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Renaissance Man

Play trailer 0:31 Poster for Renaissance Man PG-13 Released Jun 3, 1994 2h 9m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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12% Tomatometer 25 Reviews 53% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
After getting canned from his advertising job, down-and-out divorcé Bill Rago (Danny DeVito) gets a gig teaching English at a nearby army base. There, he takes on a group of underachieving students from poor backgrounds who seem apathetic about their education. Bill becomes frustrated, but finally turns the class around when he begins discussing "Hamlet." However, Sgt. Cass (Gregory Hines), a hardened drill instructor, is skeptical of Bill's teaching methods.
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Renaissance Man

Renaissance Man

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Critics Consensus

Renaissance Man tries to simultaneously be a literary comedy, an inspirational drama, and a star vehicle that caters to Danny DeVito's strengths, but proves to be a master of none.

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Critics Reviews

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Peter Rainer Los Angeles Times There's a fine line between delighting an audience and pandering to it. "Renaissance Man" leapfrogs across the line. Dec 4, 2018 Full Review Kim Newman Empire Magazine This is a feel good movie which is too mechanically put together to make you feel anything. Rated: 2/5 Dec 4, 2018 Full Review Tom Charity Time Out In essence, a painfully earnest sit-com. Dec 4, 2018 Full Review Robert Roten Laramie Movie Scope Rated: 2/5 Mar 19, 2006 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 1/5 Jul 3, 2005 Full Review Caffeinated Clint Film Threat Rated: 2/5 May 6, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member This movie is just a feel good movie. Escape for an hour and a half and have a laugh. It's not trying to be anything special and for that fact it works. Easy to follow story and easy to understand characters. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/24/24 Full Review Enigma N I don't understand the low audience score for this movie. There are many parts of this movie I can relate too.. I don't always like Devito, but I think he was a good casting choice in this film. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 05/02/24 Full Review Test T I watched this on DVD recently. It was released in 1994 in 4:3 aspect ratio, and the image quality was not as good as I had expected. That said, I found the film easy to watch, thanks mainly to Danny Devito's likeable screen presence, and the film's positive outlook. The story is not bad either, but I'm no fan of Shakespeare, and would have preferred a different topic of study. The goings on at the army base provide plenty of scenes away from the classroom which make the film more entertaining. I think the critic's reviews are too harsh, and I would recommend it for what it is, rather than criticise it for what it's not. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 12/06/23 Full Review Daniel F Always loved this movie. One of those hidden gems of the 90s. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 06/23/23 Full Review Vicki H Great movie! Renaissance Man is a terrific uplifting movie that in the end will hit you right in the feels. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/01/23 Full Review Audience Member Anybody who hates this movie is too pretentious to be helped. This movie has so many of the elements that made the 90's such a memorable decade for movies....particularly the feel-good family genre. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/12/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis After getting canned from his advertising job, down-and-out divorcé Bill Rago (Danny DeVito) gets a gig teaching English at a nearby army base. There, he takes on a group of underachieving students from poor backgrounds who seem apathetic about their education. Bill becomes frustrated, but finally turns the class around when he begins discussing "Hamlet." However, Sgt. Cass (Gregory Hines), a hardened drill instructor, is skeptical of Bill's teaching methods.
Director
Penny Marshall
Producer
Elliot Abbott, Sara Colleton, Robert Greenhut, Andrew G. Vajna
Screenwriter
Jim Burnstein
Distributor
Abril Vídeo, Buena Vista Pictures
Production Co
Touchstone Pictures, Parkway Productions
Rating
PG-13
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jun 3, 1994, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 2, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$24.2M
Runtime
2h 9m
Sound Mix
Dolby SR, Surround, Stereo
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