Fired advertising executive Danny DeVito wonders whether to be or not to be a teacher to sergeant Gregory Hines' numskull soldiers. So he uses Hamlet to impart basic reading skills to Lillo Brancato Jr, Kadeem Hardison and Mark Wahlberg. There's something hollow and sentimental at the soft heart of this amiable comedy drama that mixes Dead Poets Society with Stripes. Entertaining though it is, at least in stretches, director Penny (Big) Marshall looks as though she was planning a posher, more acute movie. Still, DeVito is a hard act to knock, proving that small, while not always beautiful, can be clever and funny. The lads are hit turns too - particularly Brooklyn boy Brancato - it's just Jim Burnstein's rambling, unfocused script and Marshall's unsure handling that rock the boat.

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