The Task: Watch and write about every movie on my shelf, in order (Blu-rays are sorted after DVDs), by June 10, 2015. Remaining movies: 176 Days to go: 179
Movie #201: An Officer and a Gentleman
Young Richard Gere could get it. When the movie opens and you see him standing there (as Zack Mayo) in his tank undershirt and too-long hair, all muscled arms and sex appeal, it’s already got your full attention.
Zack is a bad boy, a troubled youth, trying to make good, trying to be somebody worthwhile instead of growing up like his piece of shit father (Robert Loggia). He’s joined the navy and is going to attend their Aviation Candidate School so he can be an officer and fly jets. He wants to fit in, but he still carries a lot of his past baggage around with him.
The regiment is full of great characters, all full and rich and going through different obstacles in their quest to finish the program (more than half will quit before it’s through), but three people particularly influence Mayo’s tenure at the base: his friend and fellow candidate Sid Worley (David Keith), the local woman he starts seeing on his weekend leaves, Paula (Debra Winger), and his Sergeant (Louis Gossett Jr.).
Lou Gossett Jr. is amazing in this. An Officer and a Gentleman scored two Oscars back in its day, and it’s no surprise he got one, for Best Supporting Actor. He’s as hard and as abusive as any stereotypical drill sergeant in any movie ever, but he has a lot of heart, too. The one woman candidate in their regiment, he knows she probably doesn’t have the physical strength to pass, but he’s constantly impressed by her drive and her dedication. Meanwhile, Zack has no problem doing all the physical challenges, but he’s a disrespectful prick who thinks he’s got the whole place wired. Sgt. Foley pushes Zack, and calls out his arrogant attitude, forcing him to face who he is and what his weaknesses are. He calls him Mayo-NAISE because it’s funny and because drill sergeants aren’t that original. He kicks the shit out of him literally and figuratively, and gets him to ugly cry that he’s “got nowhere else to go!” It’s pretty great.
Paula, meanwhile, is an anomaly to Zack. At first he tries to treat her like he has every other woman he’s ever known, but they’ve all been just one night stands for him. She awesomely calls him out on it, tells him he’s got no manners and treats women like whores and she’s not going to put up with it. She likes him but she won’t let him walk all over her. He’s been warned about local girls that like to trap themselves a naval officer by getting pregnant, but Paula’s not interested in that. She knows he’s only there for a couple of months and she wants to have fun while she can. She has dreams and aspirations. She wants to have a better life, too, and she makes Mayo better just by virtue of being in her presence. He’s never had a girlfriend before. He doesn’t know what it’s like to care for someone and have her care for him. His mother killed herself when he was a young teen and his father was a drunk and a good-for-nothing, and at some point Zack started believing that he had no one in the world to count on but himself. His growing intimacy with Paula fascinates and terrifies him. At one point he tries to just stop calling, stop seeing her, but he sees her at a bar with another man and he can’t stay away. He’s drawn to her, and as much as he tries to fight it, he loves her. She makes him a better man.
It’s Sid, though, who really turns Mayo’s world around. Sid’s father and older brother both went through this same program, and when his brother died in Vietnam, Sid joined the program to live up to his parents’ expectations. He has a moral code — when he thinks his girlfriend might be pregnant, he can’t fathom not being a part of his kid’s life, despite Zack’s arguments — and he always tries to do the right thing. He’s a great student and a good friend. He challenges Zack’s selfishness and his bullshit, so when things fall apart for him, Zack can’t understand and is hurt and angry all over again that he let himself get close to someone. At the same time, though, it’s Sid’s legacy that Zack will always remember, that he’ll keep inside him always. Ultimately, I think it’s Sid’s influence that leads Zack to the paper factory after graduation. Zack realizes how important it is, because Sid knew it was important. It’s like he’s finally grown up.
An Officer and a Gentleman is such a fantastic film. I don’t even know how or when I first watched it, only that my mother loved it and it somehow got passed on to me — for which I’m eternally grateful. It’s a rich and satisfying film. It’s an unexpected romance from a hard-as-nails man’s perspective. It’s a coming of age film about a full-grown adult. It’s about self-discovery and learning how to be a better person and how to live a better life than the one you’ve been dealt. And it’s got an awesome theme song. It’s just so, so great. I love it to pieces.
“Way to go, Paula! Way to go!”
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