Private Benjamin

Private Benjamin (1980) is a comedy directed by Howard Zieff — watch online on iFILM. Goldie Hawn plays Judy Benjamin, a pampered socialite who signs up for the US Army on a whim after a personal crisis. The recruitment poster promised tennis and travel. The actual experience involves mud, predawn runs and a drill sergeant who has never once smiled.

What makes the film more than a string of fish-out-of-water gags is what happens when Judy stops fighting the situation and starts figuring out what she actually wants. Eileen Brennan plays her sharp-tongued commanding officer, and Armand Assante shows up as a charming French doctor who complicates things considerably. Director Zieff never lets the comedy sour into meanness — the laughs have affection behind them.

Hawn picked up an Oscar nomination for the role, and the film landed two more. Stream Private Benjamin (1980) on iFILM.