Private Benjamin

1980
R
1h 49m

IMDb RATING

6.2/10

29K

YOUR RATING

Play trailer2:42

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57 Photos

Satire Comedy War

A sheltered young high-society woman joins the United States Army on a whim and finds herself in a trickier situation than she ever expected.A sheltered young high-society woman joins the United States Army on a whim and finds herself in a trickier situation than she ever expected.A sheltered young high-society woman joins the United States Army on a whim and finds herself in a trickier situation than she ever expected.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.2/10

29K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 3 Oscars
- 1 win & 6 nominations total

Trivia
Goldie Hawn signed onto Private Benjamin in June 1979 and went through boot camp training for six weeks.

Goofs
When the girls are in the war games and capture the Red Team truck the Sgt throws the keys away. Army vehicles do not require keys to start. The ignition is hardwired to a start button on the dash. EDIT: Every vehicle in the Army then required a key. If the vehicle did have a starter button (a switch on floor akin to the old headlight dimmer switches in cars) it would still be secured when parked by a chain welded to the floor and running up through the steering wheel and secured with a padlock. You can start it, but you can't steer it unless you have the key. Throwing away the key isn't a factual mistake.

Quotes
[after sex]
Judy Benjamin: Now I know what I've been faking all these years.
Henri Tremont: That was your first?
Judy Benjamin: And second.

Crazy credits
Opening credits prologue:

When Judy Benjamin was eight years old, she confessed her life's desire to her best friend.

"All I want," Judy whispered, "is a big house... nice clothes, two closets, a live-in maid, and a professional man for a husband."

Today, all of Judy's dreams come true.

Connections
Featured in Sneak Previews: Why Would I Lie?, Terror Train, Gloria, Private Benjamin (1980)

Soundtracks
Hava Nagila
(uncredited)
Israeli folk song
played at Judy and Yale's wedding reception

User reviews80

Review

Featured review

7/10

Entertaining

Private Banjamin is an uneven film, but it is also an entertaining one. The first half is very focused, but the second half does get rather scatter-shot and dull. While most of it is funny, some of the laughs have a tendency to become sporadic, while the romance felt forced for my tastes. On the other hand, the film is at least nice to look at with good cinematography, editing and scenery, the story is decently paced and maintains interest and at its best the script is smart and snappy. Goldie Hawn is a very likable lead, and there is a sterling support cast including Eileen Brennan and Harry Dean Stanton. Overall, a very decent and entertaining film. 7/10 Bethany Cox