November 13, 2023
'An Officer and a Gentleman'
The Ringer's Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey rewatch the 1982 classic 'An Officer and a Gentleman' because they've got nowhere else to go! They continue "Wait, This Movie Made HOW Much Money??" month by rewatching the romantic hit starring Richard Gere, Debra Winger, and Louis Gossett Jr. and directed by Taylor Hackford.
Cast
Richard Gere as Zack Mayo
Debra Winger as Paula Pokrifki
Louis Gossett Jr. as Sgt. Emil Foley
David Keith as Sid Worley
Lisa Blount as Lynette Pomeroy
Robert Loggia as Byron Mayo
David Caruso as Topper Daniels
Harold Sylvester as Perryman
Tony Plana as Emiliano Della Serra
Grace Zabriskie as Esther Pokrifki
Victor French as Joe Pokrifki
Lisa Eilbacher as Casey Seeger
Directed by: Taylor Hackford
Written by: Douglas Day Stewart
Produced by: Don Simpson
Notes
- Budget: $7 million. Domestic gross: $190 million (third biggest film of 1982).
- Part of 'Wait, This Movie Made HOW Much Money??' month on The Rewatchables.
- Described as 'Top Gun's fucked up older brother' – same producer (Don Simpson), similar structure.
- Won Best Supporting Actor (Louis Gossett Jr. – first Black male to win), Best Original Song ('Up Where We Belong').
- Also nominated for Best Actress (Winger), Original Screenplay, Film Editing, Original Score.
- Gere and Winger did not get along during filming.
Categories
Roger Ebert's review
Quote from Rog's review:
“An Officer and a Gentleman is the best movie about love that I've seen in a long time. Maybe that's because it's not about 'love' as a Hollywood concept, but about love as growth, as learning to accept other people for who and what they are.”
Siskel and Ebert both 'over the moon' for it.
Most re-watchable scene
- Sean and Bill: The DOR weekend scene – Foley trying to get Mayo to quit, 'I got nowhere else to go'.
- Chris: TJ's bar scene with Dire Straits' 'Tunnel of Love' playing.
- Bill's #2: The TJ's bar / Dire Straits scene.
What aged the best?
- Two women smoking, listening to Pat Benatar, getting ready for the weekend.
- Paula and Lynette as characters.
- Caruso with the crew cut.
- 'I want your DOR' as a life concept.
- The obstacle course scenes and hair shaving scenes.
- The ending – him sweeping her off her feet in the factory.
- Grace Zabriskie as the mom (warm-up for Twin Peaks).
Best needle drop
- Dire Straits - 'Tunnel of Love' (clear winner).
- Pat Benatar - 'Treat Me Right' (runner-up).
- Joe Cocker's 'Up Where We Belong' only plays over closing credits so doesn't count as a needle drop.
Weak link of the movie
- Couldn't really come up with one – every actor is good, no boring stretches.
- Possibly the pacing of Sid's arc – going from proposal to suicide very quickly in a compressed timeline.
What aged the worst?
- The opening scene with the dad (foursome situation).
- Gossett's karate double in the blimp hangar fight (clearly not him).
- Lynette's haircut.
- Don Simpson wanting to cut 'Up Where We Belong' (he was wrong).
- The 'trap a pilot' strategy as a life plan.
- Paula's teenage sister openly flirting with Zack at dinner.
The hottest take award
- Sean: Gossett's Oscar-winning part is 'a little overrated' – it's the easiest/showiest part; Gere, Winger, and David Keith have more complicated internal work.
- Bill: Richard Gere is the worst movie kisser ever ('He eats noses and upper lips').
Casting what-ifs
- John Travolta turned down the role (Gere's three biggest parts were Travolta's rejects).
- Jeff Bridges was Taylor Hackford's original choice, turned it down.
- Harry Hamlin and Christopher Reeve were considered; Costner auditioned.
- For Paula: Sigourney Weaver had it and didn't take it; Jennifer Jason Leigh dropped out for Fast Times.
- For Foley: Jack Nicholson said no; Mandy Patinkin was loved but deemed 'too ethnic'.
Over-acting award
- 'I got nowhere else to go!' – Gere's delivery with spit flying.
- Lynette's 'Way to go, Paula'.
Best "that guy"
- Bill: Harold Sylvester (Perryman) – was in Fast Break, Inside Moves, 'Vision Quest'.
- Chris: Grace Zabriskie, Tony Plana.
Re-casting couch
- Wouldn't touch the main roles.
- Different Lynettes: Sean suggests Sharon Stone; Bill suggests Rebecca De Mornay.
- For Sid: Randy Quaid, Tom Hanks, Judge Reinhold mentioned.
- Denzel would have been an amazing Foley 26 years later.
Half-assed (internet) research
- Douglas Day Stewart based the script on his own Naval Aviation Officer candidate experiences; Paula was a real person he dated.
- Gossett stayed in a condo 20 miles from set so he wouldn't interact with anyone.
- Gere accidentally kicked Gossett in the groin; Gossett missed two days.
- Foley's medals are all real and identifiable (Vietnam service medal, bronze star, purple heart).
- The blimp hangar is now a 1200-seat performing arts center called the McCurdy Pavilion.
- Gere rides a 750cc T140E Triumph Bonneville.
- Gere didn't like the ending, thought it was too corny, changed his mind after rehearsal.
- Winger negotiated her own contract without an agent; had no nudity clause.
- The sex scene almost got an X rating; had to change camera angles.
- David Keith swallowed the ring with a string attached to retrieve it.
Apex Mountain
- Richard Gere: Yes (this + 'American Gigolo' era).
- Debra Winger: No (Terms of Endearment is higher).
- David Keith: Yes, this is it.
- Louis Gossett Jr.: Yes, this is it.
- Military training movies: Full Metal Jacket wins.
- Puget Sound: Yes.
Picking nits
- Worley taunting Foley from the boat during Mayo's torture weekend seems out of character.
- The hotel clerk giving out Sid's room number freely.
- Confusing passage of time in the last third.
- Did Zack ever learn math or did Sid do it all for him? Now he's flying jets without knowing math.
- The final scene: workplace liability – kissing Paula while she's operating heavy machinery.
(Probably) unanswerable questions
- Did Zack and his dad have a foursome for graduation?
- What kind of athlete was Zack Mayo?
- Was Lynette really pregnant?
- Why is Sid nude when he hanged himself?
- David Keith or Keith David? (Keith David wins).
What memorabilia would you want (or not want!) from the movie?
- Bill: The Triumph Bonneville motorcycle.
- Chris: Foley's Fire Eaters sweatshirt from the obstacle course.
Best (or worst!) life lessons from the movie
- Chris: 'Sit, adjust, pray, attack' (the meal ritual).
- Bill: 'Love lifts you up where you belong'.
- 'You're all alone in this world. When you got that down, nothing hurts anymore.'
Best double feature for this movie
- Chris: 'Top Gun' (same producer Don Simpson, same themes).
- Sean: Iron Eagle (Lou Gossett Jr. double feature).
- Bill: Full Metal Jacket.
Who won the movie?
- Bill and Sean: Richard Gere.
- Chris: Debra Winger.