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DVD Renaissance Man
Penny Marshall directed this well-intentioned drama-comedy about a middle-aged advertising executive (Danny DeVito) whose heart has never been in his work. Fired for incompetence, DeVito's character is on the skids; but then comes an unusual job offer: Teach a bunch of boot-camp army recruits to read and think. The first-time teacher leads the uniformed men and women to an appreciation of Shakespeare, but he still has to grapple with his own problems with commitment and responsibility. Watching this film is like staring at a pool of broken eggs that never quite becomes an omelet. The story's promise is always there, but the satisfaction never quite comes. Still, there are some nice moments, and the whole thing works better on video than it did in the theaters. --Tom Keogh
This is one of my faith movies. The faith movies fall into 2 scenarios. One where I watch it on faith that it will be a good movie, and then there's the other scenario where it strikes a chord in my heart, and makes me wake up and listen. The day I saw this movie my heart and faith were in the toilet. I remember feeling sorry for myself, and yet at the same time I remember walking through EPCOT flipping the bird at everyone as I wanted to pick a fight because I was feeling that downhearted. The characters of this movie were all out of faith too:
Bill Rago: Divorced ad artist who lost the biggest account, and his job in one day; is regulated to take a job as a teacher in guess where? The U.S. Army.
Jackson Leroy: Former college football superstar who after a serious injury to his knee had to give up his dream, and make a living for his wife, and soon to be child. Fortunately, he had a good wife to keep him going as his education was limited.
Tommy Lee Haywood: His bubble was burst when the paper mill where he worked was shut down, and with no real college education he was stuck in a trailer.
Miranda Myers : Had a mother who more or less needed a man, and it didn't matter to her whether she needed a daughter, or not.
Melvin Melvin: This is a real name. Tendency to fall asleep as he was the victim of physical abuse growing up.
Brian Davis: Didn't have a father growing up, and that made him feel incomplete as he knew his father was over in Veitnam, but didn't know all the details of how he died.
Donald Benetiz: Wisecracking New Yorker who just didn't seem to have any ambition...especially after the tragic death of his sister.
Jamal Montgomery: Thoroughly undisciplined and arrogant as it seems as though his parents just turned him over to the wolves.
Roosevelt(Nathanial)Hobbs: Quiet unassuming guy, and that's the way he wanted it kept as he was looking for salvation from his past.
Rago is in charge of trying to help all these recruits survive boot camp as they are physically, mentally, and emotionally challenged. This is actually based on a true story where Rago the teacher gets them to succeed academically, and physically, and emotionally by having them read the Shakesphere play "Hamlet". He begins to see some fruit from this that no other person could probably see, and so are the recruits as they've discovered talents they never knew that they had. This movie is not your average comedy, nor your average drama for that matter, but it will grab you somehow even if you don't like it. If it doesn't it's up to you.
This band of brothers
Bill Rego (Danny DeVito) had it all from being a successful father (maybe a tad self-centered) and advertising businessman. Now he is divorced and out of a job. He gets a job opportunity to use his skills to teach or bring a hand full of marginal soldiers up to military material. The soldiers of course are from all walks of life and bring with them different backgrounds and emotional luggage. He must learn how to do help each one accomplish the goal. He settles on Shakespeare as the learning tool as he is familiar with the material.
Will he succeed?
Does he learn anything in the process?
What effect does this have on the instructors he works with?
Do we come away with anything of worth?
There are many teaching "the unruly" movies out there and there will be many more. This one has a little more depth in also teaching the teacher. It is not some great unknown insight but a gradual awareness that benefits all involved. If you are planning on a pure comedy this may not be the film you are looking for as it has many comic moments yet has a message that supersedes those moments.
I Love this Movie!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love this movie. All of the great actors and actresses that are in this movie are incredible. I can't get enough of this movie. I watch it almost everyday. This movie is a classic. This movie is to me as The Godfather is to guys. That's how much I love this movie.
Kelsey Grammer stars as the captain of a rust-bucket submarine who is fighting for his career by proving his skills in a contest against far more sophisticated ships. Rob Schneider provides comic support as an uptight ensign, and Lauren Holly plays an officer who has to fight her own will-they-accept-me-because-I'm-a-woman anxieties. The film didn't do well at the box office, but it is actually pretty funny, Grammer is enjoyable, and the above-the-water/below-the-water action sequences are as good as any in most submarine films. --Tom KeoghMore Info about this DVD Director(s): David S. Ward DVD Release Date: Released the 03 February 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Martin Sheen's 1991 directorial debut features Sheen as the disturbed head of a military stockade where the prisoners include a troublemaking Army misfit played by his son Charlie. Private Bean (Charlie Sheen) is thrown into the stockade with a group of five blacks calling themselves the Soul Patrol, and gradually learns teamwork from the men, including their leader Stokes (Laurence Fishburne). Eventually the tug of war between Bean and the bigoted commander reaches a boiling point with tragic conclusions, and Bean learns the meaning of compassion and the difference between right and wrong. The film is nothing particularly inspiring or insightful, but the supporting players, including Fishburne, give solid performances, and Cadence affords the audience a chance to see the father... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Martin Sheen - Charlie Sheen Director(s): Martin Sheen DVD Release Date: Released the 19 December 2000 Usually ships in 24 hours
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First, off, if it has Pauly Shore it is pretty much guaranteed to be funny. In this comedy, Pauly Shore and his buddy sign up to be in the reserves because they need the money, little does he know when he picks their area of expertise, water clarifacation, that it is something that will actually be needed and they get called into active duty. Watch this movie! More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Pauly Shore - Lori Petty Director(s): Daniel Petrie Jr. DVD Release Date: Released the 03 February 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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This "To Ma'am with Love" is much more an escapist popcorn movie than the inner-city document its marketing suggested. Michelle Pfeiffer plays real-life former Marine Louanne Johnson, a high school English teacher who meets resistance from kids and administration alike at a tough urban school in Northern California. Pfeiffer is good, and her character's overall development even survives various post-production story cuts. (A romance with Andy Garcia's character was completely eliminated before release; Garcia is nowhere in sight.) The actors who play Johnson's students are also fine, and the whole film becomes the latest in a long tradition of sentimental movies about teachers who change the lives of kids. --Tom KeoghMore Info about this DVD Actor(s): Michelle Pfeiffer - George Dzundza Director(s): John N. Smith DVD Release Date: Released the 13 July 1999 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Let's face facts here: You don't watch a movie like Major Payne for its artistic merit any more than you'd watch Schindler's List for its comedy. If you go in thinking otherwise, you're bucking for a disappointment. So it's a pleasant surprise to discover that Major Payne is more entertaining than a barrel full of bad reviews would lead you to believe. It's a totally formulaic comedy about a bunch of misfit kids who turn into a crack squad of skillfully disciplined ROTC cadets, but Damon Wayans is spot-on hilarious in the title role as the hardened military bulldog who whips the little slackers into shape. Wayans plays the role as if killing and warfare were the only joys in life, and when he finds himself cast adrift without a military commission, a scene that... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Damon Wayans Director(s): Nick Castle DVD Release Date: Released the 05 January 1999 Usually ships in 24 hours
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