An Officer and a Gentleman - 6 stars out of 10

An Officer and a Gentleman - 6 stars out of 10

"An Officer and a Gentleman" was not what I expected. The concept would suggest that it would have a few sequences of officer training while the entire film focused on the love story, but the love story definitely comprised less than 50% of this film, as the true focus of this story is a man's journey to find his place in the world (both in love and career). Academy Award Winner Louis Gossett Jr. is incredible as the drill instructor. Although it cannot match R Lee Ermy's portrayal in "Full Metal Jacket," Gossett brings so much intensity to this role as he practices tough love on Richard Gere. Some of his dialogue is upsetting, particularly when he is yelling at Lisa Eilbacher (who, by the way, was fantastic) to get over the wall. This very young Richard Gere shows his acting chops, particularly through his breakdown and self-realization that he has nothing and nobody in the world. Although I enjoyed Debra Winger's sweetheart role, I didn't find it deserving of an Oscar nod, but I fully support David Keith's nomination as he was just that cool! My two complaints about this film is that it becomes a bit long-winded around the 3/4 mark, and the sex scenes were unnecessarily graphic. As far as story, I enjoyed the mutiple types of conflict (man vs. man, man vs. himself, man vs. his circumstances) and the different layers of the film, which consequently make Zack Mayo into a highly-developed character. I could have done with a little less droning on during the second act and without the constant reappearance of "Love Lifts Us Up Where We Belong" (which at the time was special but now just seems overplayed); however, in the end this film provides wonderful performances by Gossett, Gere, Winger, and Keith, and that is reason enough for me to watch it again.