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I love this movie so much

Don't listen to the negative reviews

best movie i've ever seen.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Zack Mayo is the son of a US Navy Petty Officer; a drunk who had abandoned his mother when she became pregnant. When she killed herself Zack followed his father to the Philippines where he got on in life the hard way. Now he is an adult he is determined to make more of himself than his father did… to become a naval aviator… to become an officer and a gentleman. Before he can do that though he must pass the thirteen week course at the Aviation Officer Candidate School where those who don't have what it takes are weeded out. His instructor Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley doesn't think he has what it takes but he will push him and the rest of the class to the limit to find out. Zack befriends fellow student Sid Worley and the two of them start dating Paula and Lynette, a pair of local girls, despite Foley's warning that the local girls are all trying to get married to a pilot by fair means or foul.This film may be well known as a romance, largely due to the famous final scene, but it is far more than just that. In fact the most important relationship in the film is that between Mayo and Foley; Foley may be pushing Mayo to quit but without him he'd never get through the course; what at first appears to be bullying turns out to be the impetus needed to get through the gruelling training programme. Louis Gossett, Jr. certainly earned the Oscar he won for his performance as Foley and Gere is at his best as Mayo whose character develops from a selfish loner to that of somebody willing to help his classmates at his own expense. The rest of the cast are pretty good too; most notably David Keith who plays Sid and Debra Winger who plays Paula. For the most part we can guess how the story will ultimately end but that doesn't make it an entirely feel-good film; there is tragedy too and that comes as quite a shock. Overall an enjoyable film; well worth watching especially if you are a fan of Richard Gere.

Released in 1982, "An Officer and a Gentleman" was the obvious inspiration of films like Tom Cruise's "Top Gun" and "Days of Thunder." "An Officer and a Gentleman" was the first and best, by far.The plot similarities are obvious: They all include the angry young man who needs to prove his gifting, the uncompromising mentor, the encouraging babe, the craft, the arena and the doomed buddy. In "An Officer" the angry young man is Richard Gere as Mayo, the mentor is Louis Gossett Jr. as Drill Instructor Folely, the babe is Paula (Debra Winger), the craft is aviation basic training, the arena is a Naval academy and the Puget Sound area of Washington (shot on location) and the buddy is Sid Worley (David Keith).Thankfully, the film doesn't get bogged down telling the back-story of Mayo. Instead, it ingeniously shares his past in a matter of minutes at the very beginning. It's all we need to know to understand why Mayo is the way he is. And then we're off to basic training where he's tested. Does he have what it takes? Can someone as lowborn, aloof and un-trusting as Mayo make it as an officer?Debra Winger and Lisa Blount shine here as Mayo and Worley's babes. Winger is alluring in a humble "girl next door" type of way (she out-shined Lynda Carter as Wonder Girl on "Wonder Woman," which is hard to believe), but Blount is even more alluring -- yes, despite the negative aspects of her character. I'll just put it this way, she really fills out a pair of jeans, lol. Both couples get intimate way too quickly, but maybe this is one of the flaws of the "Puget Debs" and explains why they have a problems getting marriage material, if you know what I mean. Besides this, time has to be condensed in a two-hour film.BOTTOM LINE: If you're in the mood for a film of this ilk "An Officer and a Gentleman" is the best of the lot.GRADE: AINSIGHTS ABOUT THE ENDING (***SPOILER ALERT*** Don't read further unless you've seen the film):An officer is a military leader. Drill Instructor Foley's job is to weed out those who can't hack it as an officer. It's an important job because people's lives in combat are dependent on the quality of the leaders and Foley takes his job seriously.Foley rightly pegs Mayo as a lowlife loner from the outset -- a wannabe officer -- and therefore puts on the pressure. This is especially so on the one weekend where he has Mayo to himself. Foley does everything he can to make Mayo break AND quit, but Mayo doesn't. He breaks, indeed, but he refuses to quit on the grounds that he has no where to go. At the end of this scene you can see that Foley develops respect for Mayo (which you get a glimpse of earlier when Mayo does extremely well on the obstacle course).Later, Mayo disregards breaking the record on the obstacle course (which he was definitely able to do) in order to encourage Seegar (the female recruit) to finally make it over the wall. Foley sees that Mayo's no longer the aloof and selfish loner he was when he rode in on his motorcycle. He's matured; he's developed character. It was already there, of course, but the boot camp training has brought it to the fore, and Foley sees it.After Worley's tragic death, Mayo confronts Foley while he's drilling the platoon. Foley informs Mayo that they all know what happened and even tells him they're sorry about Worley. He didn't have to do this and it shows that Foley isn't just an honorable man, but also that he cared about Worley. After all, Worley was only one week away from graduating! In a sense, he was one of Foley's kids. In other words, Foley and the platoon were grieving too. But Mayo was closest to Worley and he's crazy with shock & grief at this point. He insists that he's going to quit, to which Foley tells him to meet him for a fight. Sure, there's some testosterone in his words, but he actually does this out of respect for Mayo as a last ditch effort to keep him from dropping out.And Foley doesn't "kick his axx", as some claim. It was essentially an even match and Foley barely walks off the mat, which is the only reason he technically wins. But that's inconsequential. The purpose of the fight was to run Mayo's steam out so he didn't make a rash decision in an obvious moment of grief & anger. Foley accomplished his purpose. Once Mayo was no longer blinded by rage he makes the right choice and graduates.This is why he thanks Foley at the end.

Version I saw: UK Bluray releaseActors: 7/10Plot/script: 7/10Photography/visual style: 6/10Music/score: 5/10Overall: 7/10The final scene of this film has been referenced a billion times, and goes down as one of the most cheesy you have ever seen. Just the sound of 'Up Where We Belong' is enough to bring on your worst 'school disco' nightmares.And while the rest of the film is very much honed toward delivering a happy ending that comes from a dark enough place to deliver as a surprise twist, there is also plenty of time for a surprisingly gritty military drama. Richard Gere is a more nuanced character than most parts he plays, and Louis Gossett Jr. stands out as his harsh-but-fair training instructor.For my full review, see my independent film blog on Blogspot, Cinema Inferno: http://cinemainferno-blog.blogspot.co.uk

Richard Gere plays Zack Mayo, a prospective Navy Officer training cadet who must decide to gain control over his direction-less life, helped by a no-nonsense Gunnery sergeant(superbly played by Louis Gossett Jr., who won an Academy Award) who berates Zack, but all in the effort of making him into a successful Naval officer. Debra Winger plays his girlfriend, who is also struggling with her own life. They both have friends(played by David Keith and Lisa Blount) whose relationship mirrors their own, only with far different results.Entertaining and old-fashioned(in some ways!) film is well acted by its stars, and has stylish direction by Taylor Hackford. Story is surprisingly involving(if a bit predictable) and builds to a satisfying conclusion with the winning song "Up Where We Belong".A big hit that made its leads stars.