With Honors

Starring: Joe Pesci, Brendan Fraser, Moira Kelly, Patrick Dempsey, Josh Hamilton
Directed by: Alek Keshishian
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Drama
1994

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A tightly wound up Harvard student (Brendan Fraser) finds himself in a horrible situation when a very intelligent homeless man (Joe Pesci) finds his lost thesis and will only return one page at a time in return for a favor. With the deadline fast approaching, the two men locked in this struggle may learn a great deal from each other.

Review:

Tim: With Honors is a much more touching film than you would think it is. There are geniune moments of emotion here that you will get caught up in. The success of this film depends solely on the performance of Joe Pesci.

Pesci gives a great (albeit somewhat overrated) performance. It is up to him to keep us entertained and to evoke the strongest emotions from us. He fulfills tthis obligation. Brendan Fraser is decent at best. His best scenes are all in his interactions with Pesci. The two do exude a good deal of chemistry together. They are not incredible together on screen, but they get the job done.

The plot is pretty absurd, in that a bum could truly relate to a group of brilliant Harvard students, but the film has so many good life lessons that it doesn't really matter that none of this would ever happen in real life. We've all heard of stories and seen movies of two completely opposite people connecting, but the storyline still seems forced and unbelievable.

With Honors is a touching film, but in the scope of all movies, it would only pass with a B or a B-. It wouldn't quite graduate with honors.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Good Will Hunting, Searching for Bobby Fischer, My Cousin Vinny, Home Alone