IMDb RATING
6.2/10
20K
YOUR RATING
A failed businessman is hired by the army to teach a group of underachieving recruits in order to help them pass basic training.A failed businessman is hired by the army to teach a group of underachieving recruits in order to help them pass basic training.A failed businessman is hired by the army to teach a group of underachieving recruits in order to help them pass basic training.
Lillo Brancato
- Pvt. Donnie Benitez
- (as Lillo Brancato Jr.)
Gregory Sporleder
- Pvt. Melvin
- (as Greg Sporleder)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
I've been in love with this movie since I was a kid the witty humor to the Underdog Story just a great overall movie Danny DeVito at his funniest with a very young Mark Wahlberg
I love this movie. I first saw it when I was about eight, and it inspired me to read Shakespeare. Of course, because of my age, I was unable to understand HAMLET, but I thought I would just mention it. This movie is a great portrayl of how a formerly selfish man changed himself and his students through Shakespeare. This movie is deep, but it's also very funny and entertaining. There are some great, brilliant moments in here, especially when DeVito says, "All I know is, the choices you make dictate the life you lead. To thine own self be true. " There is also an excellent scene where one of the students recites Shakespeare for Hines, the drill sergeant. This is a fantastic movie that I absolutely loved, as did my English teacher. I highly recommend it. Of course, if you only find Bruce Willis movies entertaining, this movie is not for you.
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!
What a polarity of opinions on this one! It's either love it or hate it time. Put me definitely in the camp of this movie's admirers and supporters. I noticed that many of this film's fans were from all over: Texas, Canada, Scotland, Brooklyn, Australia, and Paris! Many noticed the similarity to Dead Poets Society as did I. Other movies it could be compared to are Mr. Holland's Opus and Konrack, and the more recent French film, The Chorus, movies in which other teachers too are celebrated for enriching the lives and spirits of their students. I think your Parisian correspondent sums it up the best: to see fine art working its way into the psyches of those previously unaware of it and to see people growing in spirit as a result of their exposure to and interactivity with it: that's what makes this story such a treat and an inspiration. It's what makes being a teacher worthwhile and justified. It moved and touched me. I had a personal connection to this movie's plot line as well: I knew a teacher who used to go into inner city schools and also taught the kids Shakespeare, especially the old-fashioned swear words the author used in the plays! Quite successfully too. Also, I grew up in Detroit so I appreciated the opening of the film set on familiar streets of the Motor City. A beautiful and touching film. None of the film's critics or supporters commented on the plot line in which the teacher recovered the true history of his recruit's father's unrecognized heroism. That was beautiful too. Go see this film and be inspired.
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.
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.
Did you know
- TriviaAccording to Penny Marshall's memoir "My Mother Was Nuts", the part of Sergeant Cass was originally offered to Ving Rhames. He turned it down, as a friend (Quentin Tarantino) had written a part for him specifically in Pulp Fiction. When he turned the role down, it was offered to Gregory Hines. Penny Marshall's only concern was that Gregory Hines was too nice. Even when he was yelling at the troops, he came off as nice.
- GoofsNear 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.
- SoundtracksCantaloop (Flip Fantasia)
Performed by Us3
Written by Mel Simpson, Geoff Wilkinson, Rahsaan Kelly and Herbie Hancock
Courtesy of Blue Note Records, a division of Capitol Records, Inc.
Under license from CEMA Special Markets
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Renaissance Man
- Filming locations
- Fort Jackson, Columbia, South Carolina, USA(Training Scenes)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $40,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $24,332,324
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $5,557,590
- Jun 5, 1994
- Gross worldwide
- $24,332,324
- Runtime2 hours 8 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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