I saw Renaissance Man a couple of days ago for the first time in years...I enjoyed it the first time I saw it back in '94, I enjoyed it the last time I watched it, and I enjoyed it again now. For me, this is a timeless comedy and no doubt I will still enjoy it 10 years from now.
I usually find myself rolling my eyes when I read some reviews saying that this film isn't "realistic" or that the classes the Double D's attend wouldn't exist because there would be no spare time due to all their training. I guess these people missed the explanation on how the classes came to be not long into the film. I think people really need to get a grip. This isn't a Documentary...this is a fictional comedy (and an enjoyable one at that) and it should be enjoyed as that.
Regardless of what certain people think of it, the story is actually quite a credible one...it's pretty well written, excellently acted out, and is definitely a feel-good story too. Is it a wee bit predictable? Yes, but then again who cares? A comedy doesn't have to have toilet humour, drunken idiots, or be full of 20-somethings playing annoying teenies to be enjoyable, and thankfully Renaissance Man doesn't have any of those.
All of the cast do a great job, especially Danny DeVito as Bill Rago. Everything was done with convincing conviction, and he made Shakespeare interesting. Honestly, if I had an English teacher like Rago when I was at school, then I might have enjoyed Shakespeare a lot more than what I did. Gregory Sporleder was enjoyable as Pvt. Melvyn, Lillo Brancato done a decent job as Pvt. Benitez (especially with all of his Jake La Motta impressions), and I actually think this is one of the few films where Mark Wahlberg didn't come across as being as wooden as Pinocchio either. Round all of this off with some great songs for the soundtrack (especially the Double D rap and end credit tune) and you have yourself a very enjoyable film to watch.
It's just a pity all comedies aren't as enjoyable as this.
I usually find myself rolling my eyes when I read some reviews saying that this film isn't "realistic" or that the classes the Double D's attend wouldn't exist because there would be no spare time due to all their training. I guess these people missed the explanation on how the classes came to be not long into the film. I think people really need to get a grip. This isn't a Documentary...this is a fictional comedy (and an enjoyable one at that) and it should be enjoyed as that.
Regardless of what certain people think of it, the story is actually quite a credible one...it's pretty well written, excellently acted out, and is definitely a feel-good story too. Is it a wee bit predictable? Yes, but then again who cares? A comedy doesn't have to have toilet humour, drunken idiots, or be full of 20-somethings playing annoying teenies to be enjoyable, and thankfully Renaissance Man doesn't have any of those.
All of the cast do a great job, especially Danny DeVito as Bill Rago. Everything was done with convincing conviction, and he made Shakespeare interesting. Honestly, if I had an English teacher like Rago when I was at school, then I might have enjoyed Shakespeare a lot more than what I did. Gregory Sporleder was enjoyable as Pvt. Melvyn, Lillo Brancato done a decent job as Pvt. Benitez (especially with all of his Jake La Motta impressions), and I actually think this is one of the few films where Mark Wahlberg didn't come across as being as wooden as Pinocchio either. Round all of this off with some great songs for the soundtrack (especially the Double D rap and end credit tune) and you have yourself a very enjoyable film to watch.
It's just a pity all comedies aren't as enjoyable as this.