An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Aviation Officer Candidate Zack Mayo	Richard Gere	½
Paula Pokrifki	Debra Winger	½
AOC Sid Worley	David Keith	½
Senior Chief Petty Officer Byron Mayo	Robert Loggia
Lynette Pomeroy	Lisa Blount
AOC Casey Seeger	Lisa Eilbacher	½
Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley	Louis Gossett Jr.	½
AOC Emiliano Della Serra	Tony Plana	-
AOC Lionel Perryman	Harold Sylvester	-
AOC Topper Daniels	David Caruso	-
Joe Pokrifki	Victor French	-
Esther Pokrifki	Grace Zabriskie	-

Review

Have you ever been in a relationship or a fling in which you know you're being manipulated, but it just feels so wonderfully rewarding that you let yourself enjoy it anyway? The multilevel,
all-out-attack crowd-pleaser An Officer and a Gentleman is an expertly made practical manipulator which balances delightfully between melodrama and authenticity. Richard Gere plays a hardened navy brat who finds hardship, friendship, love and maybe even himself during a 13 week course at an American Aviation Officer Candidate School. Gere's stiff, edgy persona is perfect for the part of Zack Mayo. And the relations he strikes up with the brilliant, vulnerable David Keith as his new pal, the sultry Debra Winger as his girlfriend and the hardnosed Louis Gossett Jr. as his drill instructor all have a timeless, unique quality which transcends the film's otherwise straightforward plot. The steaming intimate scenes between Gere and Winger are among the most realistic ever in mainstream Hollywood movies – a wonderful depiction of everyday eroticism. Screenwriter Douglas Day Stewart kept piling it on, and director Taylor Hackford kept finding just the right tone and volume for every new segment. In the 1980s sub-genre of military training films, An Officer and a Gentleman is arguably the best. Robert Loggia and David Caruso contribute fine work in small supporting roles. The theme song "Up Where We Belong" was a big hit for duo Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes. Gossett Jr. won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.