Major Payne (1995)

Major Benson Winifred Payne is being discharged from the Marines. Payne is a killin' machine, but the wars of the world are no longer fought on the battlefield. A career Marine, he has no ... See full summary »

Director:

Nick Castle

Writers:

Joe Connelly (story), Bob Mosher (story),

Stars:

Damon Wayans, Michael Ironside, Scott Bigalow

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Damon Wayans	...	Maj. Benson Payne
Michael Ironside	...	Lt. Col. Stone
Scott Bigalow	...	Huge Biker
Joseph Blaire	...	Cadet Bryan (as Joda Blare-Hershman)
Orlando Brown	...	Cadet Kevin 'Tiger' Dunne
Peyton Chesson-Fohl	...	Cadet Sgt. Johnson
Stephen Coleman	...	Cadet Leland
Mark Conway	...	Police Sergeant
David DeHart	...	Wellington Cadet Captain
Joshua Todd Diveley	...	New Cadet
Robert Faraoni Jr.	...	Smart Ass Soldier
Michael Gabel	...	Lt. Wiseman
Albert Hall	...	Gen. Decker
William Hickey	...	Dr. Phillips
Ross Bickell	...	Col. Braggart

Storyline

Major Benson Winifred Payne is being discharged from the Marines. Payne is a killin' machine, but the wars of the world are no longer fought on the battlefield. A career Marine, he has no idea what to do as a civilian, so his commander finds him a job - commanding officer of a local school's JROTC program, a bunch or ragtag losers with no hope. Using such teaching tools as live grenades and real bullets, Payne starts to instill the corp with some hope. But when Payne is recalled to fight in Bosnia, will he leave the corp who has just started the believe in him, or will he find out that killin' ain't much of a livin'?

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Plot Keywords:

bullet | teaching | grenade | drunkenness | critically bashed | 

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Taglines:

He's looking for a few good men... or a few guys old enough to shave.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some crude humor and behavior

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Vietnamese

Release Date:

24 March 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Auf Kriegsfuß mit Major Payne

Filming Locations:

Ashland, Virginia, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$29,412,050 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Wife 'n' Kids

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Major Payne quotes 9 separate rhymes which are:

• Love my barracks night and day, Won't complain That's where I'll stay
• Got no worry, got no stress! 'Cause we feel good in a dress.
• Major Payne's a major diss. He makes us squat when we piss.
• Got no worries, got no care. I'm just a bald headed son of a bitch without hair.
• One! Don't you feel dumb. Two! Look at you.
• Hey Dunn you missed all the fun. Fe-Fi-Fo-Fum. What beanstalk you fall from?
• Don't push the "maybes", baby.

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Goofs

They should have been in their PT outfit when doing PT.

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Quotes

Major Payne: [repeated line during the story he tells Tiger Dunn] Chooga chooga chooga chooga, chooga chooga chooga chooga... toot toot!

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Connections

References Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)

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Soundtracks

"Hey Mr. D.J."
(Maurice's Club Mix With Rap)
Performed by Zhané
Additional remix and production by Maurice Joshua

User Reviews

Unbeatable comedy for the right person in the right frame of mind.

You can pick up two things from reading other IMDb users' comments about this movie: 1) It's not for everyone so chances are you'll either love it or hate it, and 2) The frequency with which someone adds a comment is slowly increasing over time. Both these things lead me to imagine that Major Payne has all the makings of a great cult comedy in the truest meaning of that term.

If I were to offer anyone advice it would be to watch the first ten minutes of the film next time it's on TV. If the style of humour seems amusing to you, settle in for the ride and you'll probably be laughing out loud a LOT. If it seems dumb and you don't get it, cut your losses, switch right off and do something more productive with your time, that way you'll be spared an experience you won't enjoy. It's really that simple in this case.

Me? I had thought from the trailers it was going to be dumb but it came on TV and I started watching. Straightaway I was laughing at the narration, Payne's excessively 'war-ey' attitude ("The sweet smell of mustard gas" !!) and his voice, which you will also either love or hate. The Apocalypse Now spoof had me hooked... I suspected it was going to be another one of those parody flicks like Scary Movie or Hot Shots, but was pleasantly surprised at the way it panned out. The story is by-the-numbers cliched stuff, but it is essentially played with a straight face - there are no winks to the camera. Yet it still works, because even though they don't let on that they know, you still know that the film-makers are aware how cheesy it all is, and in fact I think they are gently sending up all those "inspirational" feelgood movies, without being offensive towards them. This is achieved in part through Wayans' stand out performance, and the blend of realistic (Payne's behaviour towards his charges is apparently mirrored in some real drill instructors) with ridiculous (a 6 year old military cadet??!!) Also, the director's use of music is inspired - consistently over the top at the right moment (eg "Respect") to heighten the humour.

Standout moments for me were the 'Little Engine Who Could' scene and Payne's "vision" whilst waiting at the station. Already I would like to get a copy of this movie as there were many many quotable one liners I would like to see again - as I said, it has the makings of a cult classic. I would recommend it unreservedly to someone if I knew they liked this kind of humour; to everyone else... 10 minutes is the cut off point!

I should just add that although I was in the R.A.F cadets at school, and have a brother in the British army (a Major, no less!!!) I have not been through the 'boot camp experience', yet still found the movie to be very funny. Bottom line though, I can see it's not for everyone, so use your discretion.

8/10 for me ? /10 for you