Avec les félicitations du jury

I saw this film when it first came out and as it turned out I saw it with someone who spent a few stretches of his life homeless. The late David T. Frank was most moved by the film and I take that as the highest possible accolade.

In a day and age when so few of us put anything aside as a cushion against hard times, lots of people are one paycheck away from being as homeless as Joe Pesci was here. Others like Pesci, have a debilitating illness and there's no place for them. The saddest of all are some of those with mental illnesses who are surviving on medication to keep psychoses under control.

Brendan Fraser is a Harvard undergraduate who is writing his senior thesis when his computer crashes, leaving him with only one printed out copy. I've had the experience of losing valuable files when the hard drive I'm writing this review crashed, so I know exactly where he was coming from.

Topping that off he loses that copy to Joe Pesci who's made himself a makeshift shelter in the boiler room of the Harvard library. Fraser finds Pesci throwing his thesis page by page into the boiler for some heat.

Pesci's got him by the short hairs and they make an incredible bargain. He'll give Fraser back his thesis page by page for favors done. Incredibly he accepts the deal.

More incredibly the two of them form a unique bond and Pesci goes to live with Fraser and his roommates, Moira Kelly, Patrick Dempsey and Josh Hamilton. Of the group of them I really enjoyed Hamilton's portrayal of the uptight pre-med student.

The four Harvard kids learn a whole lot about life and what's really important in it. And I think they all will graduate life with honors.

This review is respectfully dedicated to David T. Frank who checked out of life way too soon. Brendan, Joe, and the rest of the cast, this film deeply moved him, good job folks.

With Honors (1994)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Brendan Fraser plays Monty, a Harvard student who believes that his thesis is going to send him into the perfect life with the perfect job. The only problem is that the papers fall into the hands of a homeless man named Simon (Joe Pesci) who plans on using them to get things that he needs.

WITH HONORS was released to some really horrible reviews and I still remember going to see it on its opening weekend and leaving the theater wondering what everyone had missed. The film took a real beating from critics and it didn't do too well at the box office but for my money it was one of the better movies released that year. Is it a masterpiece? Of course not but it's certainly a very good, heart-warming and funny picture.

One thing that the film deserves credit for is taking a serious look at being homeless. This includes how someone can become homeless and then it talks about the various issues that happens because of it. I thought the film was very intelligent when it came to the subject matter and unlike so many other movies this one here at least had something to say on its subject.

The best thing about the movie were the performances with Pesci leading the way in a very good role. Pesci was on a hot streak during this era as he was coming off the box office hit of HOME ALONE as well as an Oscar-win for GOODFELASS. He really makes a memorable character here as he can handle the drama and the laughs without any problem. Fraser is also very believable in his role and we get some nice support from Moira Kelly, Josh Hamilton and Patrick Dempsey.

The film certainly does a very good job at mixing the laughs with the drama and to me WITH HONORS remains a film that never got its due.

I´m one of those people who knows what to expect from a movie and the best part of it is that you can be surprised.

"With Honors" is certainly one of my favorite little movies so far. There are times when one gets tired from blockbuster-movies and cars blowing up and heros and spies and guns and the all-so-great 'wipe out the world ploy' (yes, I am quoting The Mummy Returns). I stopped by Blockbuster and decided I´d watch old movies and simple ones, so I got what I wanted but it was more than satisfying.

I love Joe Pesci and as surreal and unreal as his bum version was, you can´t help loving the guy. There was something very ´common place´ (the poor but incredibly wise man that is) about it, but the movie has it´s merits.

I knew Brendan Fraser could kick ass and look hot but I was pleased to see him act. The guy´s good and his character was really captivating, which gets the movie going.

There is a lesson coming from the movie, but it´s not one that will make you want roll your eyes (although it´s perfectly acceptable).

I watched it twice, and I´d watch it again.

I don't know why this movie is classified under "comedy"... It's one of the most serious and thoughtful movies I've seen in a while. The plot twists were unpredictable, for me at least, and although it didn't have a "happy" ending, it was very well done.

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