An Officer and a Gentleman poster
An Officer and a Gentleman

What’s Aged the Best?

Paula and Lynette; smoking to Benatar; Caruso; DOR; obstacle courses; Puget Debs; submersion training; haircuts; credits; ending; Grace Zabriskie

In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 00:42:42Read transcript
  • Paula and Lynette smoking, dressing for the weekend and listening to Pat Benatar are aged-best choices; the setting's rural presentation is debated as a frontier-like Navy town.
  • Paula and Lynette are aged-best character choices; Lynette's shack with carefully kept plants is praised, while her dated haircut is deferred to aged-worst.
  • Caruso's appearance with a crew cut is an aged-best choice.
  • DOR as a reusable life concept and obstacle-course scenes are aged-best choices.
  • Foley's warning about the Puget Debs is an aged-best choice, with the term explained as sarcastic debutantes.
  • Hair-shaving scenes are an aged-best choice, compared with Stripes and Full Metal Jacket.
  • Sid swallowing the ring and Treat Me Right are recalled as enduring details; politically incorrect marching songs are considered both aged-best and aged-worst.
  • Opening and closing credits and the factory rescue ending are aged-best choices.
  • Grace Zabriskie's mother is praised; the silent stepfather is read as resenting reminders of his wife's earlier pilot relationship.
  • Water-submersion training is praised as unusual film material, although the category is qualified as scenes rarely seen now rather than something literally aging well.