"Attention. Tonight's movie has been 'MASH.'"

Rating: 7/10 (11 February 2007)

Even as the opening credits begin to roll to the tune of a song entitled 'Suicide is Painless,' you recognise that, with 'MASH,' Robert Altman was deliberately aiming for a war film that was both unconventional and somewhat controversial. A black episodic comedy, 'MASH' portrays its experienced division of Korean War surgeons as laid-back troublemakers, dismissive of all authority and largely inconsiderate of others.
'Hawkeye' Pierce (Donald Sutherland), 'Trapper John' MacIntrye (Elliott Gould) and 'Duke' Forrest (Tom Skeritt) are three Army surgeons who are drafted during the Korean war and assigned to a MASH (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) unit just three miles from the front line. Whilst they are undoubtedly fond of mischief, they are also very good at their job, as detailed quite graphically during the regular surgery scenes, into which Altman somehow manages to insert humour.
They have also developed, perhaps due to the laid-back atmosphere of their own unit, a general disregard towards military authority. For example, during their brief visit to Japan, Hawkeye and Trapper John break military hospital procedure by treating an ill native child. When confronted by a superior officer, they promptly gas him, place him in bed with a prostitute and take some photographs as he begins to wake, ensuring a not-so-subtle but highly effective platform for blackmail.
However, as carefree as their existence may be, the final football game demonstrates that the unit can successfully devise a plan, work together and emerge victorious. Of course, they only eventually win the game through the only means they know, involving highly deceitful (if not completely illegal) strategies and shifty game plans.
Many have commented that 'MASH' looks unfavourably towards all women, treating them as mere objects of sex. I can certainly see where these arguments are coming from; spoken lines by women are few and far between, and rarely extend beyond enthusiastic acceptance of a man's proposition of sex. The only nurse who openly disapproves of these attitudes - Maj. Margaret O'Houlihan (Sally Kellerman)  fares particularly poorly, unceremoniously dubbed 'Hot Lips' throughout the film and made the butt of numerous demeaning (but quite amusing, I must admit) practical jokes. When O'Houlihan lodges an official complaint to higher powers, the officer's eventual reply is "You mean Hot Lips? Screw her!"
'MASH' has a great cast of likably rebellious characters, and its no surprise that the film later spawned one of the most beloved television shows of all time, even if only one actor (Gary Burghoff as Cpl. Walter 'Radar' O'Reilly) elected to reprise his role as a regular. I also enjoyed Robert Duvall's early appearance as Maj. 'Frank' Burns, the disliked religious zealot who is later led away in a straitjacket. This, of course, comes as no surprise to Hawkeye Pierce, since it was he who had planned the entire scheme!