Basic Training

The best thing I can say about this is that it was marginally better than Fat Guy Goes Nutzoid. But that's like saying I would prefer a kick in the testicles to a punch to the throat. This one is a sex comedy based around the Pentagon. There were literally no laughs whatsoever. Imagine Police Academy without George Gaynes or the man who made the funny noises? How is it possible to write a comedy script and not come up with any funny lines/ideas at all?! It's a disgrace! And you do end up asking yourself how does a screenplay this diabolical make it to the screen? And where the hell is Steve Guttenberg when you need him!? Next!

This movie begins with a young, naïve woman by the name of "Melinda" (Ann Dusenberry) arriving in to Washinton D.C. in the hope of finding a job and starting a new career. To save on money she moves in with an old friend named "Debbie" (Rhonda Shear) and her current roommate "Cheryl" (Angela Aames). And to make things even better they also assist her in finding a job at the same place where they work-the Pentagon. What they forget to tell her, however, is the culture of sexual permissiveness she comes face to face with on her very first day at work. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this comedy had more than its fair share of gratituitous sex and nudity with most of it being more crude than actually funny. But to be fair, there was some pretty good humor here and there which kept the film from being a total bore. Likewise, having the three aforementioned actresses certainly didn't hurt the scenery in any way either. In any case, while this clearly wasn't a good film by any means, I suppose it wasn't a total waste of time either and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Slightly below average.

You probably would of painted this off as just a T and A adult comedy, which it is, but one with style and laughs, and of course, Dusenberry, such a hot lass, if in reality, I'm pretty sure you would give up your military secrets. She arrives in Washington in search of a job. Her hot friend and roommate, sets her up with a job in military personnel in the, yes.... Whitehouse, only this is not your ordinary Whitehouse where not much filing, folding, typing gets down. Soon Duseberry becomes her own boss, and the strip scene in front of our horny old Russian colonel, is enough to get any hormone racing and blood pumping. I just didn't expect this to be as higher quality, this pic. We have lots of naughty sex, nudity, some horny young oversexed men, a nympho, and a Romeo Dusenberry falls i love with, providing a nice little montage music score. I really like the sharp comedy too. AKA Up The Military isn't a bad T and A pic, but I didn't say good. The movie just has a bad of heart, and of course, not much sense. Sexually melting Dusenberry makes up for all of that, and her friend's not that bad either. The old Colonel's a bit of a laughful asset as well.

Something you would find on up late night TV, "Up the Military" is amusingly straight-forward, madcap 80s sexploitation comedy produced by none other than Playboy enterprises. The wonderfully attractive Ann Dusenberry plays Melinda -- a headstrong lady who moves to Washington with big ambitions to make some sort of difference. There she moves in with her friend Debbie and her ditsy flatmate Cheryl. Debbie manages to get Melinda a job at her work… the Pentagon. She starts off as an administrative sectary, but her boss Lt. Cranston seems more interested in getting to know her intimately than doing his work. However this isn't just her own boss, as all the military officers seem to have nothing more than sex and women on mind. This makes her uncomfortable, but she comes to the realization that she could use it to her favour to get what she wants and move up the ranks.

A capable Dusenberry is the film's backbone in a straight-laced performance, which transforms into seductive empowerment. Where she goes on to sensationally manipulate the sexual advancements to her own advantage. As she dominates and teases her way to the top, as she knows what makes these men weak at the knees. She played a very similar role three years earlier in "National Lampoon's Movie Madness", but this one is a lot better. The playful cast features some salty beauties in the shape of Rhonda Shear and Angela Aames who played the raunchy, free and easy characters Debbie and Cheryl. Will Nye is enjoyable as the patriotic, but sex craved Lt. Cranston. Director Andrew Sugarman's basic point and shoot handling keeps it quirky and smutty by upping the sleazy nudity and steamy sex quota with an interesting backdrop to set-up in. The military defence really does become the butt of the jokes. Some instances borderline on embarrassing, especially when the mushy music broke out to accompany the scenes of Melinda actually falling in love with a guy she met on a plane. But even with certain lame moments, it stayed watchable.

Typical staples and clumsy execution can't knock that it remains a fun digestible low-budget sex comedy.

You know, this sex comedy that actually played at our local Cinema 11 moviehouse at Bon Marche Mall (both now no more) in 1986 was something I had long wondered about concerning its sexually oriented humor. Well, I've now seen it on fancast.com and while I thought most of it was pretty lame and stupid, I did find a couple of scenes funny. The first was when Melinda (Ann Dusenberry)-after having enough with her superior at the Pentagon harassing her-decided to, on the advice of her best friend Debbie (Rhonda Shear), talk dirty to him on his phone and his reaction when he...you know. The other one was when another of her bosses was obviously getting serviced but the reporters she brings in just talk to him nonchalantly asking him questions that unintentionally, to them, become a series of double entendres. I think I might have chuckled on a few more lines and scenes but otherwise, Basic Training was pretty lame. Still, there's ample eye candy of Ms. Dusenberry, Ms. Shear, and their other roommate in Angela Aames as Cheryl both clothed and unclothed. So if that's what you're looking for...P.S. Ms. Shear came from New Orleans, which is a couple of hours from my current hometown of Baton Rouge in Louisiana.