Private Benjamin
| Private Benjamin | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Howard Zieff |
| Produced by | Nancy Meyers Harvey Miller Charles Shyer Goldie Hawn |
| Written by | Nancy Meyers Charles Shyer Harvey Miller |
| Starring | Goldie Hawn Eileen Brennan Armand Assante |
| Music by | Bill Conti Barry De Vorzon |
| Cinematography | David M. Walsh |
| Editing by | Sheldon Kahn |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | October 7, 1980 |
| Running time | 109 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $15 million |
| Box office | $69,847,348 |
Private Benjamin is a 1980 American comedy film starring Goldie Hawn. The film was one of the biggest box office hits of 1980,[1] and also spawned a short-lived television series. The film is ranked 82 on the American Film Institute's "100 Funniest Movies" poll,[2] and 59 on Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies".[3]
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[edit] Plot
Judy Benjamin (Goldie Hawn) is a Jewish-American woman who joins the U.S. Army after her new husband dies on their wedding night during sex. Duped by a sneaky recruiting sergeant, Jim Ballard (Harry Dean Stanton), who lets her believe military life to be more glamorous than it is, she has a rude awakening in boot camp. After getting in trouble constantly, Judy wants to quit but chooses to stick it out, and has a series of adventures which eventually lead to promotion.
During her service, Judy meets Henri Tremont (Armand Assante), a dashing French doctor. However, their romance is short-lived when he returns to Paris and she to her army career. Later Judy manages to be assigned to SHAPE in Belgium, and she meets up with Henri again. He proposes marriage; she accepts, but when Captain Lewis (Eileen Brennan), her boot camp officer, discovers that Tremont is a communist, Judy is forced to choose between giving up her army career or leaving him to continue her service.
After she chooses Henri over the Army, Judy discovers Henri's controlling side, when he tries to 'remake' her, and when forced to sign a prenuptial agreement in his favor. Then, when she finds out Henri is still madly in love with an old flame (his ex, Clare) and has cheated on her with their maid, she realizes that she is capable of doing whatever she wants, and that she doesn't need Henri for that. She walks out on him at the altar to go live her own life.
[edit] Cast
- Goldie Hawn as Private Judy Benjamin
- Eileen Brennan as Captain Doreen Lewis
- Armand Assante as Henri Alan Tremont
- Robert Webber as Colonel Clay Thornbush
- Sam Wanamaker as Teddie Benjamin
- Barbara Barrie as Harriet Benjamin
- Mary Kay Place as Private/2nd Lieutenant Mary Lou Glass
- Harry Dean Stanton as 1st Sergeant Jim Ballard
- Hal Williams as Sergeant L.C. Ross
- P.J. Soles as Private Wanda Winter
- Craig T. Nelson as Captain William Woodbridge
- Albert Brooks as Yale Goodman
- Alan Oppenheimer as Rabbi
- Lee Wallace as Mr. Waxman
[edit] Awards and nominations
Private Benjamin was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Goldie Hawn), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Eileen Brennan) and Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen.
American Film Institute recognition
- 2000: AFI's 100 Years... 100 Laughs #82
[edit] Television series
In 1981, Private Benjamin was made into an Emmy and Golden Globe-winning television series of the same name starring Lorna Patterson, Eileen Brennan, Hal Williams, Lisa Raggio, Wendie Jo Sperber and Joel Brooks (it originally aired 1981-1983). Brennan and Williams had reprised their roles, that of Captain Doreen Lewis and Sergeant L.C. Ross, from the film for the television series.
[edit] Remake
In March 2010, Anna Faris has been cast to portray Judy Benjamin in a remake of Private Benjamin from New Line Cinema. Amy Talkington is in talks to write the script and Mark Gordon is set to produce.
The new take will set the story in contemporary times with modern wars as the backdrop. Insiders say the studio doesn’t want to poke fun at the people in the service or take political potshots, but rather focus on the empowerment elements and build on the fish-out-of-water comedy.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=1980
- ^ "Private Tutor". Infoplease.com. http://www.infoplease.com/ipea/A0882207.html. Retrieved 2011-03-27.
- ^ "Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies" on Lists of Bests". Listsofbests.com. 2006-06-02. http://www.listsofbests.com/list/7092?page=2. Retrieved 2011-03-27.
- ^ "Anna Faris to star in 'Private Benjamin' remake (exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. http://riskybusiness.hollywoodreporter.com/2010/03/30/anna-faris-star-private-benjamin-remake-new-line/. Retrieved 2010-03-30.
[edit] External links
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Private Benjamin |
- Private Benjamin at the Internet Movie Database
- Private Benjamin at AllRovi
- Private Benjamin at Box Office Mojo
- Private Benjamin at Rotten Tomatoes
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