Rob Reiner’s 1992 Courtroom Drama is a MUST-SEE

With the sudden passing of actor, activist, writer, director and all-round Showbiz Hobo, Rob Reiner, let's take a look at his 1992 court room thriller, A Few Good Men.

At the Marine Corps Base in Guantanamo Bay, two Marines perform a "Code Red" on a substandard soldier named Santiago. When Santiago is killed, the two Marines find themselves on trial for their lives. Lt. Danny Kaffee (Tom Cruise), a rookie JAG lawyer with a lackadaisical attitude and a history of settling out of court is in charge of their defence. Along with Lt. Cmdr Jo Galloway (Demi Moore) and Lt. Sam Weinberg (Kevin Pollack), Kaffe will risk his career to defend Corporals Downey and Dawson.

A Few Good Men features an all-star cast of headliners with a remarkable cast of supporting performers that includes Cuba Gooding Jr, Kiefer Sutherland, Noah Wylie, JT Walsh, Kevin Bacon, J.A. Preston, Christopher Guest and James Marshall. Every character has a story, a motivation, and a moment. It remains my favourite Aaron Sorkin script (and yes, I did LOVE West Wing. But not Newsroom, we’ll get into my deeper feelings about Sorkin some other time). A Few Good Men is not only an outstanding movie about the military, it would also rate highly on any top 10 list of courtroom dramas. It earns this spot if only for this scene.....SPOILERS!

When I was in Grade 8, Mr Rensink has the class watch some select scenes from a few different movies, including this one. When Jessop yells "YOU CAN'T HADNDLE THE TRUTH!", the whole class said the line in unison. That's how pervasive A Few Good Men, was in the culture.

THE EDGE

While A Few Good Men is a terrific movie there are some aspects of it that just haven’t aged well. The central protagonist, Lt. Kaffe (Cruise), is a privileged white male who has to overcome his entitlement to live up to the expectations of his dead father, a legendary lawyer involved in a court case, not unlike the Little Rock Nine. However, the arc of the protagonist is the most uninteresting part of the movie. This is usually problematic, but in the case of this film, the other characters are able to carry the story far better than Kaffe.

The sexist comments directed toward Lt Cmdr. Galloway (Moore) stand out more than they would have in 1992. Although it is very true to life for a woman in her position at that time, it’s jarring. Her resilience makes her the most admirable and interesting protagonist in the film. I would even argue that Galloway is the main character as she sets the events of the trial in motion and is the reason Kaffee gets his act together and is able to unwrap the case.

There is one scene that sticks out like a sore thumb. When the defence team takes a night off Galloway takes Kaffee out to dinner. The scene suggests that she finds him appealing in a romantic way. It’s weird and unnecessary and I wish it wasn’t in the movie, but Hollywood needs its protagonists to be sexually desirable.

What good is a CIS white male protagonist without a good-looking woman to tell him he’s smart and sexy? How would the audience know? Read Laura Mulvey's Visual Pleasure in Narrative Cinema, she does a much better job explaining this than I could.

THE LOWDOWN

A Few Good Men, by all accounts, was an extraordinary movie to work on. Recently, Director Rob Reiner spoke about working with Jack Nicholson.

Not very many performers will give it their all like that, especially big stars like Nicholson. When a big-name actor pours themselves into a role it’s awesome to be around, there is electricity on set that is indescribable.

In 1992, Nicholson might not have been in the most culturally relevant part of his career but he was the biggest earner in Hollywood, he set the tone on set. Having a big star who commands the respect of the rest of the cast and the crew can make a big difference. Everybody, and I mean everybody (even the caterers) bring their A-game to set and when Nicholson shows up you could probably hear a pin drop in that room.

THE JIST

A Few Good Men is a great movie you’ll want to see more than once. It is a jewel in the crown of Ron Reiners brilliant directing career. A few parts didn’t age well, but it's still one of the best courtroom drama’s ever made. WATCH IT!

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