Renaissance Man

Unemployed ad exec Bill Rago (DeVito) lands a civilian posting at a US Army base. He's to teach basic comprehension to eight 'squeakers' - the slowest new recruits. Armed only with an intuitively unmilitary intelligence and a well-thumbed copy of Hamlet, he does just that. Penny Marshall's film couldn't be more sincere. But don't let the poster fool you: this is no comedy, it's a two-hour-plus English lesson. Very much a product of the Clinton era, the movie has serious political intentions. It's an exhortation to America to face up to her social and spiritual malaise with a sense of responsibility, discipline and humanity. Too bad the director's such a lousy propagandist. In essence, a painfully earnest sit-com.