Stripes - Action & Propaganda All in One

Rating: 2/10 (20 May 2014)

The soul purpose of this movie is to make the military, specifically the United States Army, seem like a breeze. The two main characters, John and Russell see no point in living life like lazy sleezeballs so they join the military for "some fun". This is where the stupidity starts.
John and Russell and put in a recruit squad including other morons. Sgt. Hulka is the typical "hard-ass" drill instructor who seems to always be punishing the two main characters for trying to act "funny" and "cool" (obvious cliché). There are many instances in this movie that I found completely ridiculous. The first one would have to be basic training when the recruits are with the mortars and "accidentally" almost kill Hulka which results in him just being hospitalized. The recruits don't really receive any punishment (like kicked out or court martial) but strong resentment from Hulka. Secondly would have to be when John and Russell are found breaking military law which obviously causes two female MPs to magically fall in love with them, sneak into an officers nearby house, and immediately have sex. Sexist and disgusting? Check.
When the recruits realize that they are pretty much idiots, and graduation is coming soon it serves as a time for John to finally act like a leader. This sounds good that they may actually take the army seriously, but they don't. John makes some stupid over-patriotic speech about how "We are in the U.S. Army, the best army ever. We've been *kicking ass for over 200 years*" (lol; don't you remember the Korean War and Vietnam, John?). Anyhow, this "speech" encourages the recruits to then do a one-night transformation for the next day which is graduation. They show up at the ceremony late, marching in like a bunch of kindergartens, and do a completely awkward, and un-military like march singing pop songs. This is supposedly their "one night transformation". Yet even with this stupid display, the high ranking officers pick John and his recruits over EVERY OTHER RECRUIT PLATOON which acted more military than they did. They are sent to a NATO country on a special assignment which is testing a "new" EM-50 Urban Assault Vehicle (in reality a GMC motor home lol!).
This assignment is too much for Russell and John, and they decide to go to Germany by stealing the EM-50 UAV to meet up with the pretty female MPs they screwed with back in the U.S. Sgt. Hulka finds out what John and Russell did, and take the other recruits to retrieve the EM-50 motor home back. Somehow, they take a wrong turn into Czechoslovakia and are captured by the occupying Soviet Army. Russell, John, and the MP girls go to Czechoslovakia to rescue the men. This movie tries to portray how "easy" it is for American troops to invade a Soviet-bloc nation by just "smashing through" a roadblock. Not to mention, these idiots could have started World War III for their dumb actions! Russell, John, and the MPs enter the town the recruits are held in, rescue them, defeat a huge army of Soviet soldiers, blow up tanks, and survive rockets and grenades all thanks to the GMC Motor Home being super protective (okay?). They all then return back to the United States being "heroes" and calling the Soviets "pu--ies" which is an over-exaggeration because how could a motor home beat an entire Soviet division? Pro-American anti-Soviet propaganda is why, then again this film was made 3/4 way through the Cold War.
I do not recommend this movie, it is boring, absurd, and ridiculous. If you like watching a film where buffoons become heroes in an unreal way, then this is for you.