User Reviews

I saw this film when it first came out and as it turned out I saw it with someone who spent a few stretches of his life homeless. The late David T. Frank was most moved by the film and I take that as the highest possible accolade.

In a day and age when so few of us put anything aside as a cushion against hard times, lots of people are one paycheck away from being as homeless as Joe Pesci was here. Others like Pesci, have a debilitating illness and there's no place for them. The saddest of all are some of those with mental illnesses who are surviving on medication to keep psychoses under control.

Brendan Fraser is a Harvard undergraduate who is writing his senior thesis when his computer crashes, leaving him with only one printed out copy. I've had the experience of losing valuable files when the hard drive I'm writing this review crashed, so I know exactly where he was coming from.

Topping that off he loses that copy to Joe Pesci who's made himself a makeshift shelter in the boiler room of the Harvard library. Fraser finds Pesci throwing his thesis page by page into the boiler for some heat.

Pesci's got him by the short hairs and they make an incredible bargain. He'll give Fraser back his thesis page by page for favors done. Incredibly he accepts the deal.

More incredibly the two of them form a unique bond and Pesci goes to live with Fraser and his roommates, Moira Kelly, Patrick Dempsey and Josh Hamilton. Of the group of them I really enjoyed Hamilton's portrayal of the uptight pre-med student.

The four Harvard kids learn a whole lot about life and what's really important in it. And I think they all will graduate life with honors.

This review is respectfully dedicated to David T. Frank who checked out of life way too soon. Brendan, Joe, and the rest of the cast, this film deeply moved him, good job folks.

Joe Pesci brings the best out of this film. The plot is OK, but Pesci, as the eccentric (yet downtrodden) bum Simon Wilder, keeps it together. He is funny, heartwarming and good at what he does- and that is acting. Brendan Frasier is also good as the college harvard who find Simon and makes the plot go around. Usually funny, usually sad, OK in my book (if I have such a book). A

So i caught this movie in the store and thought I'd give it a go because of Joe Pesci and Brendan Frasier. It's a very rewarding movie about life, and how sometimes we need to step back and see that we're all human. I'll definatly have to commend Brendan on his acting, a great job, and he's won new respect. Heartwarming film.

With Honors (1994)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Brendan Fraser plays Monty, a Harvard student who believes that his thesis is going to send him into the perfect life with the perfect job. The only problem is that the papers fall into the hands of a homeless man named Simon (Joe Pesci) who plans on using them to get things that he needs.

WITH HONORS was released to some really horrible reviews and I still remember going to see it on its opening weekend and leaving the theater wondering what everyone had missed. The film took a real beating from critics and it didn't do too well at the box office but for my money it was one of the better movies released that year. Is it a masterpiece? Of course not but it's certainly a very good, heart-warming and funny picture.

One thing that the film deserves credit for is taking a serious look at being homeless. This includes how someone can become homeless and then it talks about the various issues that happens because of it. I thought the film was very intelligent when it came to the subject matter and unlike so many other movies this one here at least had something to say on its subject.

The best thing about the movie were the performances with Pesci leading the way in a very good role. Pesci was on a hot streak during this era as he was coming off the box office hit of HOME ALONE as well as an Oscar-win for GOODFELASS. He really makes a memorable character here as he can handle the drama and the laughs without any problem. Fraser is also very believable in his role and we get some nice support from Moira Kelly, Josh Hamilton and Patrick Dempsey.

The film certainly does a very good job at mixing the laughs with the drama and to me WITH HONORS remains a film that never got its due.

I'll admit; "With Honors" grew on me. Initially, I was cool towards it as it looked like some pretentious drivel, but as the movie progressed it grew on me.

The movie begins with Montgomery "Monty" Kessler (Brendan Frasier) dropping his thesis into a grate where it fell down into the boiler room of a library. By the time he hobbled down there to retrieve it a homeless man named Simon B. Wilder (Joe Pesci) was burning some pages to keep a fire going. When Monty tried to stop him, he attacked him with a metal pipe.

Right then and there I had a problem with the movie. A.) why would he grab what clearly looked like important documents and start burning them? B.) who puts paper in a boiler furnace to keep the fire stoked? C.) what was his deal attacking a student of the university he was squatting in?

This thesis was of the utmost importance to Monty because it was going to allow him to graduate with honors--hence the title. Simon, however, kept the remainder of the thesis hostage from Monty, whom he derisively called "Harvard," as a means of getting certain benefits from Monty (food, shelter, and other perks). All the while Simon is keeping the thesis hostage and only handing over a page per perk, he is carrying this air of moral superiority and prejudging Monty because he assumed Monty had prejudged him (the best defense is a good offense approach). Simon kept up this demeaning holier-than-thou charade long enough to where I was thinking, "This movie better correct itself soon because they're making this into a rich v. poor thing where the poor guy is inherently morally better because of his poverty."

Simon struck me as a cross between Robin Williams' character in "The Fisher King," and Ethan Hawke's character in "Reality Bites." Like Williams in "The Fisher King," Pesci was a short, pudgy, bearded homeless man with above average intelligence. Like Hawke in "Reality Bites," Pesci was almost misanthropic, totally demeaning, and arrogant with his sense of superiority because he isn't a slave to capitalism.

So, I was down on Simon and the entire movie to begin with. Then, just as the relationship between Simon and Monty grew, so did my enjoyment of the movie. It developed into a wonderful human-interest story with a side helping of a tolerable romance between Monty and his roommate Courtney Bloomenthal (Moira Kelly). I say tolerable romance because it wasn't too thick.

I liked "With Honors" as a complete project and I'm glad I gave it a chance.

Alek Keshishian's "With Honors" was shown on cable recently. The film tries to tells us that not all the knowledge in life comes in the way of a university education, but by experience and hard knocks, as is the case with Simon Wilder, a homeless man, who has more knowledge than the young people that befriend him.

"With Honors" is a film with good intentions. It presents us a group of four Harvard students sharing a house. They are bright and want to do well. In fact, they have been conditioned to excel in their studies, but in doing so, and coming from some money, they are not experienced in the ways of the world.

All that changes when Monty loses the only copy of his thesis that falls into the basement of the Harvard library. Breaking into the building he discovers the homeless person who is feeding his work to the furnace. Horrified, he wants to get it back, but Simon has other plans for him.

At the same time, Simon, has a dark past. That secret is only revealed toward the end, and it comes as a shock. Monte and his roommates have to deal with reality as they realize Simon is a sick man. At the end, Monte, who has been a student expected to graduate suma cum laude, realizes he has learned an important lesson in his meeting that strange man, and how his life has taken a different turn.

Mr. Keshishian got good acting in genera. Joe Pesce and Brendan Fraser do excellent job. Patrick Dempsey, Josh Hamilton, Moira Kelly and Gore Vidal make valuable contributions to the film.

"With Honors" and the French-Canadian film "Jesus of Montreal" are my two favorite films, period. "With Honors" means so much to me...it takes on an issue - homelessness - that most film studios won't touch with a ten-foot pole. Then, it manages to make a funny, warm, touching film that's also fairly mainstream in its appeal. It's amazing that someone could make a film largely about a homeless man into a commercially acceptable film without sugar-coating the issue, but they did it.

Stellar performances abound here, including Joe Pesci, Brendan Fraser, Josh Hamilton, and the spectacular Moira Kelly. With a great performance by the priceless Gore Vidal - who's also in another of my favorite films, "Bob Roberts."

There are also some nice shots of the Harvard University campus, and the film accurately re-creates the turmoil, joy, and passion and the hundred other emotions that come with college life.

Btenden Fraser is decent and befriends a bum who's not dumb. It's quite predictable, but watchable. Decent character arcs and an OK love interest in Moira. Otherwise kinda meh.

With Honors is one of those films that I remember enjoying back in the day, but never could recall what actually happened in it, let alone what it was about. Sure I knew that Joe Pesci played a bum attempting to show Brendan Fraser what life is all about, but that was pretty much it. Watching it again, probably more than ten years later, I can safely agree with myself from back then on how good of a movie it is. The acting is great and the story, while maybe a tad too sentimental and emotionally manipulating, is enthralling enough to stick with the characters and feel for them and their plight in getting through college with an education, along with their souls intact.

A film like this makes you think about how good Joe Pesci used to be and regret that he has been out of the business for a while now. The guy never had the looks, the height, or even a voice that won't start grating on your ears before he even opens his mouth, but the guy is fantastic. He plays Simon Wilder with heart and realism, a homeless man who has regrets, but also piece of mind, knowing what went wrong and living life for meaning not materialistic necessity. In exchange for warm meals from Fraser's Harvard co-ed, he agrees to return the government thesis paper he is holding hostage. The paper is one that Fraser's professor fully endorses, but in the end is just a pile of nonsense that he himself doesn't believe in. Pesci must then try and make his young "student" learn how to see inside himself and realize that catering to those in power will never cause change or evolution in thinking.

Besides Pesci, the main principles all do wonderful as well. It is a shame that Fraser has since rode his career down the toilet by doing children's fare and stupid comedies. Back in his heyday with this and School Ties, the guy showed he had some promise. Even the funny roles like Airheads worked, but unfortunately after that, he started to cash in the paychecks. Fraser shows that despite his jock physique, he has the ability to show inner intellect as well as a capacity to emit emotion. Some of the things that go on between he and Pesci strike tough cords and bring repressed feelings to the surface, but it is all a catharsis for both characters as they find out what it really is they need out of their own existences. As for the others, Moira Kelly makes you wonder what ever happened to her as far as film goes, Patrick Dempsey gives a performance with meaning while still keeping with his image of the day, and Josh Hamilton is entertaining enough to have made me see what else he's done since, surprising me to find he was one of my favorite roles in last year's comedy gem Diggers.

Throughout the film, you know that tragedy will soon hit and the tears will flow, however, that knowledge never detracts from what is happening on screen. The writer doesn't copout when he could have, and the emotionally resonant moments are so because he allowed them to be hurtful and real. Infused consistently with the drama, though, are many moments of nice humor. No matter how serious Pesci might play, he is still a goofball through and through. A brilliant example of this is when he sits in on a government lecture at the school. His quips are funny, but when the professor finally calls him out, he holds his own and proves that looks are most definitely deceiving. That scene is worth seeing the film all by itself and it encompasses everything that the story is trying to convey.

Monty Kessler (Brendan Fraser) is a type A Harvard student. His roommates are rowing crew leader Courtney Blumenthal (Moira Kelly), pre-med Jeff Hawkes and trust fund college radio DJ Everett Calloway (Patrick Dempsey). His thesis with Professor Pitkannan (Gore Vidal) is to leave governing to the political elite rather than the needy minorities. His hard drive crashes and he loses his only copy to homeless guy Simon B. Wilder (Joe Pesci). Wilder offers to exchange one page for every one thing and the first thing being a glazed donut. He calls the campus police on Wilder but the thesis is gone.

Brendan Fraser doesn't really fit this young Republican character. At its best, the movie is a cliché with heart. At its worst, it's "Boy Oh Boy" annoyingly clunky. I admit to being a sucker for clichés with heart. I'm willing to buy into these likable stock characters but it has too many clunky moments. The movie grinds along too much. It needs more funny comedy. Pesci is not appealing. I want to like this more but can't.

This is a fantastic movie and I loved it! Basically, Monty is a Harvard student who thinks he knows it all and is writing his senior thesis but while running to make a copy of it (cliche, his computer crashed and he only has one copy) he slips and his work falls into the hands of Harvard bum Simon. What ensues can only be described as "masterful" as Monty and Simon develop as the story continues with different little twists and an ending that leaves you in tears. You can really FEEL the portrayal of the characters from Pesci and Fraser, but adding Patrick Dempsey, Moira Kelly, and Josh Hamilton completes the group. It is truly a beautiful film.

After reading the first page of very positive reviews I thought I would watch a gem but the truth is With Honors is just an okay movie, mildly entertaining, a story with a "message" like they like to push down our throats nowadays but eventually it misses that opportunity due to average acting. Not necessarily from Joe Pesci, he's most of the time good, but from Brendan Fraser, he just doesn't have the face to play a dramatic role. I couldn't even shed a tear just because of his dumb facial expression. With honors is watchable but it's really not a gem that I will remember.

Question: How do you screw up a movie with a cast of Brendan Fraser, Patrick Dempsey and Moira Kelly? Answer: It ain't easy, but try adding Joe Pesci. I hope no one actually associates the way Pesci (as Simon Wilder) acted in the movie with real homeless people. In the real world, Montgomery Kessler (played by Brendan Fraser) could have had this arrogant little urchin committed. I've been homeless. I know that real homeless people do not act like they are doing a standup comedy act, or preach constantly (unless it is someone who has psychiatric problems and they are off their meds). I don't know.., I just hate Joe Pesci. That squeaky, little voice coupled with the arrogant, Guido demeanor. He's not funny. He's just irritating. I actually felt sorry for Kessler's roommates when this aggressive, little punk actually weaseled his way into their apartment to "take a bath".

I watched this movie through once, then rewound it and watched it again. I loved it both times through. This movie shows that you've got to choose how to live your life rather than just let it happen. It's a very "carpe diem" experience ;) It's also a perfect mix of comedy and drama, Patrick Dempsey and Joe Pesci kept the laughs coming. Not for the cynical or the bitter, enter it with an open heart and you can't help but be affected.

Nice story, nice acting. This is a good movie, but not great.

The movie does have a nice message and all, and it has A-list actors (Joe Pesci and Brandon Frasier), but this movie was never monumental, and I am pretty sure it never will be. It won no awards and hasn't received much attention. It's a shame actually -- this really is a nice little film. I think it's tons better than Titanic, but it will never be recognized as such. This movie was made almost 12 years ago, and soon it will fade into obscurity.

I doubt that most people would want this in their DVD collection, unless someone sells it for under a buck or someone gives it as a gift. It's worth it though, if you go for these nice small movies rather than big thrillers or cheap comedies.

Overplotted, overthemed and, at times, over preachy, nonetheless, "With Honors" is extremely satisfying. Much of the credit can be laid to intelligent, sensitive performances by Joe Pesci and Brendan Frasier, and some very clever dialogue. Part teen comedy-romance,part

political polemic, part "illness of the week" drama, the movie boast at least three themes: "rites of passage," "redemption through sacrifice" and "redemption through forgiveness". That "With Honors" accomplishes all this is remarkable and admirable, though juggling so elements means a few are finessed with uneven results.

Hey, the DVD is worth its modest cost for the music alone.

"I Remember" is my favorite Madonna hit and you get it here, uninterrupted,during the end title credits. Such a deal...

This is a great movie with great characters and an awesome storyline. Brendan Frasier plays Monty who is obsessed with making it at Harvard, spending most of his time working on his thesis. In the story, Frasier and housemates (a great bunch, I might add) meet Simon, a sick homeless man who is living in a broken down van in the backyard of the group's house. Simon defies the stereotypes of homeless people, in that he's very smart and very classy when he wants to be...in an odd kind of way. Frasier is indifferent toward Simon, but thru the story, they both become very close, culminating in an awesome friendship in the end. The bad thing is--Simon is dying, because of asbestos in his lungs he picked up from working in the merchant marine. This is just an awesome movie, that's funny, touching, and downright beautiful. It's one of those movies you can't help but cry at. The acting is great, the movie is beautifully shot, and as I said before, the story is just perfect. The music is well done also. Great film. 9/10

I saw this movie when i was a kind and i hated it, but that i saw it again a few days ago and this time i liked it. Most of all, you'll be interested to see Brendan Frazer in a role that is not humorous or too serious, its just a plain simple real characters. and Joe Pesci goes beyond "the bad guy from Home alone". The acting is not too good, its kept on a simple level and just strong enough to make the story go. The story itself is simple and yet there is more behind what is shown. The rest of the characters are individuals and the thing i liked the most is that the movie kept in touch with reality, what more and more movies fail to do. Some lines might be funny and so are some situations. All in all, this movie is not a comedy nor a drama, its just something to chill out with, or to kill some time. Not really worth much money to see...

The film with honors is a movie about the troubles of life and how we can't judge people the second we see them, since everybody always has a story. The movie itself is very touching and deep if you are to listen to every word and see what is trying to be said. It's a very sad movie, with a lot of meaning and a lot of emotion. Joe Pesci does a really good job portraying a Bum who is much more than what he seems. Moira Kelley does pretty bad, but Brendan Fraser does surprisingly well. This was one of the few movies that I cried at during the end. A film about Honor and love. It is a film like The Breakfast Club, but in my eyes is much better. This movie really touched me and made me see people differently, one of Joe Pescis line's really touched me. "What did you see when you looked at me Harvard? You didn't see a human being, you saw a piece of sh#t!" As a film I give it 8/10 because it's somewhat slow at the beginning, but as for honor it gets a 10/10. Actually when I think about it, the film entirely is a 10/10.

I saw this movie as a kid, maybe 13/14 in which I could still fill the gaps and magnify the story by sheer force of imagination and innocence. Today I saw it again as a young adult and while the film-making doesn't shine and the acting isn't as top notch as I had remembered it, the movie still delivers a warm feeling.

This is the type of movie that unfortunately doesn't get made in Hollywood anymore. A simple premise,contrived scope, time frame and number of characters and an optimistic view of the world and people. As a child this perspectives filled the TV and cinema,everything had a moral and the bad guy was always defeated. Today, the movies don't carry the same idealistic view on human nature, preferring the darker(some will claim more realistic) approach on character and plot development. I rather that we had stories of hope than displays of human atrocities.

"When we are dreaming alone it is only a dream. When we are dreaming with others, it is the beginning of reality." ---Dom Helder Camera

Bad movie wrongly casts Joe Pesci as a bum living under a library at Harvard where he takes Brendan Fraser's senior thesis and holds it ransom in exchange for food and shelter from Fraser and his friends. Of course the plot is incredibly contrived, Pesci's character is very unsympathetic and makes it very obvious that he has let petty things rule his life. Fraser and friends are incredibly underdeveloped as characters and one wonders why they keep Pesci around. The biggest problem with this movie is Pesci, he is completely miscast and makes you wonder if the movie could have been better with a different actor in the part. Of course the biggest question is at a school as prestigious and select as Harvard how can Pesci live under the library with no one finding out?

If you haven't seen it, see it. In my opinion each of the actors in this movie gave the best performace of their careers. Fraser and Pesci play great against one another. I watch this movie at least once a year. It really is that good.

Sweet memories... I remember watching this movie just hours before I had my first month celebration with my girlfriend at the time. It was a cold night as far as I remember.

This movie moved me because it taught me a lesson about forgiving, changing for good, but most important of all; not handling with the future adequately.

The plot is moving and convincing for an audience that enjoys these kind of movies. If you liked "Scent of a Woman" for example, "With Honors" will please you completely.

I won't get into the plot because many people what reviewed it but all I can tell you is that the performances and plot will leave you with a smile.

Pesci's performance is terrific.