Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.

Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

MamaGravity good back-story, and good acting

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Robert J. Maxwell The director, Penny Marshall, belongs to a group that includes Ron Howard and Rob Reiner. They reliably produce family movies that are commercial in that they're emotionally satisfying, politically correct, show little or no smoking, and are without special challenge. Their products are to movies as Time Magazine is to news. That doesn't necessarily mean they're poor movies. You want basic news in a familiar format, you read Time Magazine.In this case, poor Danny DeVito is an award-winning advertising man who loses his job and takes the only alternative -- teaching on an army base to a dozen soldiers who are marginal and need to be taught to think.The diverse students are scornful, having been ordered to attend the class. DeVito feels hopeless. But, bit by bit, both DeVito and the class come around to mutually relish the bond they've formed. On top of that, DeVito, who marched against the Vietnam war, accommodates himself to the army, and the students learn the difference between a simile and a metaphor.It has its funny moments -- DeVito stranded on top of a tall tower -- but the underlying theme is a serious one. That's how you make a commercial movie that the whole family will enjoy. It's not an insult to the intelligence, not an orgy of blood, not based on a comic strip or a cartoon character, and it has a happy ending. The ending is predictable because it's part of a friendly formula: mismatched teacher and class who learn from each other, as in "The Blackboard Jungle," "The Private War of Major Benson," or "To Sir, With Love." The reason it's part of a formula is that it's been proved to work.On the whole, the students may be ignorant, in the sense of not knowing much about high culture or grammar. They may not be able to write twelve-tone music, but they're not stupid, in the sense of being unable to learn quickly. I taught night school at Camp Lejeune and the Marines were as bright as any, and a few were very quick on their mental feet indeed.

merryclingen-937-113874 I recently saw Renaissance Man for the first time and loved it! I am a big fan of Penny Marshall's films and wish she would direct more often. She has a wonderful vision that can only come from a woman, yet the films are not specifically feminist. She just seems to direct from her heart and let the chips fall where they may. Her movies make me laugh, cry and cheer like a modern day Frank Capra, with a more realistic eye. Renaissance Man casts Danny DeVito as a curmudgeonly "Mary Poppins" who shows up at a military base, and changes lives with a "Spoonful of Shakespeare." Danny DeVito gives a wonderful performance as an unemployed advertising executive who winds up teaching army recruits English. He soon discovers they can relate to Shakespeare through Hamlet, and eventually takes them to see a performance of Henry V. A very moving moment takes place when a recruit recites the "Band of Brothers/Saint Crispin's Day speech to his Sargent. I recommend this film to both men and women, even if they usually don't care for military films.

rnieland This is one of those movies that, while not a blockbuster, is well-written and executed adequately. The story is a fine example of instilling a sense of self-confidence in a group of people that have grown up thinking they were deficient in some way, only to discover that they have the same abilities as everyone else. It's not the sort of movie I'd go see in a theater, but is one that I like to watch from time to time. The 8 ranking is exclusively for the concept, and surely not for the acting. Danny DeVito is clearly the best portrayed character in that regard, however. Gregory Hines gives his character an extreme over-the-top feel that is more accurately associated with Marine Corps Drill Instructors than Army Drill Sergeants. It doesn't work very well with the more laid-back atmosphere of Army training.

gerard6656 This is a feel good movie, not very deep BUT well conceived, written and acted. DeVito is excellent as a failing marketing man being transformed into a thoughtful, caring army educator. As important is the film's excellent presentation and discussion of the works of Shakespeare.No surprise, DeVito's self centered abrasiveness meets with antipathy. Army officers don't care. Convinced of their own worthlessness, DeVito's students are disinterested, at best. During the semester, DeVito, mellows, students learn enough to advance,and Army brass begins to appreciates the new teacher.The best part of this film is not DeVito's or the student's redemption but the film's beguiling Shakespeare presentation. DeVito teaches the Bard with passion. The writers deliver illuminating, focused student dialog. As one who didn't "get" Shakespeare until seeing MacBeth a year after graduation. This movie was a better class than anything I took in high school or college.Enjoy the film and the class.