A Few Good Men

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A Few Good Men

Original film poster
Directed by Rob Reiner
Produced by David Brown
Rob Reiner
Andrew Scheinman
Written by Aaron Sorkin
Starring Tom Cruise
Demi Moore
Jack Nicholson
Kevin Pollak
Kevin Bacon
J.T. Walsh
and
Kiefer Sutherland
Music by Marc Shaiman
Cinematography Robert Richardson
Editing by Robert Leighton
Steven Nevius
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date(s) December 9, 1992
Running time 138 min
Language English
IMDb profile

A Few Good Men, a play by Aaron Sorkin, was acclaimed on Broadway and was subsequently made into a successful film in 1992. It tells the story of military lawyers at a court-martial who uncover a high-level conspiracy in the course of defending their clients, United States Marines accused of murder.

Contents

[edit] The play

The play was originally presented at the Heritage Repertory Theatre of The University of Virginia's Department of Drama.

The original Broadway stage production opened at the Music Box Theatre in New York on November 15, 1989 in a production directed by Don Scardino, designed by Ben Edwards, and with music by John Gromada. It starred Tom Hulce as Lt. Kaffee, Megan Gallagher as Lt. Cmdr. JoAnne Galloway and Stephen Lang as Col. Jessep. (Replacement actors included Timothy Busfield and Bradley Whitford as Kaffee, and Perry King, Michael O'Hare, and Ron Perlman as Jessep. Joshua Malina also appeared.) It ran for 497 performances.

A stage adaptation of the film starring Rob Lowe in the role of Lt. Daniel Kaffee and Suranne Jones as Lt. Cmdr. JoAnne Galloway, opened at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, London in late August 2005 for preview showings, followed by a 3 month run in early September 2005. The stage show was directed by David Esbjornson.

[edit] The film

The film version was made by Castle Rock Entertainment, Columbia Pictures and New Line Cinema. It was produced and directed by Rob Reiner with David Brown and Andrew Scheinman also as producers, Jeffrey Stott and Steve Nicolaides as co-producers and William S. Gilmore and Rachel Pfeffer as executive producers. The screenplay was by Aaron Sorkin from his own play.

The film stars Tom Cruise as LTJG Daniel Kaffee, Jack Nicholson as Col. Nathan R. Jessep, Demi Moore as LCDR JoAnne Galloway, Kevin Bacon as Capt. Jack Ross, Kiefer Sutherland as Lt. Jonathan Kendrick, Kevin Pollak as LTJG Sam Weinberg, J.T. Walsh as Lt. Col. Matthew Markinson, and Wolfgang Bodison as LCpl. Harold W. Dawson. Aaron Sorkin and Cuba Gooding, Jr. also make cameo appearances in the film.

[edit] Plot synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

An inexperienced Navy lawyer, LTjg Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise), son of late Lionel Kaffee (who held the positions of Attorney General and Navy Judge Advocate General), leads the defense in the court-martial of two Marines, PFC Louden Downey (James Marshall) and LCpl Harold Dawson (Wolfgang Bodison), who are accused of murdering a fellow Marine of their unit, PFC William T. Santiago (Michael de Lorenzo). The movie is based upon the exploits of Don Marcari, a former JAG Lawyer, now of the Marcari Russotto and Spencer law firm in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Santiago, as we learn, isn't quite up to task compared to his fellow comrades. He complains of health conditions that his superiors are ignoring, and is generally disliked by everyone in his company. He has gone out of his way to request a transfer off the base, even going so far as bargaining for one in exchange for blowing the whistle on a fellow Marine for an "illegal fence-line shooting." Col. Nathan Jessep (Jack Nicholson), a powerful senior Marine officer at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, being considered for the position of Director of Operations for the National Security Council, is shown reading the letter to two subordinate officers; Lt Col. Matthew Markinson (J.T. Walsh), and 1st Lt. Jonathan Kendrick (Kiefer Sutherland). Jessep and Kendrick are incensed that Santiago would do this, and Markinson is the only one who wants to go ahead with transferring Santiago off the base. However, Jessep gives a speech about their duty as officers to train those who defend their nation, ending with his sarcastically "surrendering our position in Cuba". He then makes the decision not to transfer him. Markinson questions it and, after Lt. Kendrick is dismissed, is reprimanded for questioning Jessep's authority in the presence of another officer.

Kaffee attempts to portray the accused as men following orders, trying to establish that the defendants were in fact acting under the orders of Col. Jessep and Lt. Kendrick. The two Marines on trial claim that they were ordered to give the victim a "Code Red"; a military colloquial speech term for extrajudicial punishment. Kaffee eventually begins to suspect that he was specifically chosen to defend the two Marines due to his history of quickly settling cases by plea bargains, which would have prevented the case from ever going to trial, bringing embarrassment to the Marine Corps and potentially mar the Colonel's chances of advancement.

The cast of A Few Good Men at the Haymarket Theatre, London in 2005
The cast of A Few Good Men at the Haymarket Theatre, London in 2005

Over the course of the story, Kaffee progresses from a novice lawyer to an experienced Navy attorney. His relationship with LCDR JoAnn Galloway (Demi Moore) evolves as well: There is friction between them the instant they meet. She believes that he does not care about his clients and that he settles cases quickly because he is afraid to actually argue in court. He thinks she is interfering with his handling of the case. They come to realize that they both want to learn the truth and give their clients a vigorous defense, and they know that they will have to work together to achieve this. Although there are some flirtatious moments between Galloway and Kaffee, they don't become romantically involved. What is more important is that they learn to cooperate and respect each other.

Kaffee is shown to have a high level of common sense and sharpness, which helps him win the case by proving that Jessep ordered a "Code Red" -- in retaliation for the Marine going outside the chain of command as a whistleblower -- by subtly provoking Jessep and causing him to voluntarily confess the truth in court in a moment's anger. Frustrated overall with the proceedings, Jessep leaves the stand and is ready to depart the courtroom when the judge orders him not to. Jessep is charged with the crime stemming from the incident. He is does not believe the charges and lunges at Kaffee, realizing that he's been taken down from his mantle and his career possibly destroyed. Jessep is detained and led out of the room. The two Marines are then found not guilty of murder and conspiracy to commit murder, but are found guilty on the charge of "conduct unbecoming a United States Marine" by the court, and subsequently are dishonorably discharged from the Corps. In the movie's final scene, PFC Downey is shocked and angered by the sentence, asserting that Jessup's confession demonstrates that they did nothing wrong. LCpl Dawson, reflecting momentarily, realizes and points out that they did wrong and failed in their duty to fight for those unable to fight for themselves, like Pvt. Santiago. As they leave, Kaffee tells Dawson that he doesn't need to wear a uniform to have honor.

On the level of moral philosophy, the drama examines questions of duty, honor, patriotism, justice, and the rule of law.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Awards and Nominations

[edit] Academy Awards

The film was nominated for four Academy Awards:

[edit] Golden Globe Awards

The film was nominated for five Golden Globe Awards:

[edit] Trivia

  • The line "You can't handle the truth!" was voted the twenty-ninth greatest American movie quote of all-time by the American Film Institute.[1]
  • The line "You can't handle the truth!" was not in Sorkin's stage script. The original quote was, "Because you can't handle it, son."
  • The play was sent to producers while it was being performed on stage as a sample of Aaron Sorkin's writing ability. It was never intended to be used as screenplay material.[citation needed]
  • It is the debut of Wolfgang Bodison (Harold Dawson) who was not an actor, but a film location scout
  • The Silent Drill at the film's beginning was not done by Marines. It is actually the Texas A&M University Fish Drill Team
  • The two marines are found guilty of "Conduct Unbecoming a United States Marine". There exists no such crime in the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The closest crime to this would be "Conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman".
  • The second baseball game that Daniel Kaffee watches during the movie is an actual game played between the Baltimore Orioles and the Minnesota Twins on June 17, 1991, halting the Twins' amazing 15 game win streak.
  • Tom Cruise and Cuba Gooding Jr. reunited for Jerry Maguire
  • Aye aye is never used in the film despite depicting the United States Navy & Marine Corps.
  • Marines do not salute whilst indoors, unless under arms (ie, carrying a weapon and wearing cover)
  • Ten-hut is not a Naval term
  • Former New Mexico United States Attorney David C. Iglesias, removed from office under controversial circumstances on December 7, 2006, was the Navy Reserve commander whose role as a defense lawyer in a famous military hazing case was the basis for the Tom Cruise character in the movie. [2]
  • Both Xander Berkley and Kiefer Sutherland star in this film, and would later appear on 24 together.

[edit] Spoofs

The phrase "You can't handle the truth!" has become a popular pop culture phrase as evident by its many parodies below.

  • A full length trailer parody was made for The Ben Stiller Show. The premise was that a boy scout rather than a marine undergoes a "Code Red", featuring the "giving of a wedgie" after which he is suspended from a flag pole. In addition to Ben Stiller's trademark Cruise impersonation, the parody featured Janeane Garofalo as Demi Moore's character (who is now a boy scout den mother) and Andy Dick impersonating Kiefer Sutherland with an incomprehensible accent.
  • In an episode of Seinfeld, George walks into Jerry's apartment and says "You can't handle the truth!" When Jerry asks him what he is doing, George says he is practicing his Jack Nicholson impersonation.
  • In an episode of The Simpsons called "Sideshow Bob Roberts", Sideshow Bob utilizes electrorial fraud to illegally become the mayor of Springfield and Bart and his sister Lisa attempt to expose him: they end up in a in a courtroom where Bart and Lisa bait Bob similar to how Kaffee does with Jessup, which concludes when Bart says, "I want the truth!" Sideshow Bob responds, "You want the truth? You can't handle the truth! No truth-handler you! Bah! I deride your truth-handling abilities!" In another episode, "Secrets of a Successful Marriage", Homer also mentions "You want the truth? You can't handle the truth!" as part of a rant that includes lines from Patton and Chinatown.
  • In a promo for WrestleMania 21, John Cena played the Lt. Kaffee part and JBL played the Col. Jessep part to promote their match. This was a part of a series of promos the WWE made for WrestleMania 21 (which was held in Los Angeles that year) that were parodies of movies.
  • A machinima, using the Source Engine, titled "A Few Good G-Men" ([2]), portrays the famous scene and quote, as well as showing Source's lip-syncing and emotion display ability.
  • In the film The Big Hit, Cisco berates Melvin for his relationship troubles, telling him that he doesn't see the women he is involved with for what they truly are. Melvin exclaims that he wants the truth, and Crunch interrupts them to shout "You can't handle the truth" in an obvious quote of A Few Good Men. Cisco impatiently tells Crunch to "Shut the fuck up".
  • In his stand-up show I'm Swiss, comedian Bill Maher referred to the dishonesty in government by spoofing the famous line: "You want the truth? I can't remember the truth!"
  • In an episode of Spin City the mayor quotes A Few Good Men in the press room.
  • In an episode of the 3D animated show ReBoot, the user is seeking a giant tooth, the object of a game. Upon the user declaring this, Matrix says "You can't handle the tooth!"
  • An episode of The Chaser's War on Everything mocks the acting of a young actor in a Tip Top bread commercial, by inserting his fake-looking nodding into a scene from this film, as well as the "Do you feel lucky, punk?" scene from Dirty Harry. The scene from A Few Good Men is the trial, the nodding in response to the question "Did you order the Code Red?"
  • In the October 15, 2006, edition of Fox NFL Sunday, during the Frank's Picks segment, Frank Caliendo, impersonating Jack Nicholson, commented on members of the panel being picked to do the commentary for an upcoming college bowl game telling them "You can't handle the booth!", then immediately interjects with "Who writes this crap?"
  • In the comic strip Zits, Jeremy thinks to himself "You want the truth, you can't handle the truth!" when arguing with his mom on where he was the previous night.
  • In an episode of Recess, where the episode revolves around a school trial (About who threw a stone during a mud fight) the character Randall uses the line 'You can't handle the truth!' as a clear reference.
  • In the video game Final Fantasy XI, an option to decline a certain quest questioning the Moblins' (a race of beastmen) religious faith reads as "I can't handle the truth!"
  • Also in the videogame Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Phoenix says the line while cross-examining Cody Hackins during the 3rd Case, Turnabout Samurai.

[edit] References

  1. ^ AFI Quotes
  2. ^ [1]

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
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