like with Holland's life.
shareShe's fifty-five years old now, but she still manages to pick up a couple of hundred bucks a night strutting her stuff on Times Square.
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