The military is not something to make fun of. It can do that perfectly fine on its own without really trying.

Rating: 6/10 (11 May 2017)

It's nice to see some of the casts of Saturday Night Live and SCTV come together on film. Here, Bill Murray meets John Candy, and it's absolute hilarity at the expense of the army, obviously made on the basis of the success of "Private Benjamin", but changing genders as it heads back into comic territory that has tickled audiences going back way before Abbott and Costello turned the military upside down in "Buck Privates". Here, Murray and old pal Harold Ramos enter the military and fond themselves getting away with all sorts of pranks, with Candy and Judge Reinhold among the others they encounter in an attempt at becoming soldiers that seems to be a major implausibility.
This farce isn't reflective of army life in any way, shape or form, just a scathing commentary on the silliness of the seriousness of it all. Arrogant non-commissioned officers, serious privates and imperious officers are given scathing portrayals, showing the real life NCO's, privates and commissioned officers how ridiculous they look with that scowling look and stuck up attitude that under some circumstances leads to rebellion. A young John Laroquette spoofs that image as the new captain on the training base who has secrets that isn't becoming of an officer.
Emulating Sergeant Carter from "Gomer Pyle U.S.M.D.", Warren Oates plays the typical screaming and sneering drill sergeant who meets his match in the sassy Murray. P.J. Soles and Sean Young play two female m.p.'s who are lacking in discipline every time they encounter Murray and Ramis, especially when Murray gets frisky with an ice cream scoop. Forget about any sense of reality with their characters, thrown in along with some innocent T&A for sexy thrills. Having already explored slobs vs. the preppy's and slobs vs. the snobs, this is the slobs vs. humorless authority, making along with "Animal House" and "Caddyshack" a trio of slob comedies that started a new genre of comedy and one that is still ripped off today.