THE REWATCHABLES · November 14, 2023
A 1982 romance / drama directed by Taylor Hackford, covered in the complete Rewatchables archive.
ON THIS EPISODE
FROM THE CONVERSATION
WHY IT WORKS
WHAT DID NOT WORK
SCENES THEY KEPT COMING BACK TO
The movie opens with a shockingly naked family-sex setup that the hosts find hilarious and unsettling.
About 24 minFoley’s insults and Oklahoma rant are treated as a perfect introduction to the character.
About 32 minMayo crushes the course and then helps others instead of just chasing glory.
About 32 minThe bar meet-cute with Paula is praised for the immediate spark and early-80s dialogue.
About 32 minMayo saves Caruso from drowning, reinforcing his competence and leadership.
About 32 minFoley’s brutal weekend punishment is singled out as the movie’s best stretch.
About 48 minPaula returning to the bar while Dire Straits plays is treated as a great romantic beat.
About 56 minMayo and Foley’s martial-arts confrontation is enjoyed as a wild, almost different-movie scene.
About 1:04Mayo sweeps Paula off her feet in the factory as coworkers clap and the film lands on a triumphant note.
About 1:20WHERE THEY DISAGREED
Bill SimmonsThe part is showy and easier than the leads' roles, though still great.
Sean FennesseyThe performance could have been bad in weaker hands, and Gossett makes it intense and human.
Bill SimmonsRichard Gere is the key reason the movie works and feels star-making.
Chris RyanDebra Winger is equally crucial and one of the hosts' favorite actresses.
Sean FennesseyShe probably thought she might be pregnant, but the emotional issue matters more than the factual answer.
Bill SimmonsThe movie gives evidence she was late, but the timing remains murky.
Bill SimmonsPrivate Benjamin starts the craze and should be considered central to the subgenre.
Chris RyanFull Metal Jacket is the true apex because it is an iconic film.
Chris RyanThe sex scene is unusually erotic and central to the movie’s era-specific impact.
Bill SimmonsThe ending is the bigger emotional payoff and more iconic overall.
Calls the film amazing and says he can't believe how good it is.
Opening minutesFrames the film as the centerpiece of an era of military-training dramas that all shared a similar DNA.
Opening minutesArgues the ending is one of the most iconic romance-film endings ever.
About 8 minSees Gere as the essential antihero star, weirdly lovable and impossible to replace.
About 16 minDescribes Winger as naturally cool, very beautiful, and unlike any actress he'd otherwise confuse her with.
About 24 minAdmits Gossett is great but argues the part is showy and easier than the leads' roles.
About 16 minFinds the opening psychologically strange but still useful for establishing Mayo’s damaged backstory.
About 24 minTreats the drill-sergeant torture stretch as one of the movie’s best scenes.
About 48 minLikes the bar scene because the two leads still feel intimate even when separated.
About 56 minSays he increasingly likes Lynette and views her as a straight shooter rather than just a villain.
About 1:20Thinks the final factory reunion, with the famous song and crowd reaction, is a perfect payoff.
About 1:20Says Gere kisses in a way that is intense, tactile, and unlike modern movie kissing.
About 1:28Emphasizes that the film works because the emotional stakes are clear and the characters are well developed.
About 48 minTreats Loggia’s absurdly naked entrance as iconic comic shock value.
About 24 minArgues the movie’s sexiness is a product of the era’s limited access to nudity and higher impact.
About 1:36The hosts frame the movie as a sophisticated 70s-style character study that accidentally became a massive 80s hit.
Opening minutesThe movie is praised as a romantic melodrama with an iconic ending and real emotional sweep.
About 8 minThey like that almost everyone is messy, difficult, or morally compromised.
About 8 minThe episode situates the film inside a wave of early-80s military/basic-training movies.
Opening minutesThe discussion centers on how Gere embodies a kind of dangerous, lovable, antihero leading man no longer common in films.
About 16 minThe film was made on a $7 million budget and grossed about $190 million.
Opening minutesRichard Gere later said he did the movie strictly for the money.
About 16 minDebra Winger turned down many major roles, including ones in Raiders of the Lost Ark and Bull Durham.
About 24 minLou Gossett Jr. won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for this film.
About 24 minThe sex scene had to be adjusted to avoid an X rating.
About 32 minGossett reportedly lived away from the set so he would not socialize with the rest of the cast.
About 1:36Gere accidentally kicked Gossett in the groin during filming and Gossett missed two days.
About 1:36The blimp hangar used in the movie is now a performing arts center.
About 1:36The ending song 'Up Where We Belong' was originally resisted by Don Simpson.
About 1:36Douglas Day Stewart based the script on his own naval aviation officer-candidate experience.
About 1:36Used as a comparison point because both films come from Don Simpson and share a military-training/romance structure.
Opening minutesReferenced as a benchmark for iconic romance endings.
About 8 minCited as a rare modern phenomenon romance film.
About 8 minMentioned as another recent romance phenomenon before La La Land.
About 8 minListed as one of several early-80s military-training movies.
Opening minutesIncluded in the military-movie run of the era.
Opening minutesUsed as the later, harder-edged version of the military-training movie and as a comparison for drill-sergeant behavior.
Opening minutesMentioned as another 70s-era small-town/catalyst movie.
Opening minutesReferenced as another example of a small-town, emotional crowd-pleaser from the era.
Opening minutesMentioned in Oscar context when discussing the 1982 awards race.
About 24 minReferenced as another 1982 awards and box-office giant.
About 24 minUsed in the 1982 Oscar discussion as one of the big competitors.
About 24 minReferenced as another acclaimed 1982 film in the awards race.
About 24 minMentioned when discussing Jeff Bridges and Taylor Hackford after this film.
About 1:36Used as one of Debra Winger’s major early successes.
About 8 minA running joke about the 1980s competition among white leading men for major star vehicles.
About 8 minThe hosts repeatedly quote Foley's abusive drill-sergeant lines and riff on them.
About 32 minThey keep returning to the idea of the drill instructor as a martial-arts opponent and joke about the blimp-hangar fight.
About 1:04They invent and repeat a grotesque joke about Mayo's dad and his graduation present.
About 24 minThe acronym becomes a running gag and a shorthand for quitting, discipline, and life choices.
About 48 minThe hosts cannot stop joking about Robert Loggia's nudity in the opening scene.
About 24 minThey joke about whether the famous closing song or the Dire Straits bar cue is the better music moment.
About 56 min“Top Gun's fucked up older brother.”Opening minutes
“I got nowhere else to go!”About 48 min
“Way to go, Paula!”About 1:20
“You give me a hard on.”About 32 min
“Unusually erotic.”About 48 min
MAKE IT A MOVIE NIGHT
WHAT TO WATCH NEXT
Three movies to watch before An Officer and a Gentleman, and three to watch next.
ON THE MIC
Bill SimmonsThe Rewatchables
Chris RyanThe Rewatchables
Sean FennesseyThe RewatchablesREWATCH FAVS
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