Over the years I have tried to get my son to watch many movies that I grew up with in the 80s and 90s a chance and called them classics. Only for him to think that they were ok at best, leaving me dumbfounded how he could not love them. To be honest, many movies are a product of their time and to really love and appreciate them, you sometimes have to have seen them when they were current. That is the case with me and Private Benjamin.
How to Download Private Benjamin
Private Benjamin was released on October 10, 1980. You can download or stream the film from a digital platform such as Apple TV or Amazon Prime Video. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice.
Movie Review: Private Benjamin (1980)
Released in 1980 and a huge movie for Goldie Hawn. Private Benjamin is a movie that many people consider a comedy classic. I do not know why, but I never saw this in the 80s and as a matter of fact, it was not until I added the DVD to my collection (after repeatedly hearing what a classic this was) in the 2000s that I finally saw it and as my son would say “eh, it was ok”.
The movie is about a young woman in her 20s called Judy Benjamin who is played by Goldie Hawn. Judy has had a very sheltered and privileged life. She grew up with money, but also her parents telling her what to do. She thought that she married the man of her dreams and that her life was going to be amazing going forward. However, her husband dies while they are having sex on their wedding night, leaving her to question her life choices.
She ends up on the radio and somehow a guy convinces her that all her problems can be solved by joining the military. Judy signs up for basic training and heads out, only to discover it is not the spa like experience she was expecting. While Judy is a hit with many of her fellow soldiers in training, she is on the hit list of a few of her superiors such as Captain Doreen Lewis. Eileen Brennan as Captain Lewis is just so much fun, I love the banter she and Goldie Hawn have together, it is my favorite part of the movie.
Judy’s Romance and Unexpected Life Lessons
Judy eventually finds her way and ends up meeting a fancy French dude and they have a connection. Through a series of events, Judy ends up transferred to a post in Europe where she meets back up with this Frech guy and they start a relationship. Now, this is where the movie really lost me. This French guy seemed like the guy of her dreams, but he turned out to be a major asshole and she ditches him during their wedding day.
The whole ending arc of the movie just left me scratching my head. So much that I had to read up on why people loved it. Turns out that many people see it as Judy finding her own way in life and that she no longer needs a man to take care of her. Hey, that is an awesome message, but it totally went over my head while I was watching the movie.
Final Thoughts on Private Benjamin
There are some funny parts here and there and I am certainly in the minority, but I thought that this was average at best. If it were not for Eileen Brennan as Captain Lewis, I probably would have scored this a bit lower. Hey, if you love the movie, more power to you, however, this did not click for me at all.
