"And the best thing about pain, it lets you know that you're not dead yet."

Rating: Null/10 (9 May 2003)

Seems to me this film, G.I. JANE, has a rating that is quite lower than it should be. Demi Moore doesn't always choose the best roles, but she is a fine actress, and here she is just right for the role of a strong-willed junior Naval officer who is chosen to be the test case for women having all the same opportunities as men, to fight, and perhaps, get killed. Everyone expects her to wash out, but she expects to complete the 3-month Navy Seal training.
G.I. JANE is now available on "budget" DVD for under $10US, so I bought my own copy, mainly because the film also features Daniel Von Bargen as the politician undergoing Naval Secretary confirmation hearings. However, watching it again after perhaps 5 years, I found myself marveling at what a good movie it is.
some SPOILERS follow, don't read any further if you want to be totally surprised with the movie.
At the beginning it appears that her biggest supporter is the lady senator (Anne Bancroft) from Texas, but it turns out that in reality the senator chose her with the expectation that she would wash out in a week or two, then she could say "we tried, but women just aren't tough enough." In return, bases in her home state would not be closed and she could get re-elected. When O'Neal appeared to be headed for success, the senator orchestrated trumped-up charges of behavior unbecoming an officer, lesbian fraternization, so she would be on office duty pending the investigation. O'Neal got back in to finish her training when her boyfriend realized the truth, and O'Neal threatened to expose the senator.
And, as a final punctuation mark to the story, in a final training exercise they were pressed into service to recover a stray satellite that fell in Iran, a gun battle ensured, O'Neal got to save the Master Chief who had tried so hard to get her to drop out.
Not a great film, but a very, very good one, regarding the lesson to accept others, and also to be dedicated to a cause. I am glad I own the DVD, which is unspectacular but has nice Dolby 5.1 surround sound. No meaningful extras at all, and the picture is just average for a DVD.