In the Army Now is a 1994 war comedy, directed by Daniel Petrie, Jr. and starring Pauly Shore, Andy Dick, David Alan Grier, Esai Morales, and Lori Petty. The film earned $28,881,266 USD at the box office, making it the third highest grossing movie starring Pauly Shore (behind Encino Man and A Goofy Movie).
This film is not to be confused with the 1941 wartime comedy You're in the Army Now, starring Jimmy Durante, Phil Silvers, Jane Wyman, and Regis Toomey.
Synopsis
The film begins as two slackers, Bones Conway (Shore) and Jack Kaufman (Dick) work at "Crazy Boys" discount electronics store in Glendale, California. While they goof off on the job, both have aspirations of opening their own electronics store in the future. Both are fired, though, after destroying a rack of televisions sets.
Looking to score some quick start-up money for their store, and believing that the comittment would be minimal, the two join the Army Reserves. Bones choses water purification for their field, since his brother was an experienced pool man, and since the field appeared to be devoid of combat. During water purification training, the two meet up with Christine Jones (Petty) a female recruit longing for infantry, and Fred Ostroff (Grier), a skittish dental student. The foursome adpots the nickname of "waterboys." After surviving basic training, the group return to Glendale.
What Bones and Jack did not realize, however, was that Libya was planning an invasion of Chad, and they would consequently be called up for service overseas. They first tried to get a discharge by pretending to be homosexuals, but they failed.
Upon arriving in Chad, the four did not get along well with the full-time soldiers, particularly Special forces Sgt. Stern (Morales). On a routine mission to resupply a forward base, their convoy was ambushed by a Libyan commando squad. The misfit reserves were thought to have been KIA and were left to fend for themselves. After a few days lost in the desert, they were captured by the Libyan forces and spent a night in a Libyan POW camp. There they met up with Sgt. Stern, who was shot and captured in an ambush. He briefed them on his failed mission, to rendevous with two HALOed Fast Attack vehicles and destroy mobile Scud launchers carrying missiles armed with chemical warheads aimed at American bases in the region.
During an airstrike, the four reserves and Stern escaped and found the Fast Attack vehicles. They made contact with the American headquarters, and were ordered to finish the Special Force's mission. After locating the missiles, they had a difficult time holding off a battalion of Libyans while painting the missiles with a laser for an incoming airstrike. The airstrike went off-target, forcing the Reservists to destroy the missiles themselves. Bones grabbed an AT4 anti-tank rocket launcher, and destroyed the Scud launcher base in one hit.
The "waterboys" return home as heroes, and at the end of the movie, they open up their electronics shop next to an Army recruiting station.
Film details
Filming locations
- The place the two main characters are seen playing miniature golf at was formerly known as the Malibu Castle located in Redondo Beach, CA. It was torn down in 2005. [1] Dialogue during the scene is in reference to A Few Good Men.
- The basic training scene was filmed at Fort Sill, located in Lawton, Oklahoma
- Shore did his water treatment training at Fort Lee, Virginia. He actually went through the training to better understand the job. The water treatment training in the movie was also filmed at Fort Lee.
Cultural references
- After the first night in Chad, there is a scene in which the four are eating lunch in the barracks. At one point Brendan Fraser approaches the main four characters and instructs them not to eat the chicken because it tastes like frog. The name tag on his uniform says "Link" which was also his characters name in the film Encino Man in which he starred alongside Pauly Shore and his character bit a frog's head off in science class. Bones looks for a moment trying to see if he could recognize Link.
- At a certain point in a film, Bones sarcastically states "I am the walrus, Paul is Dead". This a reference to the urban legend concerning Paul McCartney's supposed death and to the Beatles song, "I Am the Walrus."
- The game that Pauly Shore's character is seen playing in the opening scene is Return Fire for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer. The version seen being played is custom built specifically for the movie. The stock version does not have a score counter and does not have infinite ammunition.
- Shore gained some attention for shaving his head for the role. For several years on MTV, Shore was known for his signature long curly hair.
Deleted scene
One deleted scene has aired during the television cut on CMT. After being captured by the Special Forces soldiers, the four "waterboys" apparently are released and return to the camp. Later that night, they knock down the Special Forces' tent with a water hose, and are subsequently re-captured. They are then discovered in the morning tied to their cots.
In the theatrical and DVD versions, the "waterboys" are captured by the Special Forces, and in the next scene, it cuts directly to them tied to their cots.
External links
References
- ^ "Leuzinger High School Class of 1981 - Forum". 2008-05-13. http://www.leuzingerhigh1981.com/forum_topic.php?topicid=162. Retrieved 2008-08-19.
