A Matter of Degrees is a 1990 American comedy film directed by W.T. Morgan and written by Randall Poster, Jack Mason and W.T. Morgan. The film stars Arye Gross, Judith Hoag, Tom Sizemore, and Wendell Pierce. John Doe has a featured role. The film was released on September 13, 1991, by 20th Century Fox.[1][2]

A Matter of Degrees
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	W.T. Morgan
Screenplay by	Randall Poster Jack Mason W.T. Morgan
Produced by	Roy Kissin Randall Poster
Starring	Arye Gross, Judith Hoag, Tom Sizemore, John Doe
Cinematography	Paul Ryan
Edited by	Curtiss Clayton
Production companies	Backbeat Productions Fox Lorber Features
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release dates	January 22, 1990 (1990-01-22) (Sundance Film Festival) September 13, 1991 (1991-09-13) (United States)
Running time	88 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Plot

As a baby in a playpen, Max Glass screams when his parents suggest he'll grow up to become a lawyer. Flash forward some 20 years and he is graduating senior at an unnamed college in Providence, Rhode Island who is struggling to figure out his future. (The film was largely shot on the Brown University campus.) He doesn't want to go to law school and is disappointed to get an acceptance letter from Columbia University, which throws him into an existential crisis.

Max is an indifferent student who lives with two quirky roommates—Kate Blum and Zeno Stefanos. He spends much of his time at the college's progressive rock station, WXOX (which appears to be modeled on Brown's WBRU), hanging out with his friend, Wells Dennard. Other DJs include Moonboy and Bambi (played by musicians Fred Schneider and Kate Pierson, from The B-52's). WXOX's main disc jockey and founder, Peter Downs (played by musician John Doe of X), is a hero to Max. The station is threatened by developers who wish to raze it and the surrounding block. Peter initially battles against this, but then surrenders to the inevitable and leaves town.

Max continues to fight against the developers, thereby angering the college's administration and risking his chances of graduating. He also runs into trouble with the police after he breaks into the apartment of Lisa, with whom he had had a brief affair.

Wells and Katie participate in the college's commencement, but Max disrupts the ceremony by taking over WXOX and blasting his anti-corporate message over a public-address speaker. His final message is, "Rock and roll can save you." The film ends with him in the radio station's studio and his future is uncertain.

Cast

• Arye Gross as Maxwell Glass
• Judith Hoag as Kate Blum
• Tom Sizemore as Zeno Stefanos
• John Doe as Peter Downs
• Wendell Pierce as Wells Dennard
• Sarah Bork as Cynthia
• Margaret Stassa as Lisa
• Tom Gilroy as "The Scuzz"
• Jim Dunbar as Frank Dell
• Benny Benowitz as Smart Student
• Harry Cooper as "Babe"
• Christina Haag as Isabelle Allen
• Michael Imperioli as Zeno's Assistant
• Michael Balcanoff as Professor Eliot Eastman
• Fred Schneider as "Moonboy"
• Kate Pierson as Bambi
• Gilbert McCauley as Roger
• Kate Mailer as Nan
• Wayne Chou as Stu
• John F. Kennedy Jr. as Guitar Playing Romeo
• Hope Nicholls as Band Leader
• Fetchin' Bones as The Band
• Jon Campbell as "Swede"
• Brian Smiar as Dean Simon
• Duncan B. Putney as Yuppie Student
• George Gund IV as Student Server
• Annette Miller as Mrs. Glass
• Sanford Odets as Mr. Glass
• Patricia Pellows as Aunt Bernice
• Joseph R. Paolino as Graduation Speaker
• Za Za Dupre as Baby Max Glass

References

External links

• A Matter of Degrees at IMDb

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