Renaissance Man Soundtrack

Penny Marshall directed this well-intentioned drama-comedy about a middle-aged advertising executive (Danny DeVito) whose heart has never been in his work. Fired for incompetence, DeVito's character is on the skids; but then comes an unusual job offer: Teach a bunch of boot-camp army recruits to read and think. The first-time teacher leads the uniformed men and women to an appreciation of Shakespeare, but he still has to grapple with his own problems with commitment and responsibility. Watching this film is like staring at a pool of broken eggs that never quite becomes an omelet. The story's promise is always there, but the satisfaction never quite comes. Still, there are some nice moments, and the whole thing works better on video than it did in the theaters. --Tom Keogh