An Officer and a Guardian

A young and cocky military signee is going through training that is brutal. A seasoned instructor who is putting the young men and women through the hellish training is mostly concerned with their character. The young protagonist finds a local young woman, has casual sex with her, and tries not to get emotionally entangled because he knows it will all end when the training is over. The young protagonist also has a history that he has to overcome in order to pass the training. The young protagonist makes a mistake and is singled out to endure extra hardships to improve his character. These extra hardships, which include having a garden hose spraying water continually in his face while exerting physical activity, strengthen his resolve to become a better human being. Towards the end of the training, the protagonist abandons his young lady. Finally, at the end, our protagonist, who has successfully passed the training and established himself as a leader, decides he loves the young lady and shows up at her place of work to tell/show her.

Yeah, An Officer and a Gentleman was a great, landmark film but that's not the movie I saw yesterday. Michelle and I went to see The Guardian with Ashton Kutcher and Kevin Costner. It didn't take either of us very long to realize this was basically, a remake of a film made 24 years earlier. There are some details that are different, of course. It's about becoming a Coast Guard rescue swimmer, as opposed to a Navy pilot for one. It was so similar to "Officer", though, that I was half expecting Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warren to chime "Love Lifts Us Up" at the ending scene.

The Guardian didn't just mimic An Officer and a Gentleman, it also borrowed scenes from Top Gun and Heartbreak Ridge. For the former, there is a bar scene where two military guys make a bet as to whether one of them will "get the girl". For the latter, there is another bar that is owned by an older, salty woman who is friendly with the older, salty man. She understands him and boasts about his heroics to the young trainee.

One of the reasons I don't see as many new movies as I used to is that there are so many remakes. (The Omen, The Poseidon Adventure, for example.) The Guardian is a remake in disguise. Overall, it was actually pretty good if you can get past all the repeated scenes.