AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN (1982) **1/2 Out in the boatyards near Seattle there's this sub-species of females, see, and they try to get naval flight officer trainees to get them pregnant so they can live abroad and bask in the social glow of being an officers wife...and some of them look like Debra Winger! Ok, so it's a fairy tale then, I've seen officers wives. A key element in the social rehabilitation of the Reagan-era military these particular themes are not nearly as imaginative as some of the other ones. And the reality is also that it's not more ridiculous than many themes on other subjects, and is a good movie in its own right. Of course Winger was dating a liberal Vietnam War veteran (Nebraska Gov. Bob Kerrey) at the time, and some rumours no doubt circulated that Richard Gere was dating military personnel too, Lord knows they had him doing everything else. The leads are among the better actors of their generation, they've done better work but they're both good here. Lou Gosset, Jr. is absolutely brilliant. Damn right, that's what we want our military to be, that's how we want our military to feel, that's the kind of guts we want our military leaders to have...am I the only one who noticed that by the end of the film he's the lowest ranking member of the cast? He ain't even an officer. Those other clods are going to be telling him what to do from now on, which explains a great deal if you think on it. The film that postulates that sometimes all you really need is a good solid kick in the balls.
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