Review of Private Benjamin (1980) by The Critic ( — 12 Jul 2013

One of Goldie Hawn's best roles, this fish-out-of-water, coming of age, army caper presents itself in three distinctive acts - and almost feels like two separate movies - as rich, spoilt daddy's girl Judy Benjamin (Hawn) enlists in the defence force after the sudden death of her husband (Albert Brooks).

This is, indeed, Hawn's picture who remains accessible despite grieving and whinging for most of the time. There's a wonderful collection of characters throughout, primarily involving her hilariously torturing six-week training period; P.J. Soles is excellent as sycophant Winter and Toni Kalem is fun as the tough Gianelli. But there's no denying that the scene-stealing Eileen Brennan, as Captain Doreen Lewis, is the one to watch here, presenting what would have to be one of the most perfect portrayals of this sort of role.

The second half of the film, which sees Benjamin based in Europe, lacks the pacing and frequent humour of the Army and Thornbird scenes, but the earlier investment in our protagonist keeps the audience engaged right until the final frame.

A massive box office hit, 'Private Benjamin' received more acclaim than is often attributed to a comedy, earning three Oscar nominations for acting and writing, and was followed by a television series, in which Brennan and Hal Williams reprised their roles.