An Officer and a Gentleman – Throwback Review

I love movies. I have seen many films  and I love going to the theater. I also love watching movies at home. I love bad movies, good movies, great movies and insanely corny movies. Even with as many films as I have seen in my lifetime, there are some blockbusters from the past, older movies that I am just now able to catch up with and finally view.

The other night I was able for the first time to see the 1982 Academy Award Winning film,  An Officer and a Gentleman. It was directed by Taylor Hackford, and stars Richard Gere (Zach Mayo) , Debra Winger (Paula Pokrifki), David Keith (Sid Worley), and Louis Gossett Jr. (Sgt. Emil Foley). I had heard about this film for years so my anticipation for a good film was high. It won 2 Oscars, one for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Louis Gossett Jr.), and one for Best Music, Original Song by  Jack Nitzsche, Will Jennings (lyrics), Buffy Sainte-Marie (music) for the song “Up Where We Belong”, a song I liked long before I saw the film. 

I expected a Nicholas Sparks type film. I love a good romance movie but this one was so much more than that. It was far deeper emotionally than I expected. It didn’t focus only on the relationship between a man (Gere) and a woman (Winger),  but it also featured relationships with his fellow Navy Trainees, and also with his Gunnery Sergeant (Gossett Jr.), giving Richard Gere the opportunity to explore other facets of his character in touching, rich scenes of hardship, loss and eventual victory. Mayos character develops as he grows into a man, with his Sergeant pushing him to be better, not because he has to but because he sees something in him, a leader. 

Aside from great character development, it was also interesting to see what it’s like for a Naval Officer in training. the layout of basic training and the development of the supporting characters who were a part of training and the growth of Mayo, like Casey Seeger (Lisa Eilbacher) who was the only Woman trainee in their unit. She ended up being one of the bravest of them all.

One of the best things about this picture is the relationship between Mayo and Worley, his cadet roommate in the film. I don’t want to give it away for those who haven’t seen this movie, but they became fast friends and he is instrumental to Mayo’s growth, though he doesn’t realize it at first. Mayo is influenced by his friends he finds along the journey, his biggest fear having nowhere to go and no one to be with if he were to fail. He finds that he doesn’t have to be alone.

This movie may not be for everyone, it has very little action it’s mostly dialogue and full of character development, things most movies lack these days, in my humble opinion. The characters are ones that you actually want to invest time watching. Are there cliches? Of course, but the movie was better for having them as it is well written and each scene is completely relevant. 

It’s easy to see why Richard Gere and his fellow actors in this film went on to do other great movies. This movie had drama, romance, amazing direction, and a great story.  Would I watch it again? For sure! I give it an 8 out of 10. If you haven’t seen it, you should give it a watch!