A Few Good Men

I remember when the film came out and some were mocking her casting. Demi Moore was not taken seriously as an actress (and she still doesn't) but I thought she did a good job here. I like that the movie didn't try to have her be a romantic interest for Tom Cruise, her character is the one who starts out as committed to the case and has to convince Tom Cruise to keep on fighting and I thought she was good at acting against Cruise and Jack Nicholson and pull it off.

It's a pity Moore didn't take more risks later on. We got junk like Striptease and GI Jane instead.

Cruise is 59, Jack was 55.

(Inspired by seeing the TOP GUN trailer before the very charming LOST CITY and then ruminating on Tom’s career)

One of my favorite movies and something I just realized upon rewatching.

Tom Cruise is all over the place, and Jack Nicholson steals the show in only like 3 scenes.

Never seen this before. The only thing I knew from it was the famous "You can't handle the truth" line. But damn what a good movie. It feels very 90s with the score and the occasional corniness but it was a very compelling film.

Very good performances from Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson, which is really no surprise but a treat nonetheless. It was nice seeing Tom Cruise in something more lowkey.

Haven't actually seen Demi Moore in many things but she's fine in her role, as is Kevin Pollak, Kevin Bacon and much of the rest of the cast.

Also quick shoutout to James. I guess he joined the marines after leaving Twin Peaks.

Just watched it again. I just need somewhere to vent about how Downey and Dawson are so bad that they almost ruin this movie.

“Ten-hut! There’s an officer on deck!” Is legitimately the corniest moment I’ve ever seen in an otherwise good movie. And Dawson is, frankly, straight up retarded.

I love this movie, and it’s 1000% in the Rewatchables hall of fame. So I can’t quite muster up the ‘are we sure it’s good?’ level of zag. But I don’t think there’s anyone out there who suffers more upon rewatch than Sorkin. The moments of cheese in this movie are so saccharine. And Demi Moore’s character so comically shat on. It’s a miracle his writing is so good and so entertaining that it somehow gets you past all of the ludicrous bullshit packed inside of it.

Also, maybe things were different in 1992 but I don’t understand why they treat the Guantanamo border with Cuba like it’s the DMZ in Korea, where one misfire could cause a world war.

To those who disagree I say this: You can’t handle the truth!!

I just watched a video where it was pointed out how little screen time Jack Nicholson had in A Few Good Men. It occurred to me that although he is billed second behind Tom Cruise, he was truly the star of the movie.

This in turn led me to compare it to The Third Man where the top billed star is Joseph Cotten and Welles, who is actually billed third (intentional?) was the true star of the movie.

What other movies have a top billed actor who is in reality, a supporting actor for someone with considerably less screen time?

(Of my two examples, I think Cruise comes closest to being the actual star, but ultimately, the performance everyone remembers is Nicholson on the witness stand.)

I often forget how good some of these older movies are! Than I forget how old some of these movies are.

Jack’s monologue while on the stand is so very scary, yet true.

So yesterday I rewatched A Few Good Men because I’m on a 90s kick. I honestly really enjoy the movie - directed by Rob Reiner and written by Aaron Sorkin. Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson are excellent as to be expected. It’s a good movie. But on this go ‘round, I noticed how truly terrible of a lawyer Demi Moore’s character is. Like, woefully horrible.

On your first watch, you’d think Tom Cruise’s character is the shitty lawyer, but no, not even close. His character totally redeems himself in the end by winning the fuck outta the case. If you haven’t seen the movie, do not read that previous sentence.

-Quick movie synopsis-

Lt. Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise), a Naval lawyer who has never seen the inside of the courtroom, defends two stubborn Marines who have been accused of murdering a fellow Marine in his sleep. Kaffee is known as being lazy and had arranged for a plea bargain of 6 months. Downey's Aunt appoints Lt. Cmdr. Galloway (Demi Moore) to represent him. The defense is originally based upon the fact that PFC Santiago, the victim, was given a "CODE RED” (an “off-the-record” punishment). Santiago was basically a screw-up begging to leave Guantanamo Bay. At Gitmo, screw-ups aren't tolerated. Especially by Col. Nathan Jessup (Jack Nicholson, known to handle the truth). In Cuba, Jessup and two senior officers try to give all the help they can, but Kaffee and Galloway know the Officers are covering up the “CODE RED” and are ultimately at fault for giving such an order. Kevin Pollack is also in the movie, in case you needed to know that.

-End movie synopsis-

But let’s talk about Demi Moore’s character, Lt. Commander Joanne Galloway. She wanted the case (she’s from Internal Affairs and follows everything by the book) but she doesn’t get assigned because they know Kaffee will take a plea deal and this whole ordeal will get swept under the rug quickly. They do not want a high ranking officer like Jessup to get dragged into this.

She get hired by one of the defendants anyway. This defendant, Downey, is… well, a simpleton. He’s very dumb and it shows. This is important.

So the trial starts, blah blah blah. A doctor is on the stand making the case that the rag used to silence Santiago was likely soaked in poison, which resulted in his death. Objection! He’s speculating.

“He is an expert medical witness. It is not speculation.”

Then Galloway fights with the Judge to have the doctor’s testimony thrown out based on speculation. The Judge says no way. She AGAIN objects.

Judge: “The objection of the defense has been heard and overruled.”

Galloway: “Move to reconsider!”

Judge: “The witness is an expert and the court will hear his opinion!”

Kevin Pollack’s character, during recess, says something along the lines of wtf was that about, you made us look weak, and “the judge called him an expert!” Good points, Galloway doesn’t say anything.

Then comes the worst frigging part for her. She was hired as Downey’s defense attorney, remember? She spends (what appears to be) hours getting him ready to testify. He’s dumb, so she really drills him. When he takes the stand, within 5 minutes the prosecution figures out that Downey wasn’t even IN THE ROOM when the Code Red occurred! WHY/HOW DID GALLOWAY NOT KNOW THIS?! She did the worst job preparing her one client!!

Kaffee: “He wasn’t in his room. He wasn’t even there. That was an important piece of information, don’t you think?”

Galloway: “Danny, it was a setback. And I’m sorry. But we fix it and move on.”

She’s also the one that convinces Kaffee to put Jessup on the stand… the VERY THING SHE WAS TOLD NOT TO DO. She convinces Kaffee to do it, he does, and through some very careful arguing and lawyering(?), manages to get Jessup to admit to the CODE RED without any evidence to truly support his accusations. The case was literally won on Kaffee’s ability to be a smart ass and convince Jessup his back was against the wall (it actually wasn’t).

So, upon review, Joanne Galloway is a horrible lawyer and I didn’t realize it until my 10th rewatch.

Does anyone else have a similar experience rewatching a movie?

i loved the movie, not one moment where i lost interest. while tom cruise was a dream as always, i thought his character was trying to be overly quirky and edgy in the first half of the movie. it was only after he was in constant contact with joanne and the other guy that he realized that there are 2 other very capable lawyers who are equally geared up for the case. the mellowing down was very evident, don't u think?

nicholson was so good though!!! the momentum of the last half of the movie was super gripping! tom cruise's always done so well as a lawyer. even in 'the firm', his performance was so gripping. i like the fact that reiner didn't include a romance between joanne and kaffee. retained the essence of jessup being a jackass