I just saw this movie for the first time. What do you all think about the ending? I thought it was rather weak, and it left the movie unfinished. I thought she was going to go back to the army. I realize that she made the decision to quit, but if she went back I think they might have taken her. What do you all think (about the ending, whether you think she would have gone back or not, and whether they would have taken her back)?
shareI always assumed she went back to the army. She just realized that she was stronger on her own then she would ever be otherwise. She'd been pushed around and forced into doing everything her rich parents/spouses wanted, but in the army, she could be herself. I always thought she went back to the army.
shareThe ending was really naff, I think they could have at least added another 20 mintutes to the scene to include Judy rejoining the army, but I suppose they just thought "let's just leave it to peoples imagination". Another thing that really bugs me is that Henri turned out to be a control freak and a two timing rat, which is not how he was in the beginning of the movie.
My lord I have a cunning plan - Baldrick/Blackadder
Yes- which makes him a manipulative slimebag. He was able to worm his way into Judy's confidence so he could have his way with her. He lied to her, cheated on her, and forced her to sign a marriage contract written in French, which she couldn't understand. A typical smarmy Frenchman who thought he was God's gift to women and that he could treat them any way he wanted. I just love it when hairballs like him get their comeuppance. They think loyalty, devotion, fealty and monogamy don't apply to them. Because they're oh-so-suave, debonair and good-looking. A pox on them. I loved it when Judy punched his lights out!
shareI'm willing to bet $100.00 you've never met more then three "Frenchmen" in your life. How about another $100.00 that says you've never even been to France. What a bloody stupid comment. If anything, another $100.00 says you're jealous of men who are good looking, suave and are able to get any women they want. Stereotyping a whole country of men based on a character in a movie doesn't show a high degree of intelligence.
Cheers
Kinda weird that everyone that's posted so far thinks she went back to the army. That thought never even entered my mind. I just assumed that she went on to live her life on her own terms as a strong, independent woman. Although the army was the catalyst that brought that strength and independence out, I think re-enlisting would have been a step back for her at that point.
shareI agree with the previous poster - I don't think she went back to the army at all. She spent her life going from one male authority figure to the next, and the army was just an extension of that. However, being in the army made her realise that she IS strong and doesn't need a man to guide her. By the end of the movie, the whole world is open to her so really could have gone on to do anything
shareSurely if you think she went back to the army you've missed the whole point of the movie. Watch the wedding veil after she tosses it into the air - that's the iconic representation of the final message - she's free at last, subject only to the whims of nature, not the exploitation and manipulation by other power-figures. A bit unrealistic of course given today's society structure, but nevertheless that IS the point. This is a wonderful film which is funny, satirical, moving at times, and Hawn shows real acting ability.
share
I love the ending seeing her walk into the distance in her wedding gown with her frizzy ginger hair was a classic scene.
They think we're the demons now - Prue Halliwell ~ All Hell Breaks Loose ~ Charmed
Where was the Army leading her? She never looked completely comfortable in the Army.
sharegreat film but as i saw it she partly decided to leave the army but they kicked her out because she went with a communist
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i think they took her back and she rose through the ranks. but if i had her life i would have gone back to the army. i always thought that vail symbolised her parachute jump and how free she felt
Thunderbirds Aren't Slow
I was disappointed by the ending but the beginning and the middle was ace!!!!
"A naked singularity is: Sam Carter on a Saturday night!" ~ AT
she never could have gone back to the army anyway. she got a dishonorable discharge. you cant go back from that. its the same as a court marshall. their would be no going back even if she wanted to.
shareThe ending totally sucked. The last 1/4th of the film was not only predictable but we'v been there, done that. Evil Frenchman, screwing maid, wanting a good-little-wife at home. Its been done, ... to death. Audience's been there, we've got the T-shirt
As the movie's title is "Private Benjamin" and the whole schtick of the movie is Benjamin in the Army, I was expecting to see a final closing scene showing her back in uniform. The Mary Tyler Moore throwing of the veil thingy was quite good but I think they should have sequed back to her in the army as the film wasn't "Julie Benjamin and how she just happened to spend a couple of months in the army" but "Private Benjamin" (You know, like if they would have ended Stripes with them unemployed and forming a bowling league).
I think the ending is alright. I mean, it doesn't matter what she does, the point is she can survive without men who are clearly all sex mad scum (if we go by the movie). It really sucked that she didn't get to stay with Albert Brooks. What a cutie.
shareI never really thought much about whether she went back to the army or not. To me, the ending symbolised that she was finally taking control of her life.
"As my mother always said, no man who never did nothing never made any mistakes." - Frank Spencer.
I thought it was a good ending. I didn't assume that she was out of the Army to begin with. I suppose now that you guys mention it, she was probably "out", but in real life getting out of the military is a paperwork nightmare, and takes extra long to outprocess early. I had a few friends whose outprocessing took over 6 months because they were getting out on "bad" terms. I know it's just a movie. Watching the end I assumed she'd go wherever she wanted.
What annoyed me is that the end tried to suggest that she was "overcoming" something, but I was already with her. I thought she had her sh!t straight long before the wedding, how many times does she have to set herself up and then overcome something before she's done? I mean, is she going to run into some other rapist man or evil government at the end of the Frenchman's driveway?
Appreciation isn't a test of intelligence.
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She was going back to the army and become another Doreen I suppose. Having casuall sex on every Friday night doesn't sound that bad.
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