Blyss's Movie Review for:

Main Cast of Characters:

Brendan Fraser...........David Greene

Ed Lauter.........Mr. Green

Matt Damon..........Charlie Dillion

Ben Affleck...........Chesty Smith

Chris O'Donnell...........Chris Reese

Cole Hauser...........Jack Connors

Andrew Lowery...........McGivern

Randall Batinkoff...........Rip Van Kelt

Zeljko Ivanek...........Mr. Cleary

Peter Donat...........Headmaster Bertram

Amy Locane...........Sally Wheeler

1992. Rated: PG-13. Genre: Drama; 110 minutes

Sometimes it doesn't pay to be different....

David Greene is a smart young man with a future career in football. There is only one thing holding him back: he is a Jew in the time after World War II. He comes from some mean streets in Pennsylvania where he has to fight every day of his life to survive. He then gets offered a scholarship to play for a prep high school which could be his ticket into Harvard. He accepts and goes to Boston, Massachusetts to attend. He fits in with the other guys right away because he takes the Coach's advice: don't tell them anymore than they need to know. Therefore, he does not let on that he is a Jew. He makes great friends, has a girlfriend, and he plays quarterback for the school football team. He thinks he is on cloud 9. That is until a jealous boy on the football team and in his dorm uncovers the truth of David's religious affiliation and all hell is breaks out on campus. After that, David is not only persecuted for his faith, he is accused o something he did not do. Can he overcome this obstacle to his ultimate goal of going to a university?

When this movie first came out on video, I rented it over and over again. It is a great film in that it portrays how Jews were treated when they were trying to assimilate into society post-World War II. It amazes me that so many of the people in this film hate Jews with no obvious reason why. They were the most persecuted people in history and yet they still endured much persecution when they came to the United States looking for a better life. David should not have had to keep his faith from them no more than they should have kept their own religion from him. Why was he so different from the others? Even the girl that he loved turned him away. That is so sad and uncalled for. I believe the ending was my favorite part which I wont get into. I also enjoyed seeing Brendan Fraser dance once again. It seems he is always dancing in a lot of his movies. If you haven't seen it, I recommend this film. It's a great one.

I rate this film: 9

Blyss