In the Army Now

This is a film that is sort of a guilty pleasure for me, what I mean by that is that its a film that I am almost ashamed to admit that I like. Pauly Shore is a lot more talented then his critics would have you believe. I am a Sergeant in the Army and on October 20th I will have ten years on active duty. I also spent six years in the National Guard and served in Operation Desert Storm. Watching military movies is fun for me because I often laugh at them and say that it is not like that in real life. This film gave me a lot of laughs. I liked the scene where Pauly dropped that grenade in basic. I would have killed him if I had been his drill sergeant. I think Lori Petty played a good part in this film. She is an underated actress who can do comedy and drama very well. People have not given her enough credit. She sort of steals the show in this movie as Christine. I was sort of reminded of my Gulf war experiences when I was watching them in the desert. I remember when our plane landed I just looked around and there was nothing only sand and thats what they see. This film understandebly never won any Oscars and I doubt if the American Film Institute will ever fight to preserve it, but it is still a nice way to waste two hours.

In the Army Now (1994)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Bones (Pauly Shore) and Jack (Andy Dick) decide to join the Army so that they can make some quick cash, which they plan to use for an endevor they have. However, the two didn't realize that you'd have to do real work in the Army and as soon as basic training is over they are called to battle.

Comedian Shore started to rise to fame with ENCINO MAn and SON IN LAW made him a star. His time at the top wasn't too long as IN THE ARMY now was followed by a string of bombs including JURY DUTY and BIO-DOME. These three films pretty much killed his career and his name over the title days were over.

I enjoyed Shore in the first two films that I mentioned but there's no question that this act didn't work too well. IN THE ARMY NOW is certainly better than the two films that were to follow but there's no question that there's not too much here. Five screenwriters are given credit for this mess, which is pretty much a stoner version of STRIPES where a couple misfits join the Army not knowing what they're getting into.

Shore and Dick can work apart but put them together and you've got some pretty annoying attempts at humor. The one saving grace in the film was Lynn Witfield as the sexy drill instructor who gets several jokes thrown her way. Lori Petty and David Alan Grier are both wasted in thankless roles. Sadly, the screenplay does very little and it certainly delivers very few laughs.

The problem with a film like IN THE ARMY NOW is that it seems the filmmakers thought you could be annoying as possible and this would lead to some laughs. Sadly, it didn't and you're just left with a comedy that has very few laughs.

Bones and Jack are two ne'er-do-well best friends who work odd jobs to support themselves, but really have dreams of opening their own store. Out of work and looking to make some extra cash, they enlist in the U.S. Army Reserves where they sign up to be water purification specialists. Little do they dream that they'll be sent on active duty after conflict erupts in the country of Chad. Dry comedy has its moments and is likely to please fans of its star, but it's never uproarious and never really exploits the premise for all it's worth. In most cases actor Shore is an acquired taste, but he's enjoyable and adds life here. **

It's because this movie turned me onto Live (The Dam At Otter Creek) the song that plays while they are roaming through the desert. I didn't know Paul Mooney had a bit role in this until I watched it again. If you hate Pauly Shore (who isn't bad in this) you should at least like Lori Petty, Andy Dick, David Alan Grier and Lynn Whitfield.

This whole movie was trying to look like the 90s version of the 1981 comedy classic "Stripes" starring Bill Murray and Harold Ramis. the story is so silly and stupid, the character are unpredictable and even the jokes are so lame despite being Pauly's Shore last film as a surfer until Bio-dome 2 years later since he had to get his head shave for the scene of the head shaving in this movie and even the budget went; there's even a few cameos in this film including Brendan Fraser as Link who also appeared with Pauly Shore in "Encino Mean" and "Son in Law" and yet the last film that Pauly Shore did as part of a three-film contract with Hollywood Pictures, so instead check out "Stripes" which is even better in my book.