>> the fact that kid coming from that situation gets into the ivy league is beyond a dream come true. but he's working as a janitor to make his way through that school. >> i've already got three shifts in the cafeteria and mopping the dorms at night. >> then his brother reese tries to set off a stink bomb at malcolm's graduation. but instead it goes off in the car. >> what's that noise? >> oh, my eyes! >> this is appropriate. now my life looks exactly how i feel! >> i'm sorry, malcolm. but you don't get the easy path. >> malcolm really gave people the opportunity to think about what they were struggling with in their families. >> oh, really? >> we laugh at them and relate to them. >> you know what it's like to be poor and you know what it's like to work hard. now you're going to learn what it's like to sweep floors and bust your ass and accomplish twice as much as all the kids around you. >> and it acts as a reminder that the american dream is becoming more and more elusive