You go Jane!

Rating: 6/10 (21 May 2002)

I suppose that's what the film makers would want us to shout at the screen while watching G.I. Jane. I had a few other choice expletives in mind. This gritty, unpleasant Demi Moore vehicle in which she stars and co-produces is certainly slick and classy looking. We wouldn't expect less from director Ridley Scott, the man who gave us Blade Runner and Alien. Ms. Moore, with grim determination and nary an ounce of humor, plays Jordan O'Neil, a Navy lieutenant accepted as the first woman in the SEAL training program. Moore is way more convincing as a combat-ready soldier than was Meg Ryan in Courage Under Fire. Here Jordan, nicknamed "G.I. Jane," is certainly sinewy and impressively buffed, able to do one-armed push-ups and upside-down sit-ups for hours on end. Her sourness, however, prevents us from rooting for Jordan/Jane to make it through the impossibly grueling SEAL boot camp. I think I would have preferred Sgt. Benjamin! The faux feminism of Jane seems to be saying that to be equal, women must be men. Jordan's battle cry is the anatomically impossible "Suck my..." -- well, you know what goes with Jane and Spot. The torturama reaches its long-awaited climax in a Washington showdown with power-wielding politicos who can put an end to Jordan/Jane's misery (and ours). Wait. It's not over yet. Another 20-30 minutes of senseless action are tacked on to try our patience even more. See Jane fight. And fight. And fight. See Jane save the life of her sadistic Master Chief. See Jane kick Libyan ass! Women in the military are having a tough enough time these days without Hollywood trivializing it all to assuage some star ego. As a crusader for gender sensitivity (and shorter haircuts), Moore is less. On the other hand, any movie that features Ms. Moore being tortured and abused for 120 minutes can't be all bad. It delivers much the same perverse satisfaction as an action effort that kills off Steven Seagal in the first 10 minutes (Executive Decision).