Joe Pesci Is Homeless & Smart

I'm at work listening to the shit radio and the Madonna cut 'I'll Remember' comes on. Which because I'm an absolute freak of nature reminded me of that crappy movie where Joe Pesci is a homeless guy who also happens to be living in a boiler room on the campus of Harvard. Check out this amazing trailer for the film 'With Honors' which is undeniably 90's to the core. It features the song 'Unbelievable' by EMF. Interestingly they use the exterior to the University of Minnesota's Northrop Auditorium as a stand in for Harvard's Widener library (Thanks Wikipedia!) so yeah, GO GOPHERS!




What wacky entertainment! Homeless people aren't just those people you pass every day who want your change. They can blackmail you for food and lodging whilst allowing you to learn valuable life lessons and learn the true meaning of friendship. The chick from 'The Cutting Edge' is in this. Her name is Moira Kelly and she is putting a serious mid 90's hot chick vibe that you would find in say, Winona Ryder in Reality Bites. They just don't make them like they used to. Patrick Dempsey is in this too!!! Yeah I don't really give a fuck but its funny how much better he has aged compared to the lead, Brendan Fraser who I'm pretty sure has had his hair fully receed to the back of his head.

I did actually see this movie on HBO back in the day but I have no real memories of the film. What I do have is wikipedia telling me that the character Joe Pesci plays is named Simon Wilder. He also happens to be homeless but he worked as a merchant marine before asbestos damage forced him to quit....which is hilarious. He also has become very worldly since being homeless on the campus of Harvard. He has soaked up much knowledge and eventually outsmarts the "bad guy" in this movie who is a professor as they debate over the Constitution. Riveting stuff.

The one reason I think this movie is worth mentioning though is that I cannot see this movie being made now. If it was it would either be extremely serious or extremely goofy. I also see it going the extremely goofy route.

In an alternate With Honors (Serious Version) that takes place in 2009, Brendan Fraser's character is now played by Zac Efron. Will Smith is now the homeless guy but instead of being a merchant marine who got sick from asbestos he was a former professor at Harvard who was dismissed for being intimate with one of his former students. This of course is false but in flashbacks we note that it was implied it was a gay love affair and that veiled racism and anti-homosexual forces on Harvard's campus forced him to quit. Soon his life fell apart and Will Smiths character became extremely depressed and started drinking too much. He still has his keys from his time as a professor though so he can get into the boiler rooms and sleep. Zac Efron still loses his thesis in a similar fashion and initially Will Smith is blackmailing him so he can get some food and shelter in exchange for the thesis return. That said the movie goes more Good Will Hunting/Find Forrester with the ending having Zac Efron getting Will Smith reinstated at Harvard as a professor posthumously because Will Smith dies of pancreatic cancer. They name a scholarship and a building after him though.

In the alternate wacky version Michael Cera is the student and John C. Reilly is the homeless guy. Much more focused on pure awkward humor and lots of sarcasm the concept remains similar. Except this time John C. Reilly plays up his Merchant Marine past and is constantly makign weird nautical jokes and calling Michael Cera a "scurvy land lover." This time too there is a love interest except it becomes the classic nerd pines for really hot but down to earth girl who happens to be dating the jerk. The spin is that she is dating a professor (Played by Paul Rudd) who is actually revealed to be a decent guy who just dates students because his wife left him and is trying to fill the void of that relationship with young hot chicks. We know he is decent because Cera and Rudd meet at this coffee shop where the young hot chick is playing an acoustic set and Rudd opens his heart to Cera. To achieve hip/indie/ironic/stupid cred the girl at the coffee shop is playing an acoustic version of 'Cum on Feel the Noise'. This will be released on iTunes as a single and becomes number 4 on the singles list and is immediately put in heavy rotation on college radio stations across the country. The film ends with a scene of John C. Reilly who has realized that he was made for the ocean back on a ship. He is dressed like a crusty sailor but as the camera pans out from a close up on his face, he is actually on a Carnival cruise ship. It ends with him starting a mamba line (With Paul Rudd in the line happily smiling) as a helicopter shot takes over beautiful carribean waters. Cera & Hot Nerdy chick are driving a Vespa scooter on the coast line.