DVD : Private Benjamin [1980]

Rating: - All present and correct
The service comedy is a genre almost as old as cinema itself and, whether it's Charlie Chaplin or Victor McLaglen and Edmund Lowe in the trenches, Andy Griffith befuddling his sergeants, the Carry On team on the assault course or Steve Guttenberg and co at the Police Academy, has an almost immutable formula that is never, ever departed from: through mildly comic misadventure misfit(s) find themselves in the army/navy/air force/police force, are hopelessly unprepared for the harsh realities of basic training, fumble every task yet somehow come out of it all as the perfect soldier/sailor/airman/cop and prove themselves in a mildly comic baptism of fire. Private Benjamin does absolutely nothing to fix what ain't broke, contenting itself to offer the odd slight tweak and flavoring with a mild dose of Jewish humor as Goldie Hawn's sheltered princess finds herself talked into joining the `new' army by Harry Dean Stanton's smooth-talking recruiting sergeant after husband Albert Brooks dies in the throes of passion before the honeymoon even starts ("Do you remember what the last thing he said was?" asks his distraught mother, eliciting the reply "I'm coming.").

While it's a given that there are no surprises whatsoever, it's one of those comedies that manages to be pretty consistently funny throughout even if there aren't many really big laughs out of sheer likeability. Hawn's character is not too bright but not too Hilton with it - her character arc is not just from dependence to self-reliance but more importantly from not being able to understand why Jill Clayburgh walked out on Alan Bates in An Unmarried Woman to being able to make the same choice herself, in the process tackling sexism rather more effectively than G.I. Jane did 17 years later. Eileen Brennan is clearly having a ball as the obligatory sadistic training officer out to make her life hell and there's a quietly impressive supporting cast filling out the ranks as well as a memorable Bill Conti score. It only really misses its step slightly in the scenes where her Monsieur Right (Armand Assante) rather clumsily turns out to be Monsieur Wrong at the end, as if afraid of losing the audience's sympathy long after she's won them over, but not enough to squander the goodwill it's earned by then.

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Rating: - Adorable Performance from Goldie HAwn
Goldie Hawn is absolutely adorable in this, perhaps her signature role. Goldie plays Judy Benjamin, a spoiled young Jewish woman who we first see at her second wedding. Judy is in her late twenties, and has done seemingly nothing of importance in her life. Her father is only interested in her finding the right guy so he doesn't have to support her anymore. It seems she has found at least a successful husband in a man named Yale. (Albert Brooks) Yale seems like kind of a sleaze, but at least he has a good job as a divorce attorney, and Judy will at least be able to live off him for the rest of her life... it would originally appear. Those plans are shattered 15 minutes into the film when Yale dies while the two are having sex on their bathroom floor. Having nowhere else to turn, after an eight day bought of self-pity, Judy lets a charming army recruiter talk her into enlisting. Quite simply put, things are never the same for Judy Benjamin ever again.

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Rating: - Bloody Awful.
I approached this movie with an open mind - not quite knowing what to expect but, hey, it had an attractive DVD cover and it was quite a popular production on release. Oh pity me! This movie is bloody awful. The plot jerks awkwardly form one unfunny scene to the next before crashing in a frustratingly dire ending. This movie rolls along under the false pretence that BEING FEMALE + BEING IN THE ARMY + BEING JEWISH are the most potent combination for mass hysterics. What is it with the American media and Judiasm? Why do they think being Jewish is inherently funny? It isn't. This awful, self-edifying idiocy should be stopped at once. Alas, come oscar time and it's Award-O-Rama for this type of shtick. Anyway, after watching this movie I really wanted to snap the DVD in half it was so bad, but I decided to keep it should I ever need a frisbee to entertain a small dog. Private Benjamin, you're dismissed.

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Rating: - Goldie joins the army
Goldie Hawn plays the part of Judy Benjamin, a young socialite who is widowed on her wedding night. Distraught and with no purpose to her life and no skills to speak of she appeals to the listeners of a radio show to help her. One of the respondents is an army recruitment officer who, having convinced Judy that army life really consisted of yachts and condo's and sunbathing in California, manages to get her to sign up for 3 years. This is where the comedy really starts as Judy, who has never had to lift a manicured finger, gets a reality check and discovers that being in the army is not like being on holiday. Goldie Hawn is made for this kind of role, and as usual delivers the goods. There are some genuinely 'laugh out loud' moments as she struggles to adapt and make friends. Unfortunately the film seems to run out of steam half way through. Whereas the first half is true comedy, the second half has very little in the way of humour to offer. Having met a French gynaecologist who she falls for, she wangles a posting to Paris to be with him. This is where the humour disappears as Judy leaves the army to be with him and he turns out to be a control freak that turns Judy into a clone of his ex girlfriend. It's almost like watching two separate films.
This is a film that has stood the test of time and is still worth watching for the hilarious first half, just be prepared for the laughs to disappear.

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Rating: - Goldie Hawn at her best!
If you like Goldie Hawn this is the movie for you!

Goldie plays a relatively young woman who's second husband died on their wedding night. She is convinced by a military recruiter that the military is a great place for her and that she can quit when ever she likes because "it's just a job". She joins as the snob she is and tries to get out. When she realizes she can't she does her worst in every aspect. But when her parents come to pick her up she decides she would stay. She becomes one of the best and get's a job and lives happily. she is offered to move to wherever she likes. She choses Paris where one of her flirts from a bar lived. They meet, fall in love and then... Well you'll just have to see for yourself.

This is a big fat laugh party! Do see it if you can!