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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.

This film is a very nice one. There are a few reasons for that. Danny de Vito (playing Bill Rago) is great and plays his role very enthusiast. De Vito's best scene is the one where he is in the office where he's going for a job. He totally does NOT want to be there because he's ashamed of being there. When he gets a teaching job offered, the look on his face,when he finds out he is supposed to teach soldiers in the army, is marvelous. All the other actors are playing (very) good, especially Gregory Hines as drill-instructor who wants Bill Rago gone. The few scenes Hines and De Vito share together are no less than hilarious, that's for sure.

The story is not as strong as the (sometimes) brilliant acting from the whole cast. To be honest, the story of Jim Burnstein is predictable and boring. Not only is the ending something you know 30 minutes before it's there, also the most important lines of the story are predictable and because of that boring. I can't spoil the movie, but let me tell you: For this film, Jim Burnstein wanted all happy things and endings, even when it's not appropriate.

If you have read Willliam Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' (a brilliant book, if I may say so) you'll enjoy this film a lot more.

If you like this motion picture you should also see 'Dead Poets Society' with Robin Williams.

Unless life has kicked you in the nuts as an adult a few times, then you may not appreciate the thought and point that has gone into this little masterpiece.

This movie is about how a self serving man (typical adman in NYC) working in a self serving profession (advertising), learns to be unselfish by serving others. He does this first because he has to (get a job because the Government is stopping your welfare), but after a bit of experience, he does it because he wants to.

Yep, it's that simple, but makes some very true and adult points. Devito's character isn't seen to have kids, isn't seen to have a wife, or anything happy in his life at all except an expensive apartment, but the expensive apartment doesn't apparently give him any contentment either.

I for one would be interested in seeing a sequel because i would like to see if the main character reverted to type if he got a job in advertising in say, Nunchuck South Dakota, or did he end up as teacher in a prestigious East Coast finishing school. Yay, let's all throw our hats in the air!

The older I get the more I realize how this movie is a little cheesy, But if you really like a feel good movie you can't go wrong with this one. Danny Devito did a wonderful job playing a teacher in the army.(a job he didn't ask for and is not looking forward to)He is brought in to teach these kids that everyone thinks are stupid. Every one of the characters left an impression in my mind. They all did a wonderful job at playing their roles.Each one of the student's are different and everyone knows someone in real life like each one of them. It is a little like dead poet's society but with more comedy and a more "happy good feeling" I am always in a GREAT mood at the end of this movie!

"The choices you make dictate the life you lead. "To thine own self be true."

I remember first time I had watched Renaissance Man. I was twelve years old, I knew somewhat about the military, Shakespeare, and illiteracy so even though I was a little to dumb to understand what the movie was about it did peak my interest enough to revisit it a numerous amount of times since. I have to say this is Penny Marshal's most underrated film.

Bill Rago (Danny Devito) is a recently fired and divorced advertising agent who is given a job at a nearby Army Base by an unemployment agency. Rago, with no teaching degree and not wanting to be there, must find a way to help eight underachieving army recruits pass basic training. When the students become interested in a play Rago is reading he soon begins to explain why Hamlet is the greatest thing every written.

As each of the eight students become interested in Hamlet, Mr. Rago becomes interested in them, helping the students become ideal candidates. Before the remaining students can graduate though they must pass Mr. Rago's test if they choose to take it. In the end Mr. Rago finds love and respect from his students, the drill instructors, his daughter and even a new woman.

Although Renaissance Man is not a popular film I guarantee you it is a better and more dramatic film then those that followed (Major Payne, Sgt. Bilko). Danny Devito can do no wrong, this isn't the best character he's played but he certainly outshines the rest of the cast which includes Gregory Hines, James Remar, Stacey Dash, Kadeem Hardison and Marky Mark (Mark Wahlberg). The movie is wonderfully written by Jim Burnstein who's only other notable writing credit includes D3: The Mighty Ducks.

If you're in the mood to revisit a classic do yourself a favor and make it RENAISSANCE MAN. Trust me you'll like it.