With Honors

A campus-wide power outage fries Monty's hard drive just as he prints a backup copy of his thesis. In a rush to recover his work, he trips on the street, breaks his ankle, and drops the thesis down a grate into the boiler room under Widener Library. There, he encounters a homeless man who resembles Walt Whitman and who is burning pages from the thesis.

Monty calls campus police to arrest the man he saw burning the pages. The arrest identifies the homeless man as Simon Wilder. Although the charges are later dismissed, Simon is held in contempt, and Monty ends up paying the fine to settle the matter.

Monty and Simon strike a deal: for every service Monty provides, Simon will return one page of the thesis. Monty reluctantly ferries Simon to the house and lets him stay in a broken-down van in the backyard. The arrangement marks the start of an unlikely, evolving friendship.

Over time, Simon helps Monty see poor people as human beings, changing his perspective. Monty confides in Simon about his absent father, and Simon shows him his collection of memory stones, each linked to a significant moment in his life. The two men grow closer as Monty reevaluates his thesis.

Monty's roommates gradually accept Simon living with them; Courtney appreciates Monty's new openness, and Everett offers to repair the van in exchange for wine. Jeff refuses to let Simon stay in the basement during a particularly cold night. The household dynamic deepens and tests their boundaries.

During Christmas vacation, Monty stays behind to rewrite his thesis while his friends go home. Simon sends a friend to deliver the pages, but then reveals he does not want to see Monty. Monty eventually finds Simon living on the street, coughing and wheezing from years of asbestos exposure in the Merchant Marines.

Monty invites Simon back to live in the house, with Simon receiving disability benefits to cover rent. He decides to rewrite the thesis from a pessimistic to a more optimistic subject. Jeff remains wary, but Courtney and Everett welcome Simon's return.

Simon's presence deepens the group's bond, and Monty and Courtney begin dating. At a campus pajama party, Simon encourages Monty to confess his love for Courtney, and she reciprocates. They form a new, chosen family built on empathy and support.

Monty and the roommates drive to visit Frank, Simon's son, to make amends for his past. Frank bitterly rebuffs the apology and pretends not to know him when Simon's granddaughter asks who he is. Before leaving, Simon adds another stone to his collection.

Simon's health deteriorates on the return trip as they try to keep him comfortable. The roommates stay up all night reading Walt Whitman to him as his condition worsens. He dies soon after, leaving the group with a profound sense of loss.

At Simon's funeral, Monty tearfully reads his obituary, acknowledging the roommates as his family. He declares that Monty will graduate life with honor and without regret. He also returns the Walt Whitman book to Widener Library as a symbolic gesture toward Simon's memory.

Monty explains to Professor Pitkannan why he shifted to a more optimistic thesis subject. Pitkannan accepts the reasoning but informs him that he will not graduate with honors due to lateness. Monty thanks him for mentorship and accepts the new reality.

Monty returns the Walt Whitman book to Widener Library, symbolically leaving Simon's spirit there. He resolves to honor his memory through his continued work and his memory-stone collection. This act marks a turning point in Monty's life as he embraces a broader, more compassionate view of humanity.

The roommates graduate together, having completed the journey that began with a single lost thesis. Monty begins his own collection of memory stones, continuing to honor the people who shaped his life. The film closes on a note of new beginnings grounded in friendship and memory.