A Few Good Men: Difference between revisions

 

A 1989 play made into a 1992 movie directed by Rob Reiner, written by [[Aaron Sorkin]] and starring [[Tom Cruise]] and [[Jack Nicholson]], ''A Few Good Men'' is a military-themed courtroom drama in which young lawyer Kaffee (Cruise) defends two Marines accused of murder, who say they were acting under orders from Col. Jessep (Nicholson). The movie is mainly famous today for its "You want the truth? You can't ''handle'' the truth!" [[Motive Rant]] at the end.

* [[Affably Evil]]: Jessep is quite polite and charming which only makes his volatile personality and complete willingness to sacrifice people for his own gain more terrifying.

** Cuba Gooding Jr., Kevin Pollack, and Noah Wyle, just to name a few more.

** Christopher Guest, to name yet another.

* [[Anachronic Order]]: Col. Jessup's meeting with his officers about Santiago is depicted after the start of the film.

{{quote| {{spoiler|'''Kaffee:''' '''DID YOU ORDER THE CODE RED?!'''}}<br />

'''Col. Jessep:''' '''YOU'RE GODDAMN RIGHT I DID!''' }}

{{quote| '''Col. Jessep:''' "You want to investigate me, roll the dice and take your chances. I eat breakfast 300 yards from 4,000 Cubans who are trained to kill me, so don't think for ''one second'' that you can come down here, flash your badge, and make me nervous."}}

* [[Badass Bookworm]]: Danny Kaffee and Jack Ross both qualify

* [[Bittersweet Ending]]: {{spoiler|The Marines get cleared of their charges of murder but not of "conduct unbecoming of a Marine" and are to be dishonorably discharged following the trial. On the other hand, the right man who ordered the attack has been arrested, Kaffee has become respected and learned to take his job seriously, and the Marines accept that they deserve their punishment.}}

*** Although that begs the question--[[Unfortunate Implications|does being billed as the lead female require you to end up with the lead male?]]

*** Not in this case because there was some hints of romantic interest when she showed up to his apartment to ask him on a date.

* [[Brilliant but Lazy]]: Kaffee is a brilliant attorney with a fantastic mind and charisma. But He'd much rather practice getting his softball swing perfect.

* [[Clear Their Name]]: What Kaffee must do for Dawson and Downey.

* [[Danger Takes a Backseat]]: Lt Col Markinson (the highly creepy J.T. Walsh) does this to Kaffee.

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: This is a Sorkin film so this is expected. Even in a cast full of snark, Kaffee reigns supreme.

* [[Friendly Enemy]]: Prosecutor Jack Ross. He and Kaffee are friends outside the courtroom, and Ross even privately believes the two Marines shouldn't be jailed, but in his own words:

{{quote| '''Ross:''' I represent the United States Government without passion or prejudice. And my client has a case.}}

* [[Gung Holier Than Thou]]: Lt. Kendrick.

{{quote| ''"I have two books at my bedside, Lieutenant. The Marine Corps Code of Conduct and the King James Bible. The only proper authorities I am aware of are my commanding officer Colonel Nathan R. Jessup and the Lord our God."''}}

'''Kaffee:''' And handsome too, didn't you think? }}

* [[Hypocrite]]: For all of his talk about how Marines never disobey orders, Jessup thinks nothing of ignoring the orders of his own superiors because he thinks he knows better. For all of his talk about loyalty, he is more than willing to throw two of his men under the bus to save his own hide.

* [[I Won't Say I'm Guilty]]: Dawson's position on the Code Red -- yes, he did it, but since his commander ordered him to do it, he won't allow himself to plead.

** Unusually for this trope, Dawson changes his mind at the end. Having been acquitted for the major crimes, he accepts a dishonorable discharge for "conduct unbecoming a Marine," admitting that he should have stood up for Santiago.

** Also Kendrick. He's equally unpleasant to Kaffee and Galloway and becomes equally incensed when his authority is remotely questioned.

* [[Knight Templar]]: Colonel Jessep. He reiterates several times throughout the movie the phrase "We're in the business of saving lives," indicating that he truly believes he's doing the right thing. The view in his courtroom speech might be a reasonable statement of the unique role of the military in protecting a free society and the compromises that come with that. {{spoiler|When that turned into ordering assaults on his own men and covering it up...}}

* [[Lying to The Perp]] (See [[Bluffing the Murderer]])

* [[Mildly Military]]: Kaffee is chronically tardy, doesn't want Dawson to call him "sir," and plays softball while his clients are sitting in jail. Galloway calls him on it several times, and the Marines can barely contain their disgust.

* [[Motive Rant]]: A classic. Many, many courtroom drama motive rants since then have been based on it.

* [[Never My Fault]]: Many of the Marines suffer from this, believing that They are above reproach because of the nature of Their work and Their ultimately good intentions. Jessep is the worst for it. Even after admitting to being behind Santiago's death, he's still incessed at being held responsible for it, blaming Kaffee. Lowden and Downey have an extreme case of this as well but grow out of it by the end.

* [[Patriotic Fervor]]: Jessep's justification for his actions.

* [[The Perry Mason Method]]: "You want an answer?" "I want the ''truth''!!"... and so forth.

** Additionally, when the defence team are down in Cuba we find out that Jessup is a great admirer of Kaffee's late father for his work defending civil rights. He's also [[Nice to The Waiter]].

* [[Plea Bargain]]: Fabulously averted.

{{quote| "We joined the Marines because we wanted to live our lives by a certain code, and we found it in the Corps. Now you're asking us to sign a piece of paper that says we have no honor. You're asking us to say we're not Marines. If a court decides that what we did was wrong, then I'll accept whatever punishment they give. But I believe I was right sir, I believe I did my job, and I WILL NOT DISHONOR MYSELF, MY UNIT, OR THE CORPS SO I CAN GO HOME IN SIX MONTHS! [beat] Sir.}}

** Interestingly, Jessep was also wrong. Dr. Antonia Novello was the US Surgeon General when A Few Good Men was released. As the head of the US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, Surgeons General always hold the rank of vice admiral. Jessep would have been required by law to salute her.

** He also uses a certain homophobic slur to describe Kaffee's uniform.

* [[Smug Snake]]: Jessep and Kendrick

* [[Spanner in The Works]]: Both Galloway and Dawson are this to Jessup's freinds in the Pentagon's attempts to handle Santiago's death quietly. Galloway for actually insisting that Kaffee actualy give his clients' due dilligence for once instead of rushing straight to the plea bargin, Dawson for telling Kaffee to take his plea bargin and shove it.

{{quote| '''Kaffee''':Don't call me son. I'm a lawyer, and an officer in the United States Navy, and you're under arrest you son of a bitch. }}

* [[That Was Objectionable]]: A borderline example. The prosecution puts on a doctor to give his opinion as to the cause of Willie Santiago's death. Lt. Cmdr. Galloway objects on the basis of his qualifications. When the judge overrules her, she "strenuously objects" and is again overruled.

* [[Villainous Breakdown]]: Jessep has [[Motive Rant|his famous rant]], but the real breakdown comes right after when the unflappable Colonel {{spoiler|finds he is being charged with Santiago's death, and then lunges screaming at Kaffee, who doesn't even bat an eyelash.}}

* [[Walk and Talk]]: It first appeared here by accident as Rob Reiner needed a way to move the first scene with Jack and Danny along. It has since become one of Aaron Sorkin's trademark.

* [[You Can Say That Again]]: Kaffee trades cliches with the guy at his newsstand, resulting in this exchange:

{{quote| '''Luther:''' It ain't over till the fat lady sings. <br />