Review of Private Benjamin (1980) by Harry W — 25 Feb 2014

I always knew Goldie Hawn to be a critically acclaimed actress her Academy Award winning effort in Cactus Flower, so when she became nominated for the Best Actress Oscar for her work in Private Benjamin I made the decision to see it.

Private Benjamin has the plot of a film usually reserved for comedies with male protagonists, but since the role is given to Goldie Hawn, the fish out of water element of the story is significantly more out of place and therefore more effective from a comedic standpoint, relying on the delivery of the humour from the director and actors to make it effective. And while it takes some time before the story develops well enough and the comedy of the film begins to take effect, Private Benjamin proves to be funny and joyful enough to be worth the wait.

Thanks to the role that director Howard Zieff plays on Private Benjamin, the fish out of water element of the comedy is played to maximum effect. It capitalises on the fact that the character who has joined the army is a female and the fact that her parents are overprotective despite the fact that she is a twice-married 29 year old. Honestly, it's very reminiscent of the Bill Murray war themed action comedy from the next year Stripes, and even features actress P.J. Soles who appeared in both films, giving effective and sexy performances. The nature of Private Benjamin is significantly lighter though, and it proves to be a cleverly refreshing and charming comedy which takes a comedic look at both military service and the stereotypical attributes of a woman from a completely different world to one with the rough nature of the army, putting them in a clever comedic context with a very well written Academy Award nominated screenplay which proves itself to be the source of many laughs when the actors work so naturally with it in Private Benjamin. It helps to transcend the slow pace of the beginning and eventually turns itself into an entertaining comedy. It succeeds for its clever attributes in writing and directing, as well as for its visual elements.

The visual elements of Private Benjamin are strong because the production design and costumes are thoroughly convincing of the military setting that the film takes place in, and the scenery is effectively convincing and is combined with atmospheric cinematography which always captures the right mood of each scene. And since it is timely edited and featuring a catchy soundtrack, Private Benjamin proves itself successful in many areas with the only real technical flaw being that since the film is 34 years old its audio quality is rather rough in parts.

But thanks to the efforts of the cast, in particular lead actress Goldie Hawn, Private Benjamin succeeds as a funny and cleverly original comedy film.

Goldie Hawn's energetic charisma as the lead role of Private Judy Benjamin is undeniably charming, because she is already a very pretty face with an unmatchable charming smile and iconic tone of high pitched voice which comes naturally to her. And in Private Benjamin she proves that she has the comedic talents to carry Private Benjamin all the way to the end under the strength of her own comedic strength and line delivery as an actress. In Private Benjamin she is at some of her most charismatic and friendly, and her sex appeal is played to a level where it is subtle so that Private Benjamin is not bereft of it nor is reliant on it. Much of the humour in the story comes from her physical actions at times and her portrayal of Private Judy Benjamin as a somewhat ditzy blonde figure with heart and intelligence that develops, and so she gets the part perfectly.

Eileen Brennan proves to be one of the key elements in much of Private Benjamin's success too. Her performance is dedicated both physically and mentally, and so she gets her part head on.

Armande Assante also does a fine job in one of his significantly younger performances with a flawless French accent and a fine acting delivery.

The only flaw with Private Benjamin is that in most of its second act it becomes a bit of a generic romantic story and more of a chick flick than a straight forward comedy where it loses touch with its comedic roots. The amount of comedic success decreases in the second half of the story and so its momentum isn't consistently effective or funny. It's not bad because the latter half is important to the characterisation of Private Judy Benjamin, but I just wish it was funnier.

But Still, Private Benjamin is a good old fashioned comedy film with a nicely comedic look at the Military and a dedicated comedic performance from lead actress Goldie Hawn.