Film Review: An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)

In early 1980s Hollywood not only abandoned anti-militarism of the Boomer generation, but actually began to embrace the worship of US military which, apart from a brief interlude caused by Iraq War, continued to this day. One of the first things to signal this change was An Officer and a Gentleman, 1982 romantic drama directed by Taylor Hackford.

Protagonist, played by Richard Gere, is Zachary "Zack" Mayo (played by Richard Gere), young man whose childhood dream is to become US Navy pilot. He grew around the Navy, growing up with father, Chief Petty Officer Byron Mayo (played by Robert Loggia), who is, unlike Zack, happy to be enlisted man and doesn't believe that Zack will make it. Before starting the pilot training, Zack must earn officer's rank by going to the gruelling thirteen week course in the naval base. The course seems to be unexpectedly hard because of US Marine Sergeant Foley (played by Louis Gossett, Jr.) drills officer candidates without mercy and with clear objective to make all weak candidates quit voluntarily. Zack happens to receive most of the harsh treatment and soon the conflict begins to develop between two men. In the meantime, Zack meets Paula Pokrifki (played by Debra Winger), young factory worker from nearby town. Zack learns that many local girls try to seduce and marry young officer candidates in order to escape poverty. Despite such warnings, he begins romantic relationship with Paula. When the romance between Zack's friend Sid (played by David Keith) and Paula's friend Lynette (played by Lisa Blount) ends tragically, Zack will begin to question whether he actually wants to become an officer.

Made in a time when Vietnam fiascos began to fade from the memory and after the first generations of viewers grew up without fear of being forcefully drafted into similar misadventures, An Officer and a Gentleman gives surprisingly positive portrayal of US armed forces. Instead of being shown as inherently oppressive and violent institution, US military is shown as one of increasingly rare places where people from the bottom of social ladder can find new purpose in life, restore dignity and find their potential and where the hard work, perseverance and adherence to moral values can lead to success. The script very subtly delivers this message through the character of Foley, who at the beginning looks like a film's villain only for his tough love approach to be ultimately revealed as exactly what Zack needed to set his course straight. Script by Douglas Day-Stewart, however, admits that US military is not perfect. Zack's father is portrayed as drunk who frequents prostitutes and one of the officer candidates ends life tragically. The film puts responsibility for such sad event squarely at the civilians – Sid's family which insisted of their, obviously unfit and unwilling, son to pursue military career and, more notably, his selfish and manipulative girlfriend who actually serves as the only true villain of the piece.

Some of the critics were quite surprised by pro-military stance of An Officer and a Gentleman, still in disbelief over the emerging right turn in Hollywood's films. They were outraged by the scenes in which future US Navy officers casually sing songs about dropping napalm on little children. They were also angered by the portrayal of working class and the losers and the women having to be rescued by modern day equivalent of knights in shining armour, all culminating in somewhat controversial fairytale ending that takes place in the factory. The audience, however, cared little about such concerns. An Officer and Gentleman turned out to be great box office hit and won series of prestigious awards, most notable of them being Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, won by Louis Gossett. Jr. This success can be attributed to Hackford's skilful direction which, more or less succesfully, switches between social realism, classic melodrama and modern militaristic propaganda. He also had great cast at his disposal. Richard Gere delivered another powerful performance that confirmed his status of top Hollywood star. He also had excellent on-screen chemistry with Debra Winger although two of them, according to various testimonies, didn't like each other on the set and would later go on record of hating the film. An Officer and Gentleman also benefited from the very 1980s soundtrack made of contemporary hits, including the Oscar-awarded theme song "Up Where We Belong", performed by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warns and used in the final scene. The song served only as an anthem of the protagonists, but also, on a deeper level, as a harbinger of a new era in which United States would rediscover its pride, rebuild its military, win Cold War and establish hegemony over the rest of the world.

RATING: 7/10 (++)

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