Customer Reviews

Private Benjamin/Protocol

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've only watched Protocol and was disappointed in the quality. The film was too dark and had several glitches that nearly stopped the movie. My mistake may have been trying for a bargain and getting two movies instead of the one I really wanted.

Initially, (for those of us who grew up watching "Laugh-In")we never thought of Goldie Hawn as an "actress." However, she's demonstrated excellent acting talent in several of her movies, since "Laugh-In." "Private Benjamin" and "Protocol" do not disappoint in that area. Goldie's performances are top-notch in both. Both of these movies were well written [although "Private Benjamin" DID end abruptly with a few major issues NOT completely resolved].

My biggest disappointment is that both movies come only in "Full Screen." I cannot understand why Warner Brothers has not yet released Wide Screen versions, by now. One would think that both would sell really well in Wide Screen.

I liked both movies. Goldie Hawn is one of my favorite actors. She is charming and witty. I like Private Benjamin. She learns about herself and matures in the army.

Classic Goldie Hawn - I think this was her first dramatic role. Still ditzy but playing a strong woman.

AFTER ALL THESE YEARS SINCE THIS DVD CAME OUT ( ONE OF THE ORIGINAL DVD'S FROM THE 90'S ) WHEN WILL WARNERS FINALLY BREAK DOWN & PUT OUT THE WIDSCREEN VERSION OF THIS GREAT MOVIE ?

I HAVEN'T WATCHED THIS DVD YET BUT I LOVE PRIVATE BENJAMIN! I AM EXCITED TO SEE PROTOCOL BECAUSE I HAVE NEVER WATCHED IT BEFORE. I LOVE GOLDIE HAWN!! SHE SEEMS SO FUN!

Nice job. Two funny flicks together. I got one for myself and one as a gift for christmas. I know they will love it also. Thank you.

Fun movies to watch even though they are edited down. Hawn makes simple things look like fun and her dipsy character is so simple and forthright.
Private Benjamin/Protocol

Goldie Hawn is a very under-rated comedienne. These two movies show her at her best. No one plays the naive, dipsy female with wells of hidden talents and abilities like Goldie. In "Private Benjamin" she goes from a pampered, inept & vain "Jewish Princess" to a confident, accomplished woman. In "Protocol", she is a naive, country-bumpkin who masters the art of diplomacy; easily out-shining the seasoned professionals. These movies have many laugh-out-loud moments. More importantly, society's underestimation of women's capabilities and the empowerment of women are subtle under-lying threads in these films. Get them and enjoy them with your daughters and grand-daughters (your sons and grand-soons, too!). P.S. They make great Date Night films.

Or so says Judy Benjamin's father, played viciously by Sam Wanamaker. After watching Private Benjamin for the second time in several decades, I'm not certain he's wrong. Abysmal at making choices, Judy Benjamin (played by Goldie Hawn), is not the brightest character ever written. From start to finish, we watch her struggle with one bad decision after another. That she occasionally succeeded seemed more fluke than any level of maturity on her part. That this was dubbed a comedy is even more mystifying. I found this movie incredibly sad. Judy Benjamin stubbles and bumbles her way through life, a creature of bad habits, then, at the eleventh hour, has an epiphany and makes another bad decision (why walk when you can ride?). I don't see anything triumphant in her finally averting disaster. I also have absolutely no confidence that the rest of her life would be any better. This was not a happy movie and I did not enjoy watching it. And by the way, widescreen would not have helped.

As for Protocol, there's a movie that managed to insult just about everyone.
Once again, Goldie and giggle affects another naïve nincompoop. Here she plays a simpleton among snakes, poor Sunny without a clue who stumbles into the role of a heroine. She's so cartoonish it's impossible to find a shred of humanity in her portrayal. Her circumstance is so outrageous it defies even base humor. The rest of the cardboard cast doesn't help. The four conspiring villains are all of one note, like a Greek Chorus, shrill at the same time; it was incredibly annoying, not funny. That Sunny is finally given away like a gift basket of fruit was, for me, that last I could take; I truly didn't believe it could get any worse than that. I was wrong. The rest of the movie drowns in so much sanctimonious drivel I thought my head would explode. Exactly who or what was the target of this....satire (I'm being kind; I wanted to call it something else)?

Just before watching this DVD, I idly wondered whatever happened to Goldie Hawn? I believe her last film role was in 2002.