Private Benjamin (1980)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Howard Zieff

Writers:

Nancy Meyers (written by) &
Charles Shyer (written by) ...

Release Date:

10 October 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

The army was no laughing matter until Judy Benjamin joined it.

Plot:

A sheltered young high society woman joins the army on a whim and finds herself in a more difficult situation than she ever expected.

Plot Keywords:

Army | NATO | Wedding Night | Wedding | War Game

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Goldie Hawn	...	Pvt. Judy Benjamin - Judy Goodman
Eileen Brennan	...	Capt. Doreen Lewis
Armand Assante	...	Henri Alan Tremont
Robert Webber	...	Col. Clay Thornbush
Sam Wanamaker	...	Teddy Benjamin
Barbara Barrie	...	Harriet Benjamin
Mary Kay Place	...	Pvt. Mary Lou Glass
Harry Dean Stanton	...	1st Sgt. Jim Ballard
Albert Brooks	...	Yale Goodman
Alan Oppenheimer	...	Rabbi
Estelle Marlov	...	Vocalist at Wedding
Everett Covin	...	Bandleader
Robert Hanley	...	Arnie
Lee Wallace	...	Mr. Waxman
James Dybas	...	Photographer

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:L | Singapore:PG | Canada:PG | Australia:M | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | Norway:12 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Angel's Gate Park - 3601 Gaffey Street, San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Judy discovers another woman's jewelry in her bed and accuses her fiancé of cheating on her. The same thing happens to Goldie Hawn's character in Shampoo (1975).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Benjamin jumps out of the airplane, the static line to deploy her parachute is not hooked up.

Quotes:

Judy Benjamin: Don't bad French artists have telephones?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Rock Soup (1991)

Soundtrack:

We Are Family

Goldie as the world's most unlikely soldier...

Thanks mainly to a clever script and the presence of GOLDIE HAWN and EILEEN BRENNAN, this is the kind of service comedy that brings back reminders of how this sort of thing was done back in the '40s with comedies like SEE HERE, PRIVATE HARGROVE or YOU'RE IN THE ARMY NOW or BUCK PRIVATES.

But this time, it's a woman enlistee who has to go through the rigors of boot camp (arguably, the best segments in the whole film and the funniest). Goldie is a spoiled rich girl who thinks the Army is going to be a respite from her problems as a woman who lost her husband on her wedding night. She's in for quite a learning experience and the gags come fast and furious for the first half-hour or so.

Then, when romance enters the story, it becomes rather uneven as she has an affair with a Frenchman, ARMAND ASSANTE, who turns out to be a first-class heel. By the end of the film, she decides to re-enlist rather than return to the civilian life she found so empty.

It's a decidedly uneven comedy, but Goldie's perfect comic timing and ability to switch gears when romance is called for, shows she had more dimension as an actress than anyone suspected. She was nominated for an Oscar for her Private Benjamin--and Eileen Brennan, hilarious as Capt. Doreen Lewis won a supporting role nomination.

Goldie's fans should love this one; and after all, it's not supposed to be taken seriously, it's all done tongue-in-cheek style.