Movie Review: Major Payne (1995)
Synopsis: After once again being passed over for promotion, Major Bensen Winifred Payne is set to be discharged from the United States Marines. His commanding officer finds a way to keep him in the military by assigning him as the commanding officer of a failing JROTC program at a Virginia Preparatory School. Payne's gung-ho ways and lack of social skills immediately threaten the arrangement, along with the cadets in his unit unwilling to accept his methods.
Who's in it? The movie stars Damon Wayans, Karyn Parsons, William Hickey, Orlando Brown and Steven Martini.
Review: I had some time before making dinner last night and as I was scrolling through the channels on TV, I came across Major Payne on one of my movie channels. It had been ages since I last saw this military comedy and I decided to give it a try. The movie, as it turns out, isn't as good as I remembered. However, I still didn't hate it.
Look, there's a lot about this movie that, at minimum, is dated. For example, any adult calling a bunch of kids under his care "turds" and threatening them with violence probably would result in unemployment and imprisonment today (and probably back in the 1990s when it wasn't in a movie). Plus, Wayans' exaggeration of his military persona, Payne, is sometimes uncomfortable.
All that said, it is a fun movie. The whole undisciplined military squad thing has been done to death, but Wayans still manages to keep it a fun movie. The film also isn't anywhere near as predictable as I would expect. Many of his squad's attempts at revenge don't go anywhere near the direction I would have expected as Payne proved to be much more cunning than he first seemed and, with each passing minute he didn't win them over, his ability to turn them into a winning unit seemed much more difficult.
I also liked the budding romance between Payne and the school's guidance counselor, Emily (Parsons). They were completely different people, especially when it came to their views about kids, but I found myself rooting for them and that doesn't happen often.
I think the biggest thing this movie is missing is context, especially when it comes to the boys in the JROTC. As far as I can tell, it wasn't mandatory, which made me question why the cadets were even in it if they weren't going to take it seriously.
A little more information about their backgrounds would be nice, especially against the backdrop of a school that seemed to be mostly for rich kids. Did they all come from wealthy families? Were some of them there on scholarship? It would have given them a bit more depth, especially when it comes to the question about why they joined.
Final Opinion: It's not a movie that has aged all that well and there are parts of it that could have used a bit more work. However, I still found myself entertained and didn't regret re-watching it.
My Grade: B-
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Here are some reviews of other military comedies:
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