
                         THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
                 Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, June 3, 1994                    TAG: 9406030062 
SECTION: DAILY BREAK                     PAGE: B11    EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: BY TAMAR ANITAI, TEENOLOGY MOVIE CRITIC 
DATELINE: 940603                                 LENGTH: Medium

``HONORS'' NO EXCEPTION AMID PLAGUE OF BAD FLICKS

{LEAD} WHAT'S THE DEAL with the recent onslaught of unrealistic, stereotypical movies? Is this a result of the greenhouse effect? A rare, unusual virus? Maybe it's weak plot, which is the downfall of ``With Honors.''

``With Honors'' is, roughly, about Harvard University students rushing to finish their theses so they can graduate with honors. Nothing wrong there. But the main character's name is Montgomery. Montgomery plus a government major at Harvard University equals a massive stereotype.

{REST} Montgomery accidentally drops his nearly completed thesis down a sewer. Oops! The dropped thesis lands in a boiler room and into the hands of an old bum who randomly chooses to destroy it.

Montgomery rushes to retrieve his thesis of gold but is forced to make a deal with its finder. The finder, Simon Wilder, played by Joe Pesci, will return the thesis - page by page - in exchange for meals, clothing and other necessities.

The insightful and opinionated Simon eventually makes hard-nosed, anal Monty open up and even tugs at his heartstrings. Inevitably, the two develop a bond. This unlikely friendship becomes the focus of the movie, surpassing the need to turn in a thesis on time.

This would all be just peachy if the movie were animated. But because it's filmed at Harvard, one concludes that this is supposed to be reality. But ``With Honors'' is a far cry from life as we, or probably people at Harvard for that matter, know it.

The story is a long, mixed-up tangle of possibilities, which never relate to each other. ``With Honors'' suffers a severe identity crisis, bearing uncanny resemblances to ``The Fisher King'', ``Soul Man,'' and ``Scent of a Woman.'' Writer William Mastrosimone, known to some for ``The Woolgatherer'' and ``Extremities,'' falls from grace but earns a few points for well-developed characters. Overall ``With Honors'' is another specimen of a recent epedimic of bad movies.

Is there a cure in sight? by CNB