DVD Stripes

The more I watch, the funnier it is...

John Winger is an underachieving slob who has lost his job, his car and his girlfriend all in the course of a single morning. His somewhat unorthodox solution is to join the army and bring a friend with him.

Bill Murray has insincerity down to an art form, as the smart-aleck Winger who clashes with the hard case Sergeant Hulka from day one. John Candy and Harold Ramis lead a great supporting cast that makes up Winger's platoon full of losers. John Larroquette also performs well as the idiot base commander who is more interested in chasing women than managing his responsibilities.

From the beginning, Winger is a square peg in a round hole, and while his friends like him (sort of), the people in authority certainly don't. Winger does, however, have a certain magnetism as an individual who is willing to challenge authority, and becomes the "leader" of the platoon when Sergeant Hulka is injured in a training accident. Predictably (yet hilariously), the platoon comes together and pulls off a wonderful performance at their graduation, earning them a choice assignment, which they promptly screw up, and then turn themselves into heroes.

While certainly not a classic of the american cinema, this movie is a classic of '80s comedy, and should be welcomed into any DVD collection, especially for [the item price].

The first half of this movie is just about the funniest comedy ever made. Bill Murray and Harold Ramis are the perfect slobs with shiftless lives who try to maintain what's left of their dignity by enlisting in the Army. Their chemistry is wonderful and they truly are believable as out-of-shape but likable losers. Virtually every line and every character is memorable (Psycho, Ox, Cruiser, that lady in the cab, John Laroquette, and of course Russell and Winger), and this has to be the most quotable movie in history. No, John Candy would not have spoken to a superior officer that way when he gets off the bus (or at least not have gotten away with it), but that's what's so funny about it! And speaking of Sgt. Hulka, Warren Oates should have been given an Oscar nomination for this role. He's the high point of the movie for me, and his intense, over the top performance reminds me of Robert Shaw in "Jaws"- some actors are so good that they can chew scenery and get away with it. So for the first half of the movie, there's not an unfunny moment. Maybe basic training isn't like this, but the scenes are so well-done that a generation of adolescent guys has grown up thinking that it is and have no doubt gone into the military with this movie in the back of their minds.

The second half of the movie sort of devolves into a bearable but not great action movie, with its contrived plot about the stolen military RV and the rescue mission across the Czech border. Still, the same characters are present and continue to sustain the movie until the end. Great music, too- I don't think this has ever been issued as a soundtrack but it contains one of the most memorable themes ever written for a movie.

The DVD itself is passable- no extras, somewhat grainy video, unspectacular sound. But we surived watching it over and over again on basic cable with plenty of edits and subpar picture quality, so I can't complain too much. I suppose someday it will be given a "Special Edition" with a commentary and a retrospective from the stars, but the movie stands on its own without anything fancy.