Plot
A Jewish boy goes to an elite prep school in the 1950's and hides his religion until a jealous bigot forces it out in the open.

Release Year: 1992

Rating: 6.7/10 (10,149 voted)

Director: Robert Mandel

Stars: Brendan Fraser, Matt Damon, Chris O'Donnell

Storyline
David Green is brought into a prestigious 1950s school to help their football team to beat the school's old rivals. David, however, is from a working class background, so he isn't really "one of them", but he's very successful at making friends. David is a Jew, and has to keep this a secret from his friends for fear of being rejected.

Writers: Dick Wolf, Dick Wolf

Cast:
Brendan Fraser - David Greene
Matt Damon - Charlie Dillon
Chris O'Donnell - Chris Reece
Randall Batinkoff - Rip Van Kelt
Andrew Lowery - 'Mack' McGivern
Cole Hauser - Jack Connors
Ben Affleck - Chesty Smith
Anthony Rapp - Richard 'McGoo' Collins
Amy Locane - Sally Wheeler
Peter Donat - Headmaster Dr. Bartram
Zeljko Ivanek - Mr. Cleary
Kevin Tighe - Coach McDevitt
Michael Higgins - Mr. Gierasch
Ed Lauter - Alan Greene
Peter McRobbie - Chaplain

Taglines: Just Because You're Accepted Doesn't Mean You Belong.

Release Date: 18 September 1992

Filming Locations: Acton Indoor Tennis Club - 908 Main Street, Acton, Massachusetts, USA

Opening Weekend: $3,020,071 (USA) (20 September 1992) (595 Screens)

Gross: $14,715,067 (USA)

Runtime: 106 min

Trivia:
The Hebrew prayer that David (Brendan Fraser) recites in the chapel is the "Avenu Malkenu" (literally, "Our Father, Our King), which is a series of petitions to God to grant atonement. The prayer is repeated throughout the High Holy Days (the ten days starting with Rosh Hashanah and ending with Yom Kippur). The holiday for which David misses services because of the football game was Rosh Hashanah (the New Year in the Jewish calendar).

Goofs:
Continuity: After David's brawl in the alley, his face is bruised. This brown mark later fades and again darkens between shots of him walking through the preparatory school for the first time.

Quotes:
David Green: I'll honor your tradition. I'll go to the Headmaster and I'll lie.

"Is it worth breaking tradition"?

Rating: 8/10

It's a line the headmaster of the school asks the star quarterback David Greene when he catches him praying at church after curfew but praying in observance of the Jewish new year. Greene's reply to the Headmaster of this Christian Prep Academy is..."mine or yours". This is the essence of the storyline. A Christian Prep Academy in New England is tired of mediocrity in football and losing to their arch rival so they compromise their admission standards by recruiting a brilliant student athlete from Pa. The problem isn't that David Greene doesn't measure up academically, it is that he is Jewish.

Soon after coming to school Greene realizes his classmates disdain and ridicule for Jews. They scorn them and make stereotype remarks that bother Greene but he is determined to fit in. Eventually his classmates and friends discover his secret and this is as far as I go. See the movie and see how David and his friends handle the situation.

Fine performances are put in by Brendan Fraser, as David Greene. You'll be astonished at the youthful talent in the movie as really good performances are put in by Matt Damon, his real life buddy Ben Affleck, Chris O'Donnell, and all the others. I really enjoyed the story, the time setting, and the substance of the message.

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