I was once asked: "What is your favorite movie?" in a graduate school application.
I have many movies that I love and I couldn't ever decide on a favorite movie. At the time, however, I had recently watched "With Honors" for about the 20th time and I chose it for my answer. Researching the movie on this website, I was astounded when I discovered that it did not win (well, it wasn't even nominated for) any award on screen writing or acting. It was only nominated for Best Original Song ("I'll Remember", performed by Madonna).
The film centers on Montgomery 'Monty' Kessler (Brendan Fraser) a government senior student at Harvard University, who thinks his life depends on his thesis. When his computer crashes, Monty decides that the reasonable thing to do is to rush to make copies of the only hard copy of the thesis he has. But on the way to the copy shop, he has an accident and the thesis falls into the boiler room of the library and into the hands of Simon Wilder (Joe Pesci), a homeless man who has made a makeshift home in there. At first, there is tension between the two, as Monty is outraged for the deal he is forced to make with Simon: for each day of food and shelter, Monty gets one page of the thesis. As time goes by, Monty realizes that there is more to Simon than meets the eye. The relationship between Monty and Simon develops into a strong friendship and Monty soon learns that there is more to life than graduating with honors.
I am always moved by the beautiful story and the incredible acting in this film. The performances are so honest that the story seems to have been taken out of real life. The transition in the character of Monty, from a young man that considers grades and recognition to be the most important things in the world, to a man, touched by the life of a "bum" as Simon refers to himself who is intelligent and good-natured, and knows the meaning of love.
The last few lines in the movie always bring tears to my eyes, as Monty reads Simon's self-written obituary: "He is survived by his family: Jeff Hawks, who always remembers to flush; Everett Calloway, who knows how to use words; Courtney Blumenthal, who is strong, and also knows how to love; and by Montgomery Kessler, who will graduate life with honor, and without regret."
I have many movies that I love and I couldn't ever decide on a favorite movie. At the time, however, I had recently watched "With Honors" for about the 20th time and I chose it for my answer. Researching the movie on this website, I was astounded when I discovered that it did not win (well, it wasn't even nominated for) any award on screen writing or acting. It was only nominated for Best Original Song ("I'll Remember", performed by Madonna).
The film centers on Montgomery 'Monty' Kessler (Brendan Fraser) a government senior student at Harvard University, who thinks his life depends on his thesis. When his computer crashes, Monty decides that the reasonable thing to do is to rush to make copies of the only hard copy of the thesis he has. But on the way to the copy shop, he has an accident and the thesis falls into the boiler room of the library and into the hands of Simon Wilder (Joe Pesci), a homeless man who has made a makeshift home in there. At first, there is tension between the two, as Monty is outraged for the deal he is forced to make with Simon: for each day of food and shelter, Monty gets one page of the thesis. As time goes by, Monty realizes that there is more to Simon than meets the eye. The relationship between Monty and Simon develops into a strong friendship and Monty soon learns that there is more to life than graduating with honors.
I am always moved by the beautiful story and the incredible acting in this film. The performances are so honest that the story seems to have been taken out of real life. The transition in the character of Monty, from a young man that considers grades and recognition to be the most important things in the world, to a man, touched by the life of a "bum" as Simon refers to himself who is intelligent and good-natured, and knows the meaning of love.
The last few lines in the movie always bring tears to my eyes, as Monty reads Simon's self-written obituary: "He is survived by his family: Jeff Hawks, who always remembers to flush; Everett Calloway, who knows how to use words; Courtney Blumenthal, who is strong, and also knows how to love; and by Montgomery Kessler, who will graduate life with honor, and without regret."