An Officer and a Gentleman
Composite Score: 82
Starring: Richard Gere, Debra Winger, David Keith, Robert Loggia, Lisa Blount, Lisa Eilbacher, Louis Gossett, Jr., Tony Plana, Harold Sylvester, and David Caruso
Director: Taylor Hackford
Writer: Douglas Day Stewart
Genres: Drama, Romance, Military
MPAA Rating: R
Box Office: $129.80 million worldwide
Why should you Watch This Film?
An Officer and a Gentleman is one of many military dramas from the 1980s that chooses to focus on the characters within the military rather than the actions of war. In this particular film, Richard Gere plays Zack Mayo, a navy brat who joins up with the navy after college with the desire of making it through their tough officer school program so that he can fly planes for the navy. Along the way, he makes some new friends, butts heads with his drill sergeant, and falls in love as well. It is almost certainly the spiritual predecessor to Top Gun but is also superior in almost every facet (unless you really want to hear “Highway to the Danger Zone” or “Take My Breath Away” or have more romantic chemistry between the allegedly straight leads than between the lead and his love interest). An Officer and a Gentleman portrays more of the difficulties of life in the military, has more depth of character, and has a better love story. I don’t know what else to say.
Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?
An Officer and a Gentleman’s love story might be better than Top Gun’s, but that does not mean that it is without its flaws. For starters, the premise of the romance between Zack and Debra Winger’s Paula is that the girls of this military town get themselves a new guy with each class that comes through. Yes, this is a progressively sex-positive premise, but in this context, it basically excuses military officers practicing a “hit it and quit it” mentality with these women. Now, the film does a decent job of exploring some of the complexities that such relationships inevitably introduce and even tries to go so far as to condemn the practice. At the same time, it’s hard to see the film’s story as fully committed to ending the practice, as Zack’s initially casual relationship with Paula turns into seemingly true love, so maybe you should just give it a try when you join up, who knows. It’s a mixed bag of sex-positive feminism, the potential for true love in random hook-ups, and condemnation of the casual hook-ups that military men were (are?) so well-known for; I can’t quite pin it down.
I also want to include a content warning that this film features a suicide as part of its main plot, which could be disturbing for some viewers. I understand that the film wanted to honestly portray the difficulties facing officer candidates in the navy, but certain viewers might want to skip this one if such a portrayal could be triggering. I also don’t know how necessary that particular aspect of the story even is, as it has no long-term consequences in the rest of the film.
So wait, why should you Watch This Film?
First, I want to commend the actors for their performances in An Officer and a Gentleman. Each one delivers a solid performance that helps make the film as great as it is. Richard Gere’s Zack goes through the full ringer of character development as he evolves from aloof navy brat to committed naval officer over the course of the film. David Keith’s Sid Worley acts as the foil to Zack’s development, going from devoted enlistee to disenchanted drop-out with acting skills equal to those of Gere. Debra Winger gives a deeply emotional performance as Gere’s love interest Paula Pokrifki, the local girl who falls for Zack, just as her own mother fell for another officer candidate, resulting in her birth. Her consistently emotionally driven performance garnered an Oscar nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role and was certainly deserving. Finally, Louis Gossett, Jr., as Sergeant Emil Foley won him the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor that year. He delivers one of the best drill sergeant performances of all time, being both loathsome and lovable for the officer candidates in his class. His presence in the film and delivery of some of the wildest lines are part of what makes the film so great.
An Officer and a Gentleman is a near perfect blend of 1980s synth-y music, cheesy romance, and military drama, augmented by some skillful performances from its main actors, which lands it a place among the Greatest Films of All Time. Though the film’s romance can easily come off as problematic, and its treatment of a character’s suicide is certainly not the most well-handled, overall, the film remains a solid watch. If you are a fan of Tom Cruise’s late-80s action films, this will certainly be up your alley, and it’s probably worth watching for most viewers.