Private Benjamin (1980)

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

There's nothing necessarily egregious about this army-camp 'comedy' but the sum of its parts add up to a tedious, tiresome and generally joyless experience that peaks around an hour too early and just wallows around in its own self-pity for the remainder of its run-time. It's this meandering that really brings the piece down as, without this slack pacing and the almost incompetent lack of focus for the main plot found within this segment, the majority of the feature is inoffensive fluff that can be passively watched to kill a bit of time. Even then there are a few moments that stand out as truly odd, such as a poorly handled, out-of-nowhere sexual assault sequence played purely for laughs and an advancement in the plot before never being mentioned again. There's also a general lack of a proper grasp on both the core concept and the character arcs that should stem from it, especially considering the lead learns her lesson and completes her arc only to then completely relapse and bizarrely learn her lesson again in the final scene, literally within the blink of an eye. In the end, though, I didn't enjoy this flick, I wasn't entertained and I didn't laugh once. 4/10

This movie deserved a sequel. Maybe I missed it? In any event, I came to IMDb to see if there were opinions on what Judy does next at the end of the movie. To my surprise, in the IMDb description, it says that Judy reenlists. I don't think that point was made; rather, it is left to the audience to decide.Anyway, I started reading reviews, and my neck tensed up. Why? Because so many people write that Captain Doreen Lewis is a lesbian. First - who on earth cares? And, why then, was she drooling, and more, over Captain William Woodbridge. Good grief! If Captain Lewis' sexual preference were remotely connected to the story line, that would be a different story, but it's absolutely not. What's the problem? That Captain Lewis is a Captain?I hate it that we've become a world of sexual-preference-obsessed. It didn't used to be like that. It's not as though this heightened awareness is keeping kids and adults from getting their heads bashed in. I'd bet it happens more often. My daughter and I were almost attacked because we were holding hands and some idiots decided we were lesbians. What's wrong with them/you? This is a fine movie with great comedy, great performances, important messages... can't you ever detach from sexual preference obsession, and leave it at that? Good grief...

Goldie Hawn had one of her biggest hits with the 1980 comedy Private Benjamin, an entertaining comedy that provides more than its shares of laughs, even if they don't sustain the length of the entire film.Hawn received a Best Actress nomination for her enchanting performance as Judy Benjamin, a bubbly, Jewish-American Princess whose sheltered existence is completely shattered when her new husband (Albert Brooks) dies of a heart attack during sex on their wedding night. Aimless and clueless about what to do with her life now, Judy enlists in the US army on a whim after being duped by a slick recruiter (Harry Dean Stanton) about what the army could offer her.The strongest part of the film focuses on Judy's complete ignorance about the military and what it involves, including her disappointment at learning that green is the only color the uniforms come in. Judy's struggle with army life is further complicated by her battle of wits with her hard-nosed commanding officer, Captain Doreen Lewis (supporting actress nominee Eileen Brennan). The hate/hate relationship between Judy and Lewis is the strongest part of this comedy and just as it reaches a fever pitch, Judy's parents arrive at the base to take their baby home because they had no idea what she had done and, in a moment that induces cheers, Judy grows up and tells her parents she is going to stay.Surprisingly, this is where the film begins to lose steam as Judy is drafted as part of an elite military squad and becomes involved with a European playboy (Armand Assante), who wants to turn Judy back into the spoiled princess she was, completely dependent on a man that she used to be, but the film is still worth watching.Howard Zeiff's spirited direction is a plus as is the solid support provided by Barbara Barrie and Sam Wanamaker as Judy's parents, Mary Kay Place as one of Judy's fellow soldiers and Robert Webber as the squad leader who recruits the new Judy for his team and though the film does peter out, it is a pleasure most of the way, thanks primarily to Hawn and Brennan, who makes their roles sizzle.

I had heard different versions of what this was about, the most common mistake about the plot was that it was a true story about a lesbian female soldier LOL, so I'm glad I watched it and putt all that straight, from director Howard Zieff (The Dream Team, My Girl). Basically Jewish-American woman Judy Goodman (Oscar and Golden Globe nominated Goldie Hawn) marries Teddy Benjamin (Sam Wanamaker, Zoë's father), and it looks like she will be happy, but she is shocked when her new husband dies on their wedding night during sex. She one day after meets 1st Sgt. Jim Ballard (Harry Dean Stanton) who convinces her that life in the army is actually quite glamorous, and with no sense of worth anymore she decides to enrol herself. Of course when new Pvt. Judy Benjamin gets a rude awakening, and is forced into doing vigorous boot camp training, and also getting into trouble a lot she really wishes to get out of it, but as she gets to know the fellow recruits and the lifestyle she is determined to stick it out. During her time in service she does find another love interest with dashing French doctor Henri Alan Tremont (Armand Assante), but this is short lived as he has to return to Paris, and her promotion gives her more duties she must stick to. However they are brought back together again when she is sent Belgium, and Henri proposes marriage to Judy, which she accepts, but her boot camp officer Capt. Doreen Lewis (Oscar nominated Eileen Brennan) finds out he is a communist, and she is forced into deciding whether to stay with him or in the army. She does choose her new romance over her duty, and it is only later she discovers her love interest's controlling side, he tells her for example to sign a prenuptial agreement, and then worse she finds out he is still in love with his ex, and he has cheated on her with a maid. Judy realises on the day of the wedding that she can do anything she wants, and with Henri having been unfaithful in two instances she leaves him in the altar, and walks off into the distance to go and live a new life. Also starring Poltergeist's Craig T. Nelson as Capt. William Woodbridge, 12 Angry Men's Robert Webber as Col. Clay Thornbush, Barbara Barrie as Harriet Benjamin, Girl, Interrupted's Mary Kay Place as Pvt. Mary Lou Glass, Finding Nemo's Albert Brooks as Yale Goodman and Halloween's P.J. Soles as Pvt. Wanda Winter. I can agree with the critics, it is a bit of a one joke film, the joke obviously being that the army is full of female soldiers (which of course isn't completely real life) and that the leading character is wimpy and scatterbrained, but as that character Hawn does give a nice performance, and so does Brennan as her commanding officer, overall it is not a bad comedy. It was nominated the Oscar for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen. Worth watching!