Touchstone and Beyond: A History of Disney’s “Renaissance Man”

Danny DeVito plays an advertising maverick who has just run out of luck. Fired from his job, and broke, there is only one opportunity for salvation in Renaissance Man, teaching at the local army base.

The Plot

Bill Rago is an advertising pro, who loses his job and is desperate for a job. With a push from a well-meaning employee at the unemployment bureau, he accepts a position as a teacher at the local military base. Bill quickly learns that his students are a half dozen soldiers who need help in critical thinking skills.

With a firm dislike for his new job, but a growing appreciation for his students Pvts. Benitez, Myers, Heywood, Montgomery, Leroy, Melvin, Davis, Hobbs, the reluctant teacher finds a common ground with his class over Shakespeare.

Despite a growing tension building with Sgt Cass, Rago pushes his students to the limit of their abilities to prove that they are so much more than what anyone else has ever credited them for. Though he may have never taught before, Bill Rago finds his place in the army, and a job that he truly loves.  

The Good

Danny DeVito is magical in this role. It’s easy not to like his Bill Rago. In fact, DeVito brings a lot of his shtick from other roles to life in the early part of the film, but something changes. The engagement of his students when he starts talking about Hamlet is incredible. DeVito morphs Bill Rago from a self-centered guy to someone that cares. It’s the little things that matter, and by taking the time to speak about what he likes, Rago was able to find the joy in his life that was right in front of him.

Gregory Hines is great. Small roles, starring roles, it doesn’t matter, the man is a gem. Gregory Hines lights up the screen in any role. I only wish Sgt. Cass and Rago were able to have more screen time together.

The cadets as a whole shine in the classroom scenes with Rago. Kadeem Hardison is a standout amongst the crew.

The Bad and the Ugly

Renaissance Man is the standard story of an inspirational teacher who connects with a bunch of disadvantaged students and helps to change their lives. This is a story that has been seen many times on the screen, and if you aren’t a fan of these movies, you might want to skip Renaissance Man.

Beyond the Film Facts

  • Ann Cusack plays Bill’s secretary at the beginning of the film.
  • Ed Begley Jr. has a small role as Bill’s friend in advertising.
  • Ving Rhames was offered the part of Sgt. Cass but turned down the role because Quentin Tarantino had a special role for him in Pulp Fiction.
  • The film opened in the number four spot when released. It was competing against some heavy hitters like The Flintstones, Maverick, and Beverly Hills Cop III.
  • In its second week of release, the movie had to contend with Speed which sucked up much of the box office money and attention.  
  • According to director Penny Marshall, she was concerned that Gregory Hines sounded too nice in the role of Drill Sgt. Cass.
  • The film takes place in Michigan but was filmed in South Carolina at Fort Jackson.
  • This was Mark Wahlberg’s film debut.
  • Screenwriter Jim Burnstein has a cameo in the film. When Rago and his daughter are at the Tiger’s game, Burnstein and his family are behind Rago in the stadium.
  • Stephen Dorff reportedly turned down the role of Heywood.
  • The movie was a summer release but was rereleased in September in Seattle with a new title, By the Book. This did little to improve the movie’s box office results.
  • The graduation scene at the end of the film was shot during an actual graduation scene at Fort Jackson.
  • The scene where Bill Rago is filmed driving the recruits to the Stratford festival in Ontario really had Danny DeVito driving the van across the bridge into Canada.

The Streamy Award

{The following four categories are based on a Film Reel scale.

1 Reel-Watch on your Smartphone, 2 Reels-Tablet Time, 3 Reels-Travel Entertainment, 4 Reels-Big Screen Event}

While I enjoyed Renaissance Man a lot, there are many flaws in the story that prevent it from being a great film. The movie benefits from having Danny DeVito as the lead with Gregory Hines in a supporting role as the tough as nails Sgt. Cass.

Renaissance Man gets a 2 Reels rating for being funny by letting Danny DeVito be the star that he is.

Cast and Crew

  • Danny DeVito as Bill Rago
  • Gregory Hines as Sgt. Cass
  • James Remar as Capt. Tom Murdoch
  • Lillo Brancato as Pvt. Benitez
  • Stacey Dash as Pvt. Myers
  • Mark Wahlberg as Pvt. Heywood
  • Kadeem Hardison as Pvt. Montgomery
  • Richard T. Jones as Pvt. Leroy
  • Gregory Sporleder as Pvt. Melvin
  • Peter Simmons as Pvt. Davis
  • Khalil Kain as Pvt. Hobbs
  • Cliff Robertson as Colonel James

Directed by Penny Marshall

Produced by Touchstone Pictures / Cinergi Pictures Entertainment / Parkway Productions  

Release Date: June 3, 1994

Budget: $40 million

Box Office Gross

Domestic: $24,332,324

Coming Soon

Next week more love for Danny DeVito in the comedy/drama Tin Men with Richard Dreyfuss and Barbara Hershey. Who is the best aluminum siding salesman in Baltimore in the 1960’s? Find out next week if this is a film worth some attention.

Bill Gowsell
Bill Gowsell has loved all things Disney since his first family trip to Walt Disney World in 1984. Since he began writing for Laughing Place in 2014, Bill has specialized in covering the Rick Riordan literary universe, a retrospective of the Touchstone Pictures movie library, and a variety of other Disney related topics. When he is not spending time with his family, Bill can be found at the bottom of a lake . . . scuba diving