Sgt. Bilko (1996)

Sgt. Bilko (1996): Dir: Jonathan Lynn / Cast: Steve Martin, Glenn Headly, Phil Hartman, Dan Aykroyd, John Marshall Jones: Here is a military comedy that should have viewers running out and renting superior types such as Stripes or Private Benjamin. Steve Martin plays Sgt. Ernie Bilko who allows his troops to gamble while authority is unaware of their actions. He is fun loving but his girlfriend longs for marriage so she gives him a month to commit himself before she pulls out and moves on. Trouble arises when Phil Hartman returns bent on revenge after a gambling loss. Seeing the opportunity he moves in on Bilko's girlfriend. While the film contains its share of funny moments the premise is not new and the structure is purely sitcom. Directed by Jonathan Lynn who achieved acclaim with My Cousin Vinny. Martin as Bilko wishes to be one of the crowd and avoid responsibility. Glenn Headly as his girlfriend is rendered the standard romantic who cannot rise above cardboard potential. Hartman makes a great foil for Martin's pratfalls but the ending fails due to actions that punish one factor but never highlights the wrong committed originally by the other. Dan Aykroyd is cast as a superior who looks the other way and the role should be worthy the comic's talent but sadly it is not. It never lacks in entertainment, which is what Bilko lives for but it also never elevates beyond conventions. Score: 4 / 10

I have watched a few films with Steve Martin and really enjoyed them all, but this is, so far, my definite favourite. I have not watched the original series of "Sgt. Bilko", but I picked up the idea of this film pretty quickly and I enjoyed almost every minute. The humour is very crazy, similar to cartoon humour, but at the same time it is often very intelligent. I felt many "YES!" moments in this film, lines or scenes where the hilarity, words and or slapstick were just about PERFECT. Not only were the lines and funny scenes mostly very well-written and done, but the characters were memorable and (mostly) relatable and the plot itself was engaging enough, though sometimes a little too farcical.I recommend this film to people who love "mad," but clever humour, people who like Steve Martin and already have an idea of his acting style and to people who like to see a "unique" portrayal of what goes on in the US army (not that it's realistic of course...). Enjoy "Sgt. Bilko"! :-)

Steve Martin is At His Best in 'Sgt. Bilko'. He delivers a hilarious & lovable performance, that easily is among his finest. And even as a film, 'Sgt. Bilko' is great fun!'Sgt. Bilko' Synopsis: Bilko runs the motor pool and has all sorts of scams going on like gambling, renting out military vehicles, and so on, which are all violations. 'Sgt. Bilko', an adaptation of the 1950s television series, turns out to be one great cinematic experience. The film is full of comedic moments, that definitely will you in splits. Nat Hiken & Andy Breckman's Screenplay is genuinely funny & very entertaining. Jonathan Lynn's Direction, is perfect. Cinematography, Editing & Art Design, are mention-worthy.Performance-Wise: Martin is the life of the show. He stands out from scene A to Z. Dan Aykroyd is first-rate. Phil Hartman is excellent as the bad-guy. Glenne Headly is wonderfully relaxed. Chris Rock, John Marshall Jones & Pamela Adlon are quite good. Others lend good support.On the whole, 'Sgt. Bilko' is great fun! A Must See for Martin Fanatics!

OK I'm not an American, but in my humble Scottish opinion Steve Martin is not, never has been, and never will be a funny man as long as our posteriors point in a southerly direction. Phil Silvers as Sergeant Bilko was a funny man, no doubt due to the skilled writers and directors and all the other talented team working characters in the series who contributed perfectly to one of the funniest and dateless situation comedies America has ever produced. How anyone could have the audacity to even attempt to replicate the Phil Silvers character is beyond me. To compound things the exercise was repeated in Martin's unfunny attempt to be Peter Seller's Inspector Clouseau, another abortive attempt, in my opinion, to rekindle a demonstrably unfunny career. Some of your contributers say 'Steve Martin puts his own stamp on the character', to that I would say 'balderdash' , his portrayals will be long forgotten when those of Silvers and Sellars will be treasured for generations to come