A Man Called Sarge

A man called sarge is one of those movies that isn't for everyone, but those of us that don't hate it, love it. It is full of stupid jokes, as noted before in the vein of the naked gun and Airplane. Being set in WW2, it completely lacks any PCisms at all. Germans are "Huns" (or "krauts", Americans are "Yanks", English are "Limeys", french are "Frogs"... you get the picture.

Most of the jokes are crude and cruel, and that is why many of us love it so much. It had some very South-park like jokes years before there was a south park. And it has a great sense of self-awareness that is funny only if it is done correctly, which it is.

In the movie, Sarge and his platoon are supposed to blow up the fuel dump at Tobruk, in Norther Africa. i was surprised to learn that there WAS a fuel dump at Tobruk, and it's destruction had a huge impact on the tank war in norther Africa.

However, in the movie, sarge and his men are supposed to blow it up. They then find out (after the fact) that they Aren't supposed to blow it up. make sense? not really, but with parts like the one where Sarge calls the attention of an entire German regiment to point at one of his men and say "Hey Fellas, i got a Jew up here!!", it's pretty easy to forget the "plot" and just laugh at the NPC jokes.

Recommended for those with thicks skins, who love stupid humor. Helps if you have seen Patton and like old WW2 movies.

A Man Called Sarge may be the worst film ever made. It's playing on the local Fox affiliate's "Sunday Afternoon At The Movies" type- thing. I cannot make myself keep watching it. It stars Gary Kroeger and Marc Singer, and is ostensibly a Mel Brooks-esque/Zucker- Abrams-esque romp through WWII North Africa movies (e.g. The Desert Fox or The Desert Rats). The problem being that the formula was already a bit calcified by the time Airplane was made in 1980, and this steaming heap was sh...uh, made, in 1990, featuring a never-went-anywhere Saturday Night Live alum named Gary Kroeger from the brutally bad seasons 8-10. And Gary Singer is the Nazi nemesis? This movie makes Top Secret look like Young Frankenstein. The basic difficulty is this: Clichés are not in and of themselves funny. I suppose if you're drunk or stoned this might not be true, but in the cold light of a sober Sunday afternoon this truism applies, and how. Add to that the lack of Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Madeline Kahn, Marty Feldman or even Leslie Nielsen and you get this punishing feature. This is not a "hey, this is so bad it's good" movie. This is just horrible, like a hundred paper-cuts or being surprised by bad milk.

This movie is absolutely stupid and wonderful at the same time. It's an Airplane-type movie. It does all the silly jokes, visual and verbal.

The star, Gary Kroeger, slips into a fair John Wayne impersonation throughout the movie. Marc Singer as the German Von Kraut, is fantastic, and does a terrific accent.

If you enjoy this type of movie, find it, watch it, and enjoy. It's great.

i do not understand why this movie is so often overlooked. it may not be a classic, but it has it's moments. true, sometimes the humor can be sophomoric, even down right childish at times, but there are the occasional jokes that an adult would to think about to understand. it has a goofy plot, but is surprisingly well acted. it will not change your life in any way, but it is pointless entertainment and (for the most part) non-thought provoking fun.

A Man Called Sarge like The Big Bus was an obscure comedy that tried to sell on the success of Airplane and Top Secret. What we got was a funny movie but a lot of the time the jokes were stretched so thin you struggled to actually laugh. Sure you would chuckle at the few visual gags or the sexual gags, hell even the whole Duck/Dump sequence is actually quite hilarious, but in the end A Man Called Sarge is just a silly movie. Yet ironically it still works. The actors kept the movie moving. The pace is a constant velocity and Gary Kroger does a good job in keeping the audience interested in what's happening on the screen. Other characters are just embarrassing like The French Poodle or Major Browning. Marc Singer's Von Kraut is hilarious and his accent just adds to the character.

The movie doesn't fail on the toilet humor which in some cases is just plain horrible, but the opening sequence certainly gives you a solid indication in the direction of the movie. That is, if you are in 10 minutes and can't stand what you are watching, turn it off. The movie doesn't get any better, but on the other hand, it doesn't get any worse either.

Highlights: The train sequence is good. The dump/duck sequence is classic. The sequences in the base camp are gold and Von Kraut being told about a loss at a dinner party is probably the funniest part in the movie.