G.I. Jane (1997) Demi Moore, Anne Bancroft. Directed by Ridley Scott
2 and one half out of 5 stars
Review by Ed Johnson-Ott For more reviews, go to www.nuvo-online.com and click on "film."
Congratulations are due to Demi Moore. After a series of increasingly bad career moves, climaxed by her starring role in the horrific "Striptease", she has finally landed in a fairly good film. Structurally, "G.I. Jane" is just another cliché-filled military flick, but Moore and director Ridley Scott invest so much vigor into the film that it works anyway.
In this intense drama, a crusty Texas senator uses her clout to challenge the military ban on women in combat. As Senator Lillian DeHaven, Anne Bancroft has a ball, using a now-you-hear-it, now-you-don't Southern drawl and slinky, cat-like movements in her portrayal of a sleazy veteran politician exhilarated with power games. This is Bancroft's best role in years, and it's great fun watching her play with the part. Following DeHaven's victory in a pissing contest with the military brass, Naval Intelligence officer Jordan O'Neil (Moore) is recruited as a test case, the first woman allowed to tackle the grueling Navy SEAL's program.
Moore quickly establishes O'Neil as a smart, skilled and extremely focused officer. The script quickly throws her into the same boot camp nightmare we've seen in "Full Metal Jacket", "An Officer And A Gentlemen" and numerous other "can they triumph against the odds" pictures. The situation is cliched, but director Ridley Scott ("Thelma and Louise", "White Squall") establishes and maintains a strong momentum, giving the film a sense of urgency that transcends the cliched storyline more often than not. Moore does solid work as well. Her tendency towards playing things way too seriously has hurt her in previous films, but this time around it is a crucial factor in setting in place the integrity and intensity of O'Neil's personality.
Aside from Lt. O'Neil and Senator DeHaven, the film's other characters are more archetypes than individuals. There's the loving, but wary boyfriend, the tough, but caring drill instructor, and of course, the rag- tag mix of fellow SEAL wannabes. The film takes exactly the route one might expect, with the boys expressing varying degrees of outrage over O'Neil's presence, until it reaches the obligatory scene where O'Neil wins over her fellow trainees. During an particularly brutal battle exercise, she kicks the hell out of her foe, then triumphantly shouts "Suck my dick!", drawing cheers from the other trainees, as well as the audience. Now, let's take just a moment and think about this. Over the course of the film, O'Neil insists on absolutely equal treatment, going as far as shaving her head and bunking with the men. Extreme measures, but an understandable approach for a character determined to prove her worth. But what in the world is "Suck my dick!" all about? Are the filmmakers seriously suggesting that to be accepted as an equal with men, you must pretend to be one? An odd approach for a film supposedly taking a feminist stand.
Or maybe not so odd, when one considers the many scenes of O'Neil training privately in sweaty, skimpy outfits, a very nice excuse for some long, loving T&A shots. One suspects that "G.I. Jane" isn't making any particular feminist statement at all. It appears the woman-in-combat motif was simply considered a good hook for an action movie, not to mention a nice vehicle for Demi Moore to salvage her flagging career.
Despite the film's decidedly mixed messages, "G.I. Jane" still works, primarily because Ridley Scott knows how to make an action film feel solid. Clichés be damned, the training sequences pack real clout. When O'Neil is assaulted again and again, the staging and sound effects make those scenes feel all too real. Even for seasoned moviegoers, it's hard not to wince and turn away when watching O'Neil brutalized in such a realistic fashion.
Towards the end of the film, O'Neil's outfit gets thrown into an actual combat situation, and you can take it from there. Every conceivable battle cliché happens, and you know what? The climax is STILL rousing, because by this point you've either left the theater or thrown away any expectations of credibility. Feminist trappings aside, the bottom line is that "G.I. Jane" is a good old fashioned war movie, the kind John Wayne fans would approve of. Demi Moore and Ridley Scott may not have a lot to brag about here, but they certainly don't need to apologize either.
copyright 1997, Ed Johnson-Ott
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