An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)

... or at least that seems to be the lesson to working class girls like Paula (Debra Winger) and Lynnette (Lisa Blount) who have the problem of only having a high school education and thus limited employment options in the remote rural place in which they live, but access to the droves of young men going through officer candidate school nearby. The catch - they are only there for 13 weeks, and isolated on base without leave for the first four. With the final scene being somewhat iconic - I won't spoil it for you but I'm sure you'll recognize it being parodied somewhere before - it does seem to be that my review title is the lesson for young women here. That and cheaters (Lynette) never prosper.This is a great time capsule and probably the film you should watch if you want a taste of the Reagan revolution of the early 1980s. The most significant feature of "An Officer and a Gentleman" is that contemporary reviewers saw nothing unusual about it. The use of sex and nudity marks what has been incorporated from the counter cultural revolution, but the politics have shifted to the right so quietly that no one noticed. It's entirely possible that the writer and director could truthfully deny that they had intended to make a pro-Reagan film. With appealing stars like Richard Gere and Debra Winger, salvation through military service could even seem to be hip.It's also a taste of something we lost at the end of the draft. I'm not saying that a military draft would be the least bit practical with the highly technical armed forces we have now. But look what we have here - people from all walks of life being forged together into a cohesive unit, aware but unbothered by the differences between them. Zack (Richard Gere), losing a mother to suicide as a child, foisted upon an unwilling father by the Navy, and growing up over a Filipino whorehouse, learning martial arts to defend himself against the roving street gangs. Of course he came to the navy a selfish jerk - he needed that quality to survive as a kid. Zack's best buddy (David Keith as Sid) is an Okie from Muskogee, a guy so traditional he is living his dead brother's life for him just because his parents want it that way. Then there is Perryman, their bunk mate. He appears to be a little older, maybe almost 30, but being a naval aviator is the only way he can see to get up and into a secure future for his wife and kids. Then there is Emiliano Della Serra (Tony Plana), a soft spoken mathematics graduate from Texas, Hispanic and every inch of five feet. In high school this is the kind of guy Zack and Sid would have shoved into his own locker, but here he is a colleague. Last but not least there is Casey Seeger, the lone woman in the outfit, just a few years after women were even allowed to try for this career at all.Lou Gossett Junior earned his supporting actor academy award as Sgt. Foley . He presses the recruits hard, trying everything to trip them up and expose weaknesses in their character. It's too bad it really didn't seem to do much for his career.Look out for a young David Caruso whose trip into the drink in a simulator pretty much paralleled his acting career. See NYPD Blue, season one, for reference.A great double bill would be this film and "Easy Rider" made just 13 years before. How drastically the culture had changed in thirteen years. No one connected with "Easy Rider" wanted to be a gentleman, let alone an officer. If "An Officer and a Gentleman" had been shown in 1969 or the early 70s, those who flocked to "Easy Rider" would have scorned its theme of salvation through military service the way they scorned "The Green Berets." Think of the contrasts between the two films, especially since Richard Gere and Lou Gossett, Jr. would have been perfectly capable of playing counter cultural heroes. Pessimism vs. optimism. Hatred of the system vs. a belief that the system works.At any rate, the rather bad lesson this teaches young working class women is made up for by the all star cast - an ensemble of actors that works and an overall great script. Plus it is just a wonderful representative of those early 80s. I'd highly recommend it.

In the eight years I've been posting reviews on IMDb, I usually like to review the classics over the more recent fare of films, primarily to see if the older movies still ignite flames even to this day forward and partially in my young life I missed a lot of the more adult movies because at one time I had a zero interest in them. Even though "An Officer and a Gentleman" came out in 1982, six years after I was born, I only just recently stumbled across it recently (sorry for my tardiness), just because my elders talked so much about it so I just wanted to know what the hype was about and to see if it will leave me with a lasting impression.For those who never seen the film it stars Richard Gere as a young man named Zack Mayo who has recently checked himself into the Navy OCS located in Washington. From the early scenes we discover that Mayo's life was not a very pleasant one. At a very young age, his mother killed herself and was forced to stay with his father (Robert Loggia) while stationed in the Philippines. His father's nurturing was absent since all he had on his mind was drinking and chasing prostitutes. Zach wasn't really prepared for the tough regiments that the OCS had to offer as he struggling in terms of handling commitment let alone following authoritative figures.Mayo is under the tutelage of gunnery Sgt. Emil Foley (Louis Gossett Jr.) and it comes to no surprise that their encountering is just on the horizon. Mayo seems to excel quite well on the physical initiatives that the Navy has to offer, but academically is quite the other story. This leads to Mayo forming a friendship with a fellow classmate named Sid Worley (David Keith) as he will do everything he can to get Mayo into the Aerodynamics class in exchange for immaculate belt- buckles and boots whenever there's a barracks inspection. The main setting for this movie is set in the OCS, there's also a vital subplot that involves Zach, Sid and a couple of girls "Puget Debs" who they meet when they're off campus during their weekend. The two ladies are Paula Pokrifki (Debra Winger) and Lynette Pomeroy (Lisa Blount) who a scrounging for military meat in hopes for a quick marriage proposal. These Puget Debs play riskier attempts to get their catch like faking their pregnancies or other things like that. Paula hooks up with Zach while Lynette is onto Sid.The rest of the way it's Zach trying to get through 13 weeks of OCS training and while getting adjusted to Paula. Since Zach is the titular character, fans seem to pretty much know the outcome of the story, but that doesn't deprive itself from being entertaining. After 33 years, I can safely say that "An Officer and a Gentleman" has aged quite gracefully. There are a lot of wonderful scenes with many authentic scenes that just can't be beat. Who could forget when Zach confesses to Sgt. Foley "I got nowhere else to go", plus the final scene where Mayo is now an ensign finds Paula and walks out with her to the applause of his colleagues. The pacing was also very well structured. Even though the film was almost at the two hour mark, there was never a boring moment and that was because the romantic scenes never interfered with the OCS scenes and it flowed in a more natural way. We also deeply care about the characters and we hope that Zach and Paula stay a couple and hope they live a happy life after the credits roll. Overall this movie gets a 9/10 that's highly recommended, even if you're a late bloomer like me, it's better late than never if you haven't seen this movie. It still holds up today since its release back in 1982.

Zack Mayo is the son of a US Navy Petty Officer; a drunk who had abandoned his mother when she became pregnant. When she killed herself Zack followed his father to the Philippines where he got on in life the hard way. Now he is an adult he is determined to make more of himself than his father did… to become a naval aviator… to become an officer and a gentleman. Before he can do that though he must pass the thirteen week course at the Aviation Officer Candidate School where those who don't have what it takes are weeded out. His instructor Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley doesn't think he has what it takes but he will push him and the rest of the class to the limit to find out. Zack befriends fellow student Sid Worley and the two of them start dating Paula and Lynette, a pair of local girls, despite Foley's warning that the local girls are all trying to get married to a pilot by fair means or foul.This film may be well known as a romance, largely due to the famous final scene, but it is far more than just that. In fact the most important relationship in the film is that between Mayo and Foley; Foley may be pushing Mayo to quit but without him he'd never get through the course; what at first appears to be bullying turns out to be the impetus needed to get through the gruelling training programme. Louis Gossett, Jr. certainly earned the Oscar he won for his performance as Foley and Gere is at his best as Mayo whose character develops from a selfish loner to that of somebody willing to help his classmates at his own expense. The rest of the cast are pretty good too; most notably David Keith who plays Sid and Debra Winger who plays Paula. For the most part we can guess how the story will ultimately end but that doesn't make it an entirely feel-good film; there is tragedy too and that comes as quite a shock. Overall an enjoyable film; well worth watching especially if you are a fan of Richard Gere.

One of the stronger movies of the 80s decade, Taylor Hackford's "An Officer and a Gentleman" covers a wide gamut of themes and emotions. It takes place in the Navy, and features stories of friendship, romance, and love. Richard Gere does a great job with his emotional acting, but less so with his physical acting as he seems hardly coordinated or athletic enough to convey leading his class. Anyway probably most who have seen this movie will tell you they particularly enjoyed Louis Gossett Jr. Oscar worthy and winning supporting performance as a tough and entertaining Drill Sargent. I would particularly agree, Gossett Jr. is witty and at times sardonic. The friction between characters Gere's Mayo and Gossett Jr Foley seems a little out of place, but still manages to be watchable. The Romanticism and love interest are a little better, with Winger looking stunning and acting more naturally than Gere. The photography and outdoor scenes especially are gorgeously shot. Fairly good soundtrack as well. Give this effort a solid 7.5/10 and recommended.