Poor Lynn Whitfield, cast here at the Army drill sergeant in charge of the troop that features Pauly Shore and Andy Dick. In the realistic Army, these two fools wouldn't be allowed anywhere near basic training, let alone entrusted with weapons. The fact that they make it through basic training is the most ridiculous twist, and their basic training isn't even ten minutes long. Two of the unfunniest comics over to make a career in the movies, Shore and Dick are a total embarrassment you try to watch and gain a laugh out of.
I have seen pretty much every military base comedy going back to "Doughboys" (1930, Buster Keaton) up through "Buck Privates", "At War with the Army", and in more modern times, "Private Benjamin" and "Stripes". Each of those films has something original to contribute, but this one takes slob comedy down the most absurd of paths, and even with David Alan Grier involved, it falls flat and has maybe one or two minor laughs.
The fact that Shore's character thinks that he is quite the ladies man and actually gets the ladies is perhaps the most ridiculous element of the film. Grier, ten times funnier than either Shore or Dick, gets very little to do. There's also a very tacky scene where the two pretend to be lovers to keep themselves from going to Africa (The country of Chad) and are ordered to kiss. Coming out right after don't-ask-don't-tell, it seems completely absurd. Fortunately, the offense is more based on the fools that the leads made out of themselves and the impact it has had on their careers, being one of the most reviled comedies in the past 30 years.
I have seen pretty much every military base comedy going back to "Doughboys" (1930, Buster Keaton) up through "Buck Privates", "At War with the Army", and in more modern times, "Private Benjamin" and "Stripes". Each of those films has something original to contribute, but this one takes slob comedy down the most absurd of paths, and even with David Alan Grier involved, it falls flat and has maybe one or two minor laughs.
The fact that Shore's character thinks that he is quite the ladies man and actually gets the ladies is perhaps the most ridiculous element of the film. Grier, ten times funnier than either Shore or Dick, gets very little to do. There's also a very tacky scene where the two pretend to be lovers to keep themselves from going to Africa (The country of Chad) and are ordered to kiss. Coming out right after don't-ask-don't-tell, it seems completely absurd. Fortunately, the offense is more based on the fools that the leads made out of themselves and the impact it has had on their careers, being one of the most reviled comedies in the past 30 years.