MovieChat Forums > Private Benjamin (1980) Discussion > Good Premise. But Fizzles Toward The En...

Good Premise. But Fizzles Toward The End.

posted 17 years ago by jbartelone
13 replies | jump to latest

Guys,

The opening scenes with Goldie Hawn as the pampered princess who has to deal with the trauma of her husband, (Played in an all too-short role by Albert Brooks.) who dies on their wedding night has all the potential for quick-witted comedy, typical of most Goldie Hawn movies.

Watching her struggle with basic training and her less than sympathetic drill Sargent offers some great one liners. I also like the neat "Thornbird Sequence" to the memorable tune of "The Battle Hymn of The Republic."

But than the film takes a rapid nosedive as Armand Assante enters the picture and appears to be using Judy for his own personal love gains. The whole film turns sour from that point forward with Judy deciding to marry Assante, but after realizing how he has been treating her dumps him at their wedding ceremony choosing to live an independent life. The problem is, once the Army sequences are gone, we no longer care about Judy's character because there isn't anything left for her to do except react to the shallow characters around her. When the Army sequences are not on screen, it's like watching a movie with nothing to offer.

Goldie tries her best to work with the strained script. But it is as if the writers ran out of quality material after the first hour and said, "Well, we got to come up with something to stretch the film into 1:50 mins." In my view, most can see very easily that this is the film's major flaw.

Grade: C+

Joe

[–] simplex992000 17 years ago

Agreed. I kept expecting to see her back in the army at her old post or something like that to pick the tempo back up and have a stripes-like upbeat patriotic ending. But I guess we are just to think that she lived happily ever after or something, walking down the road.

[–] AgentMonster 17 years ago

Yes, the movie basically has two halves. The first half is great fun but the second half drifts aimlessly without any real direction.

[–] danajohnhill 17 years ago

I totally agree. I saw it for the first time last week, and when it was over the first thing I said was that it really went off the boil in the second half.

[–] JessaCita 16 years ago

I agree, too! I just watched this movie for the first time, and loved the first half. I even liked the Henri character until he turned sleazy. I would have been happy with Judy either staying single & in the army, OR even getting married & in the army (or with a career she loved). What I liked about the army scenes is Judy came into herself & realized that she was good at something & could achieve whatever she wanted. I didn't like that she had talked earlier in the movie about how she'd always belonged to someone & she didn't know what she was supposed to be or do if she wasn't married--then she "found herself" and realized she was good in the army--THEN, her whole independent woman realization seemed to fade away after meeting Henri again in Paris... I'm all for a happy, romantic ending--as long as the woman stays herself! And Henri totally changed from a sweet, sexy guy to a complete jerk. That was disappointing after such a perfect first meeting between these two. I wish they would have explained what Judy did at the end, too... It was really anticlimactic.

[–] CineTigers 16 years ago

Glad to see I'm not the only one... Just viewed the film for the first time, and can't understand how it made so many 100 best lists. Yes, the premise and first two "sections" are great, then the plot wanders trying to figure out how to end! Would have been a great 58 min movie (or a couple more rewrites).

[–] Connie_n_Raymond_Marble 16 years ago

Am I the only one who liked the latter half? The purpose of Henri's character is to test Judy, to see if she will aply the confidence, independence, and self-respect she learns in the army to the rest of her life. It looks as if she won't, as if she will continue the cycle of bad judgement and reliance on others she has displayed up until the night she decided to stay in the service. But then she surprises herself, and us, by telling that jerk to go take a hike. I found that scene exhilerating and thought the ending, with Judy striking out on her own, exhilerating.

We'll see whose the filthiest person alive! We'll just see!

[–] elysergooser 16 years ago

No, you are not alone. I thought the scenes with Henri's dog piddling on the floor were funny and also when she was forced to wear that awful red hair just to please her fiance. Her slow realization that her "dream man" was ruining all of the progress she had made was well played. Henri was a shmuck and it was good to see her realize that before she lost her independence.

But this movie should have had a sequel. I would have loved to have seen the further adventures of Judy Benjamin.

[–] jayhn1111 15 years ago

When I first saw the movie I hated the 2nd half. But after just watching it again recently, it made more sense to me. Like you said, it's about her keeping her self respect and not falling back into the cycle of reliance on others.

[–] onepotato2 15 years ago

The tone shifts. It was trying to be all things to all people. First half: comedy, 2nd half, feminist awakening manifesto. They don't fit. The entire premise of Judy being in the army is gone, like they couldn't find an army story to tell about her.

Probably to suit Goldie Hawn, tired of her ditz character.

It's probably the main reason it's not a comedy classic. No-ones seen it nowadays.

Also who gets stationed in Paris in the 80s?

[–] oakcourt 15 years ago

I don't normally watch stuff with ditzy blonde characters in but this film for some reason I can't work out, I really like and will watch anytime it's on. Ditto Goldie, I'd normally write actresses who look like her as bimbos but I quite like her too.

[–] littlefuzzy 14 years ago

I remembered this from TV in the 80s/90s, and based on that remembrance and what I was seeing as I watched the first half, I gave it an 8... However, by the end of the movie, I had to drop it to a 6.

I kind of see what they were doing, basically her whole life was dictated by someone pressuring her to do something, and Henri was no different. Obviously the character was put there for her to finally realize she was being pushed around, and stand up for herself.

Frankly, though, I think it would have been a better movie if they had her stand up for herself within the army (ala Stripes), they could have dropped the whole Henri and Europe thing. They really seemed tacked on.

For that matter, the Thornbridge attempted rape was really poor, as well. Obviously just a way for her to get to Europe, with Henri.

[–] Percivalx 12 years ago

Agree with you 100%. The movie just lost momentum on the second half. I couldn't wait for Judy to dump Henri. It felt like forever.

"Let us be crooked but never common"

[–] HoorayforHolly 8 years ago

I was annoyed by how quickly she "transformed". Within 50 minutes she went from helpless widow to fearless leader, speaking on behalf of her unit and standing up to colonels in the army. It's great that she came into her own, but that kind of confidence doesn't happen overnight.