A REVIEW OF "A FEW GOOD MEN" A RETRO REVIEW, 1992 by Ryan Ellis
give me a buzz on the ol' e-lines, iluvmick@hotmail.com
(NOTE-This is the 2nd of 5 retro reviews of Jack Nicholson films I plan to do in the next few weeks. Starting with "Chinatown" last week, I will analyze five of Jack's very best performances.)
Great dialogue stays with you. Heck, if it's good enough, you can sit around with your friends and recite half a movie. There was a time in college that I could shout out almost every line in "A Few Good Men". The famous courtroom climax ("YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH...") was only the best part of a script where if you sat beside me, you might think the stereo surround effect of this movie was really terrific. Of course, some people get annoyed by such grandstanding, so I had to watch the powerful film alone. Soon after, I stopped watching it altogether and hadn't seen it for well over a year. That is, until a few nights ago when the worn-out tape found its way into the VCR. And you know what--I can STILL follow right along almost flawlessly!
A critical and financial success, this film hits the right buttons. A blockbuster when it came out in '92, "A Few Good Men" is full of people who are movie stars, not actors. Although Jack Nicholson has won 3 Oscars and Tom Cruise should win one or two eventually, they are movie stars first and thespians second. This label has kept Cruise from getting the critical praise he deserves, but it doesn't hinder him at all in finding great projects and great castmates. By co-starring with Paul Newman, Dustin Hoffman, and Robert Duvall before this role opposite Nicholson (and later with Gene Hackman and Jon Voight), Cruise showed he was worthy of working with the best. And, save for Steven Spielberg, Cruise has been guided by most of the great directors of the last 30 years. Holding it against him because he's handsome is silly. He graces the scenes he's in with charm and talent instead of barging in and dominating them.
Director Rob Reiner was looking for "a few good men" when he shot this picture. He found more than a few--first selecting the right man to play Lt. Daniel Kaffee (Cruise) in this charged-up courtroom drama. All the aforementioned barging and dominating is done by one of the great villains of the '90s, Colonel Nathan R. Jessep (Nicholson in his 10th Oscar-nominated performance). Nicholson could easily have won the Best Supporting Actor award for turning this movie upside down and for so effectively tearing everything apart. Let's not forget about Lt./Commander JoAnne Galloway (played by another movie star, Demi Moore), Captain Jack Ross (Kevin Bacon), Lt. Sam Weinberg (Kevin Pollack), or Lt. Kendrick (Kiefer Sutherland).
The powerhouse cast compliments Aaron Sorkin's screenplay (based on his own play) about two young marines based in Cuba who are charged with the murder of one of their fellow marines. The movie opens with the death of PFC William T. Santiago, a notorious screw-up who accidentally dies during a hazing ritual administered by Lnc./Cpl. Dawson and PFC Downie. We later learn that their superior officers (Jessep and Kendrick) ordered this "Code Red" to bring Santiago back in line after breaking the chain of command and ratting to higher authorities on Dawson for an illegal fenceline shooting. Santiago had been pleading for a transfer off the base for 9 months and hoped the information he had about the fenceline shooting could be exchanged for that transfer. The fanatical Colonel Jessep gets hold of the letter and lectures to his Executive Officer Lt./Colonel Markinson (J.T. Walsh) and Kendrick that rather than pawning off their sub-standard marine, they should "train the lad". Ironically, they order Dawson--the very marine who could face disciplinary action because of Santiago's tattling--to beat some sense into him. After the boy dies, Jessep covers it up and Markinson goes along with it despite his strenuous objections.
While that is essentially the plot, this film is not just about marines or cover-ups or revenge. It's about daring to defy higher powers (and often logic) and doing what's right by following your conscience. That applies to Dawson and Downie (Wolfgang Bodison and James Marshall, respectively) as well as Kaffee, their attorney. He's the hot-shot young Navy lawyer and the best young litigator in the JAG corps--particularly at plea-bargaining. He's never seen the inside of a courtroom and tries to get his two clients to accept a deal rather than risk getting put in jail for life by facing a losing battle in a formal court martial. The young marines refuse to plead guilty and take the deal because they maintain they were only following orders. Galloway nags Kaffee to stand up and defend them. He reluctantly takes the case to court despite a complete lack of evidence in their favour (after all, they DID kill Santiago). They step on numerous landmines until the infamous climax between young pony Cruise and old warhorse Nicholson where the truth is exposed in a huge explosion of tension and drama.
The script takes a few liberties. Any lawyer worth his salt would drop the case when the reluctance of his two defendants to accept a sweet deal puts them all in such peril. By going into the courtroom with no evidence (and with their clients having a motive), they can only assign the blame for the death to Jessep and Kendrick. If Kaffee falsely accuses the decorated officers without proper evidence, he would face a career-destroying court martial of his own. It's the superfluous sub-plot about his late father (who was a legendary lawyer) that probably explains why he throws caution to the wind and tries to win such an unwinnable case by street-smarts and spin-doctoring alone. He wants to live up to his father's legacy (and probably to stop Galloway from pestering him!).
Criticisms--It's doubtful that Nicholson's remarkable thundering during a court martial would be accepted by any judge. He doesn't so much answer questions on the witness stand as he tells the world how lucky it is to have such a strong man defending the nation. Other small problems occurred with the usually top-notch editing. During an early scene where baseball-loving Kaffee takes batting practice, the conversation between he and Galloway is cut in such a way that the continuity is a little off. In one shot he's in the process of swinging the bat. Quickly cut to the other and the bat is already on his shoulder. And to nitpick, we see Kaffee watching a ballgame between Minnesota and Baltimore after the case has begun. How?! The case starts on October 3rd and that would be World Series time. Well, at least American League Championship Series time, but those two teams didn't even meet in the playoffs! Sorry, I'm scrutinizing, but it's a noticeable gaffe. Also, I HATE when modern movies say "The End" when it's over. Arggh!
However, everything in those last two paragraphs is a careful criticism. This movie scores in a big way and only a long-time fan would even care about the mistakes. Two of the finest dialogue-driven films of the '90s (non-Tarantino works, of course) came out in 1992 (this and "Glengarry Glen Ross") and "A Few Good Men" stands above all. Sorkin wrote this in a way that the court scenes were dynamic and the Kaffee/Galloway relationship was heated yet platonic. Many of the characters learn to respect each other, but the film doesn't manipulate a perfect ending. It wraps up right when it should. Because of the sharp editing--save for those small continuity errors--this is fast-paced and completely riveting. During scenes of conversation, it's like you're right there with the actors and you forget that everyone's dialogue was filmed separately.
The screenplay has racist, sexist characters, but the movie rises above those shady slimeballs. Both Jessep and Kendrick have racial and sexist issues (if you listen to what they say and how they say it, you'll understand). Still, the underdogs (the female Galloway, the black Dawson, the Jewish Weinberg, and the kid Kaffee) match the tough guys because the actors exude appropriate strength and charisma. You'll get some laughs when the subject matter eases up a little, too. The cinematography is fantastic at times--especially during the rifle drill during the opening credits--and the sound mix is fine. This film scored for North Americans for many reasons--it's patriotic, dynamic, cultural, interesting, and so well acted by its superstars.
In two of Nicholson's few scenes, he and Cruise are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Cruise looks like a baby next to Jack, but that's the point. Will we buy into Kaffee beating the proverbial truth out of Jessep? Oh yeah, we do. This is "Star Wars" without the lightsabers. We know exactly who the good guy is and who the bad guy is. Cruise is confident, but he's human. We relate to the young man and we like him. Without a doubt, Colonel Jessep is one of the great screen villains of the '90s. Nicholson's eyes burn with hatred and his body manner is incredibly powerful.
"A Few Good Men" skillfully hits the mark with a bullseye. It's intense when it should be and funny when it should be. Finely crafted and well-cast, it remains one of the more memorable courtroom dramas in film history. If you ever forget why, give me a buzz and I'd be happy to shout "YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH..." and the rest of the script in near-perfect synchronization.
USELESS TRIVIA--Along with the superstars in "A Few Good Men", youngsters Noah Wyle (Dr. Carter on TV's "E.R.") and Cuba Gooding Jr. (Oscar-winner in "Jerry Maguire") also appeared.
This film gets a 9/10. It also ranks #21 on My 100 Favourite Films list.
THE RYAN RATING SYSTEM SAYS... 10/10--absolutely outstanding 9/10--excellent 8/10--pretty darn good 7/10--sure, go on and give it a peek 6/10--so-so; ye ol' recommendation point 5/10--not quite worth the dollars 4/10--only if you have a free pass 3/10--don't go, PLEASE don't go 2/10--avoid even if you DO have a free pass 1/10--"Showgirls" territory; truly crappy 0/10--bang your head off a wall instead
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