Renaissance Man (1994)

A failed businessman is hired by the army to teach a group of underachieving recruits in order to help them pass basic training.

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 | basic training | u.s. army | unemployment | teacher student relationship | 

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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)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,557,590, 5 June 1994, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$24,332,324

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

Scenes of the fictional "Fort McClane, Michigan" were filmed at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Landmarks, the post's motto "Victory Starts Here", and the distinctive unit insignia of Fort Jackson, all reveal the true identity of the base.

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Goofs

Near the end of the movie, Sergeant Cass is marching a new bunch of recruits, and the group of men are supposed to be singing the "Hamlet" cadence. However, although we can hear them, none of the men's lips are moving.

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Quotes

[Rago tells Leroy about Leon Battista Alberti, the archetypal "Renaissance Man."]
Bill Rago: But you know what I remember most about him?
Pvt. Jackson Leroy: No.
Bill Rago: They said that he could stand, with his feet together like this, and spring straight over a man's head.
Pvt. Jackson Leroy: [laughs] Really?
Bill Rago: If Leon Battista Alberti couldn't have done that, I wouldn't have remembered a thing about him.
Pvt. Jackson Leroy: So, wait... he was sort of like a smart jock, wasn't he?
Bill Rago: That's right.
Pvt. Jackson Leroy: Now there's an oxymoron, isn't it?
Bill Rago: You got it.

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Connections

References Raging Bull (1980)

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Soundtracks

ACHY BREAKY HEART
Written by Don Von Tress

User Reviews

Truly nice, for the heartwarmer crowd

Army recruits categorized as, shall we say, neither the best nor brightest, but they somehow get turned on when reluctant teacher DeVito reads Shakespeare's Hamlet to them and it hits a chord. The high point of the film is reached when one of those recites on command his "irrelevant" Shakespeare on a rainy night's drill to Sergeant Gregory Hines and finds in his memory from "Henry V" (with lead-in not at hand) "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers. For he today that sheds his blood with me, Shall be my brother." This is a truly nice movie, about heroes but not about touting war. At a later point, my usually stoic wife shed some tears. Danny De Vito is surprising to me. He generally leaps over my expectations, no matter how far I raise them up.