Renaissance Man (1994)

A down-on-his-luck businessman desperately takes the only job offered - a teacher in the U.S. Army. His mission: keep a ragtag bunch of underachieving misfits from flunking out of basic ... See full summary »

Director:

Penny Marshall

Writer:

Jim Burnstein

Stars:

Danny DeVito, Gregory Hines, James Remar

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Danny DeVito	...	Bill Rago
Gregory Hines	...	Sergeant Cass
James Remar	...	Captain Tom Murdoch
Ed Begley Jr.	...	Jack Markin
Lillo Brancato	...	Pvt. Donnie Benitez (as Lillo Brancato Jr.)
Stacey Dash	...	Pvt. Miranda Myers
Kadeem Hardison	...	Pvt. Jamaal Montgomery
Richard T. Jones	...	Pvt. Jackson Leroy
Khalil Kain	...	Pvt. Roosevelt Nathaniel Hobbs
Peter Simmons	...	Pvt. Brian Davis, Jr.
Gregory Sporleder	...	Pvt. Melvin (as Greg Sporleder)
Mark Wahlberg	...	Pvt. Tommy Lee Haywood
Cliff Robertson	...	Colonel James
Ben Wright	...	Private Oswald
Ann Cusack	...	Bill's Secretary

Storyline

A down-on-his-luck businessman desperately takes the only job offered - a teacher in the U.S. Army. His mission: keep a ragtag bunch of underachieving misfits from flunking out of basic training! Be on alert as this unlikely new teacher and his underdog class unexpectedly inspire each other to be all they can be!

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Plot Keywords:

teacher | u.s. army | army | basic training | advertising | 

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Taglines:

One Man's Mission To Teach The Few, The Proud... The Impossible!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 June 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

By the Book

Filming Locations:

Detroit, Michigan, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$24,332,324 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinergi Pictures Entertainment, Parkway Productions, Touchstone Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Stephen Dorff turned down the role of Tommy Lee Haywood.

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Goofs

If you're watching the movie with subtitles you will notice that, when one of the guys is impersonating Robert DeNiro in Raging bull, the subtitle says "impersonating Robert DeNiro". Later on however when the same guy is impersonating Scarface, the subtitle also say "impersonating Robert DeNiro". However a true fan will know that it is Al Pacino who is in Scarface.

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Quotes

[Talking about Shakespeare to the class]
Bill Rago: He wrote plays. Plays...? You know, like TV without the box.

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Connections

References Scarface (1983)

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Soundtracks

"LIFE IN THE STREETS"
Performed by Prince Ital Joe Feat and Mark Wahlberg (as Marky Mark)

User Reviews

Hamlet As A Teaching Tool

One of the most moving experiences in cinema I had during the Nineties was watching Renaissance Man. It's more than a comedy about underachievers realizing their potential. It's about the man who makes them realize their worth as human beings getting quite an education about life himself.

Danny DeVito is that man in a role about as far removed as you can get from Louis DePalma in Taxi and Lawrence Garfield in Other People's Money. He's an advertising man who loses a couple of big clients while getting stuck in traffic and gets bounced from his job.

Needing an income while looking for a job, the Michigan Unemployment Department gives him an interesting job, a civilian remedial education teacher for the United States Army. He's assigned to a class of eight trainees who might wash out if they don't shape up. It's their mental attitudes that need adjusting.

A little trial and error and DeVito hits upon the idea to use Shakespeare, specifically Hamlet as a teaching tool. Interpreting and learning life's lesson from one of the greatest works of literature in the English language apparently works and in ways far beyond making these trainees get through basic training.

This is my favorite film with Danny DeVito and he's not an easy fit into army life. Cliff Robertson, James Remar, and Gregory Hines are some of the army people he deals with.

But the eight trainees are the heart of the film. Mark Wahlberg, Lillo Brancato, Kadeem Hardison, Richard Jones, Khalil Kain, Gregory Sporleto, Stacey Dash are seven of them. One of them doesn't make it through and ironically because of an act of kindness. But my favorite in the film is Peter Simmons who plays Private Brian Davis from Grand Forks, North Dakota. It's young men like him and his father before him in Vietnam who was killed in action who keep this country safe and secure. He gets the best recognition possible at the end of the film and you are guaranteed not to have a dry eye when you see it.

Renaissance Man is a beautifully crafted film from Penny Marshall and should not be missed when broadcast.