An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)

An Officer and a Gentleman is a well-crafted melodrama set against the back drop of the elite Naval Aviator training facility in upstate Washington. Richard Gere portrays Zachary Mayo, a young man and son of a career sailor who has risen from residing above a house of ill repute in the Philippines to becoming an officer's candidate destined to fly jets.

Gere is terrific as Mayo, and works incredibly hard to combine the complex emotions of the character with his seemingly, simplistic facade. Gere is supported by a great cast including Debra Winger as the young factory worker who yearns of a better life with Mayo, David Keith as a cadet who's not all that he seems, and the legendary Louis Gossett, Jr. as Gunnery Sgt. Emil Foley, Mayo's adamant and hard-edged drill instructor who remains Zach's total bane of existence. Gossett won a well-deserved Oscar for this role, and he remains the true highlight of this film.

Some have called An Officer and a Gentlemen out-dated, improbable, and too melodramatic, and perhaps it is all of these. But, it is so entertaining and so enthralling, I find it easily to become enveloped by the picture's story and characters. You want them all to succeed, and you feel for them when they fail. This is the true mark of a truly great film.

Highly recommended.

Fmovies: I was quite young when I saw this and not into movies this deep, heck I was a kid! Yet this powerful film touched me and I never forgot it.

There were so many various relationships going on that between the characters, if the movie had just been about one of those it might have gotten boring but each one of these individuals were so fascinating in their own right, that it never did get dull. Officer isn't a film one can watch at any time, it's so heavy you really have to be in the mood for it. I would definitely call this a classic.

I will comment on Debra Winger because as good as everyone was Winger hasn't been commented on as much and should be. Her character Paula was gritty, tough and so likable. She was easily as good as anyone else in the movie(I miss not seeing her in current movies, she's amazing).

This isn't my absolute favorite film but its one of the most well done films I've ever seen.

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.

An Officer and a Gentleman fmovies. A movie that you can watch over and over again and find something new. There really is something for everyone and for those who follow classical screenplay protocols this is an absolute must. The timing of events and the pace of those events is absolutely perfect. Richard Gere is really extremely good and in fact as time goes on his role may actually turn out to be one of his best. He has such a fragile bravado in this tale of selfish loner turns good. Debra Winger and Louis Gossett are also outstanding. It is a movie that you either love or you hate and, over the years, the critics have very much wanted to play it down but there is no doubt in my mind that it is a classic tale well told with every aspect of "the cinema" used to its fullest extent

Though ribbed by some critics for being a crude update of the formula film romances of the 1940's, audiences still showed up in droves to see this film and turned it into one of the biggest grossers of 1982. While the film may certainly follow the general formulaic outlines of the genre, director Taylor Hackford and screenwriter Douglas Day Stewart dodge sentimentalization with a healthy dosage of grim reality. This is no longer the ultra-glamorized world of old Hollywood; AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN is a movie about love in the real world. By not sheltering it's lovers from the harsh nature of humanity, the film manages to have a significantly greater impact as it works toward a deservedly optimistic ending.

In a role turned down by both John Travolta and John Denver, Richard Gere lends a brooding intensity that electrifies what could have been a bland protagonist. Debra Winger, with her down-home sexiness at it's peak, turns in a fascinating portrayal of small town frustration, and Louis Gossett Jr nearly steals the picture in a harrowing, Oscar-winning performance. In fact, Gere's relationship with Gossett's Drill Sargent is just as involving as his love affair with Winger. The supporting cast is also well-cast, with David Keith, Robert Loggia, and Lisa Blount delivering standout performances.

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: A

INSIGHTS 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 Worle