Renaissance Man (1994)

Photo source: What's Up Life

Directed by	Penny Marshall
Starring	Danny DeVito, Gregory Hines, James Remar, Cliff Robertson
Music by	Hans Zimmer

Short Story:
Bill Rago (Danny DeVito) is a brilliant, but arrogant, divorced advertising professional who suddenly finds himself unemployed (gets stuck in traffic, can’t make his pitch to a potential client and consequently loses his job). After a while, the unemployment agency finds him a temporary job at a US army base: he needs to teach a group of underachieving soldiers (the “Double D’s – dumb as dogs**t);the fundamentals of English language and comprehension so that they can pass basic training.

In the beginning, Bill feels nothing, but contempt for these soldiers and the feeling is mutual, but as the story unfolds, with a little help from Shakespeare’s Hamlet they all learn to respect themselves and each other. What’s more, they learn to set their aspirations high and become the best men they can be.

There are two other sidelines to the story: While teaching the soldiers, Bill finally understands that family and friendship are more important than a hi-flying job and as a result, he manages to fix his relationship with his estranged teenage daughter. The training officer, Sergeant Cass is openly hostile towards Bill since believes that teaching a bunch of misfits even the most basic comprehension is an utter waste of his and the soldiers’ time. Obviously, he is proven wrong as both Bill and the soldiers raise up to the challenge.

Verdict:
Although it flopped at the box office and received quite a few bad reviews, Renaissance Man is one of those timeless feel-good movies that make you laugh out loud, teach you some great life lessons and provide a few memorable quotes. 

Favourite quotes:

Bill Rago at the unemployment office, when asked what jobs he would be willing to do: “’If you give me a check, I’ll be willing to cash it!”

Bill Rago: “Hi. I'm Bill Rago. I've never taught before and you've never thought before. So good luck to all of us.”

Bill Rago: “All I know is, the choices we make dictate the life we lead. “

Soldiers: [chanting] “Hamlet's mother, she's the queen / Buys it in the final scene / Drinks a glass of funky wine / Now she's Satan's Valentine.”

Private Miranda Myers: “I'd rather be a Double D than a swinger from the ugly tree, you fat pig.”