Jarhead

I'm a sucker for war movies.. most days, if given a choice between watching GI Jane or How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, I'd choose Demi's invitation to "suck her dick" over Kate Hudsons dating experiment... hands down. Those films that most people saw as pure horror -- "Apocalypse Now", "Full Metal Jacket", "Saving Private Ryan" -- films that showed nothing but brutal images of death and carnage... those are the same films that soldiers consider as despicably beautiful manifestations of what they are trained to do. To me, it's more than just seeing "shit get blown up".. I suppose having been in the military has conditioned me to take an interest in the cultural beliefs about heroism, politics, the military and views of authority, justice, patriotism, family and MY personal favorite... gender issues and relationships. Yet I don't consider myself a war movie junkie... a critic, maybe... but a movie buff, nah.

This is why I wasn't too surprised that seeing previews for Jarhead gave me a sense of eagerness I haven't shown towards ANY mainstream movie in a long time... even if it is about the Marines [no offense, but in my whole military career, let's just say I didn't have too many pleasurable encounters with the hoorahs]. So opening weekend came, and we were all over it... but I have to say I walked out a little torn. It was like a war movie without the war... either that, or a documentary turned into a really bad recruiting film. In the beginning, the bootcamp shots looked almost like modern snapshots of Kubrik's infamous "Full Metal Jacket"... which would lead one to believe that all that craziness has got to lead somewhere... but it doesn't.

The film is supposed to be based on a memoir by a Tony Swafford, the lead character in the movie [most of which I spent trying to figure out who the lead actor was, but didn't realize til later on that it's the same guy that played Donnie Darko]. Basically, it was a movie about a bunch of sex-obsessed, gun-worshipping boys bedeviled by the idea that "Jody" is banging their girlfriends back home who are sent to Kuwait to wait.... and wait.... and wait some more.. until in the end they are driven half mad when, having been turned into killing machines, they are just blantly denied the opportunity to kill. There were a lot of character struggles.. but mostly it just showed the dehumanizing aspects of military life, the sadism, and the camaraderie -- none of which is going to strike anyone as news.. especially now. I think CNN tells that story enough, which renders this movie almost outmoded.

Was it told the way how things really happen to most soldiers deployed oversees? Probably. The sneaking of the alcohol during the holidays.. the constant wondering whether that sweetheart back home who promised to wait for you is actually waiting.. the substantial pressure of fighting boredome by watching two scorpions fight... perfecting the art of masturbation...