The funniest war movie ever

Rating: 8/10 (1 March 2008)

I had just married my bf when this movie came out; he had spent 18 months on a tour in Vietnam. He said this was the best portrayal of the "damn army" as Bobby Troup called it that he had ever seen. I've probably seen it a dozen times and still laugh out loud at all my favorite parts, especially the football game. When Hotlips yells out, "They've shot him," I just crack up for some reason. The drug use, casual sex, disdain for authority are totally authentic. I was also a veteran of that era and I worked in a stateside hospital, where it wasn't as graphic and bloody and the food was better, but the humor and zaniness was about the same.
Sally Kellerman did a splendid job in this film, but except for "A Little Romance", I've never seen her in anything I liked as well. The rest of the cast is superb. Robert Altman perfected his fast-paced directing style in this film.
My biggest gripes, I guess, are historical inaccuracies in hairstyles, the use of black soldiers in Korea (didn't happen), the amount of facial hair (very 70's but not appropriate to the time frame) and other minor details. But you can't have everything and you can't let these distractions disrupt your enjoyment of what is a totally hilarious film.