With Honors

Synopsis: Monty is a student, and when his computer crashes, he's left with only a single paper copy of his thesis. Frightened of losing it, he immediately rushes out to photocopy it, only to stumble and drop it down a grate. Searching the basement of the building, he discovers that it has been found by Simon, a squatter. Simon makes a deal with Monty: for every day's accomodation and food that Monty gives him, he will give a page of the thesis in return.
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Director(s): Alek Keshishian
Production: Warner Home Video
  Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 3 nominations.
 
IMDB:
6.7
Rotten Tomatoes:
17%
PG-13
Year:
1994
101 min
2,304 Views


1

It's 7.:
00 a.m., children, and you're listening

to Radio-Free Harvard...

...on a chilly November morning.

You're at the greatest university on Earth,

and you know what?

You're in over your head. You're drowning.

Especially you seniors.

Only 150 days before your thesis is due

and the powers that be decide...

...whether you're destined

for greatness or mediocrity.

I know what you're thinking.

Do I really belong here?

Probably not. But don't give in.

Don't give up.

Arise, fair Harvard.

Arise.

You too can rule the world.

You just have to crush everyone else first.

A little crushing music, Maestro.

All right guys, let's go!

You can do it. Keep going!

Keep up the pace! Nice and neat!

Ignore him!

Move it! Let's go!

Very funny, Monty!

Now, here's something to crow about.

I've got a great cock, don't I?

You see, last night,

a Radcliffe sophomore saw a ghost...

...looking remarkably like Walt Whitman

in Widener Library.

America's greatest poet

haunting the stacks, eh.

The Cliffie is undergoing intense debriefing

by the English department.

They better hurry.

Weather tells us that 10 inches of

the white shroud is scheduled for tonight.

I'm Everett Calloway.

Now you hear me. Now you....

Your father called

and wants you to call him back.

What's up with Father?

Marrying my sister, perhaps.

He mumbled something

about your being overdrawn...

again!

I thought he was a patriot.

Doesn't he believe in deficit spending.

Lord Montague!

You're looking very grim and formal

this morning.

You trying to pass for a Yalie?

I've got a meeting with Pitkannan.

Oh, no. Not about the thesis!

- Feeling confident?

- Feeling nauseous.

This one here.

Oh, God.

I know her. I've been with her.

First paragraph, Mr. Kessler.

Let's hear it.

''Chapter 1.''

From memory.

Yes, sir!

I don't know whether that denotes

hard work, or...

...unseemly vanity.

Stand up!

Stand up?

I like a substantial target.

''Chapter 1.

''The Bottomless Well of Need.

''The noble and ambitious assumption

of the government of the United States...

''...is that the needs of a diverse population

can be fulfilled.

''The dream of a melting pot has become

a cauldron of inflexible minorities...

''...and the hopelessly unemployable.

''The solution is to leave the complexities

of modern government...

''...to the political expert.

''And to rethink our naive faith

in the wisdom of the people.''

A good beginning.

Leave your chapter.

And if the rest of your thesis is

as intelligent as you are...

...you are certain to graduate

summa cum laude...

...and that will be the beginning...

...of a brilliant career.

Thank you, Professor Pitkannan.

Do you think Helga is

a voluptuous Saint-Emilion...

...or a buttery Chardonnay?

You mean, Helga with the coils.

Works over at Kinko Copy?

That's her. What do you think.

What do I think?

Bud Light.

That's not funny.

I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't

demoralize my crew.

Face it, you're just not a leader of men.

- Very funny.

- Then be a model.

- How'd it go?

- How'd what go.

The big meeting

with the god of your idolatry.

With Pitkannan?

It went great.

Rah.

Can't you stay?

The best never rest.

- I hate him.

- He is a tad compulsive.

He has to be.

Harvard's not his inheritance.

It's true.

Harvard doesn't have any standards left.

They let in anyone who's bright.

I'm worried about him.

Poor guy's the pet of a Nobel Laureate.

Pitkannan spends more time

on Nightline than in lecture.

He's a celebrity, not an intellectual.

He'll still get Monty into graduate school

and set him up for life.

For life.

Sounds like a death sentence.

What the hell was that?

Your hard drive is fried.

I got ten chapters printed.

You've done ten chapters already?

I'm going to get Xeroxes.

- Wait until morning.

- It's my only copy.

Are you afraid someone will steal it?

I can't take any chances. This is my life.

I know you worked really hard,

but it's not your life, Monty.

- I'm going with him!

- Good!

Monty, wait up!

I didn't ask you to tag along.

You're welcome, you bastard!

Face it, Courtney,

you can't keep up with me.

Monty, are you okay?

What're you doing?

God. It's down there.

In the boiler room?

I got to get into Widener.

Widener is closed. Wait till the morning.

I can't wait till morning!

You're hurt.

Would you like my help getting in?

Since you asked so nicely....

Come on.

- Through the front door?

- Yes, through the front. I know the guard.

Hi, Chuck.

Courtney. It's kind of late. You okay?

Yeah. I was here earlier

and I think I misplaced my wallet.

I was wondering if anyone turned it in?

I don't remember

anybody bringing in a wallet but...

...let me take a look.

I found a hat here and...

...a scarf...

...and a banana.

What color was that wallet?

It was green. Alligator green.

Alligator green. That's kind of spiffy.

Don't!

Calm down!

It's mine!

That's all I want. It's important.

It belongs to me.

Finders keepers, losers weepers.

Don't you knock before coming

into someone's home?

- It's not worth anything.

- Why do you want it then?

How much?

- How much?

- Yeah, how much?

- Got a check.

- Is it a certified check.

How about a six-month CD?

You got one of those.

I need something I can chew.

Okay. You want food?

I'll bring you some. Then you give me that.

What size underpants you wear?

Excuse me?

I could use a new pair of underpants.

I'll bring you underpants.

Just don't burn any more pages.

I'll bring you underpants

and you'll give me my thesis.

Your thesis?

Is that what this piece of sh*t's

supposed to be?

- What's it supposed to be on, Harvard?

- Government.

Government.

I didn't recognize you! You're Dan Quayle!

You came back to finish your education.

Okay, Harvard. You study government,

so this should be easy.

You want something, I need something.

Go get me a glazed doughnut.

A glazed doughnut?

Make sure the glaze is not all broke.

And your underpants?

What about my underpants?

Clean underpants too! That's right!

- Great. Glazed doughnut--

- Pristine, glazed doughnut.

Pristine, glazed doughnut

and underpants. Okay?

What do I get?

Well, for each thing you get,

I'll give you one page.

- A chapter?

- No.

A page is a thing!

A chapter is a whole lot of things.

There are 88 pages in that thesis.

There are 83 pages now.

Looks I like I found a way to live

through the winter, Harvard.

I hope you got it. I just went through

two years of Lost and Found.

You didn't get it.

All right, all right.

Let's get you to the infirmary.

Perfect.

Glaze is almost perfect.

There's no point.

- Who are you calling?

- University cops.

No, let's negotiate.

How much cash do we have?

He can't eat money.

Doesn't money buy food?

Helga, you're brilliant!

I love you.

He's probably schizophrenic.

Most homeless are schizophrenics.

I have $50.

I can't pay you back soon.

I'll call my esteemed father.

If I can convince him

the money's not for me, maybe I...

Rate this script:5.0 / 2 votes

William Mastrosimone

William Mastrosimone (born August 19, 1947) is an American playwright and screenwriter from Trenton, New Jersey. He attended high school at The Pennington School and received a graduate degree in playwrighting from Mason Gross School of the Arts, a part of Rutgers University. His plays include The Woolgatherer, Extremities, Shivaree, and Cat's Paw. He also wrote Bang Bang You're Dead, which was once able to be downloaded from the Internet and performed by students for free. Other plays include The Afghan Women and Nanawatai, upon which the film The Beast is based. Two recent plays are Sleepwalk, a story again focusing on the traumas of modern teenage life, and "Dirty Business", a play about a party girl caught between the mafia and the newly elected President of the United States. Mastrosimone's first play was The Woolgatherer which premiered at Rutgers Theatre Company in New Jersey of 1979.His screenwriting credits include, With Honors, Into the West and the adaptation of his play Extremities. He won 2 Daytime Emmy Awards for Bang, Bang You're Dead and was nominated for a Prime Time Emmy for Into the West and The Burning Season. His play "Bang Bang You're Dead" is being toured by 'Playground Theatre Project' with students from Actor's Playground School of Theatre (in NJ), directed by Ralph Colombino, based in the Tri-State Area. This company goes to middle schools, high schools, and universities to prevent violence. more…

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    "With Honors" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 14 Nov. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/with_honors_23571>.

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