Private Benjamin
Judy Benjamin (Goldie Hawn) a 28-year-old from a sheltered wealthy upbringing whose lifelong dream is to "marry a professional man", joins the U.S. Army after her new husband (Albert Brooks) dies on their wedding night during sex. Adrift, Benjamin meets a recruiting sergeant, Jim Ballard (Harry Dean Stanton), who leads her to believe military life will provide the "family" she seeks. He also tells her that the service is glamorous, comparing it to a spa vacation. She has a rude awakening upon arriving in boot camp. Judy wants to quit almost immediately, and is astonished to learn that she cannot, contrary to the assertions of her recruiting sergeant.
Army regulations and the continuing disapproval of Captain Lewis (Eileen Brennan) frustrate her, but when Judy's parents arrive at Fort Biloxi to take her home, she decides to stay and finish basic training, which she does with distinction after a wargames exercise. Upon completion of basic training, Judy meets Henri Tremont (Armand Assante), a French doctor, who is in Biloxi for a medical conference. They separate after a brief romance, Henri returns to Paris and Judy enters training for the Thornbirds, an elite paratrooper unit after basic training.
She quickly finds that she was chosen for paratrooper training because the unit's commander finds her attractive; he attempts to sexually assault her. When she refuses to comply, he attempts to have her transferred as far away from Biloxi as possible. Rather than accept what she sees as an undesirable post in Greenland or Guam, she negotiates an assignment to SHAPE in Belgium, and meets up with Henri again on a visit to Paris. He proposes marriage and she accepts, but when Capt. Lewis discovers that Tremont is a communist, Judy is forced to choose either her Army career or love.
After she chooses Henri and gets engaged, Judy discovers Henri's controlling side. He tries to "remake" her, and also forces her to sign a prenuptial agreement in his favor. Then, when she finds out Henri is still in love with his ex-girlfriend Clare, and has cheated on her with their maid, she realizes that she is capable of doing whatever she wants, and that she does not need Henri in her life. In the final scene, just as Judy is about to get married again, she walks out on Henri at the altar to go and live her own life.
revenge, satire, prank