With Honors (1994)

Convinced he'll graduate with honors because of his thesis paper, a stuffy Harvard student finds his paper being held hostage by a homeless man, who might be the guy to school the young man in life.

Director:

Alek Keshishian

Writer:

William Mastrosimone

Stars:

Joe Pesci, Brendan Fraser, Moira Kelly

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joe Pesci	...	Simon Wilder
Brendan Fraser	...	Montgomery 'Monty' Kessler
Moira Kelly	...	Courtney Blumenthal
Patrick Dempsey	...	Everett Calloway
Josh Hamilton	...	Jeffrey Hawks
Gore Vidal	...	Prof. Pitkannan
Deborah Lake Fortson	...	Homeless Woman
Marshall Hambro	...	Chuck, Security Guard
Melinda Chilton	...	Helga
Harve Kolzow	...	Harvard Cop
James Deuter	...	Judge
Caroline Gibson	...	Donation Student
M. Lynda Robinson	...	Newspaper Purchaser #1
Richard Auguste	...	Newspaper Purchaser #2
Patricia B. Butcher	...	Librarian

Storyline

Monty is a student, and when his computer crashes, he's left with only a single paper copy of his thesis. Frightened of losing it, he immediately rushes out to photocopy it, only to stumble and drop it down a grate. Searching the basement of the building, he discovers that it has been found by Simon, a squatter. Simon makes a deal with Monty: for every day's accomodation and food that Monty gives him, he will give a page of the thesis in return.

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Plot Keywords:

thesis | harvard | homeless man | terminal illness | law school | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language and brief sensuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 April 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Con honores

Filming Locations:

Boston Athenaeum - 10½ Beacon Street, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$20,043,254 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Spring Creek Productions, Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Claudia Haro, who plays Marty (the girl who asks Simon to dance at the party), was actually married to Joe Pesci.

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Goofs

After Simon is evicted from the library basement, Monty says he needs a home. Simon replies that he had a home, "with 17 bathrooms and 8 miles of books". Since he is penniless, presumably he is referring to the library he left. But Harvard's Widener Library has nearly 60 miles of books, not 8.

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Quotes

Simon Wilder: Yes I'm a bum. But I'm a Harvard bum.

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Connections

Featured in The 52nd Annual Golden Globe Awards (1995)

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Soundtracks

"Blue Skies"
Written by Irving Berlin
Performed by Lyle Lovett
Courtesy of Curb Music Company and MCA Records

User Reviews

Pesci gives a great performance

Joe Pesci brings the best out of this film. The plot is OK, but Pesci, as the eccentric (yet downtrodden) bum Simon Wilder, keeps it together. He is funny, heartwarming and good at what he does- and that is acting. Brendan Frasier is also good as the college harvard who find Simon and makes the plot go around. Usually funny, usually sad, OK in my book (if I have such a book). A