A Few Good Men

You want the truth? You can’t handle the truth!

Lt. Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise) serves in the US Navy’s JAG corps and has been assigned a case more for his ability to work a deal than to litigate. He takes his usual cocky approach (this is a theme in a lot of Cruise’s movies) to this case and assumes he will be able to settle out of court, but this case will prove to be a trial for himself, as well as the Marines he is defending.

In this courtroom drama, director Rob Reiner adeptly gets the most out of his three main stars (played by Cruise, Moore and Nicholson), as well as the numerous cameo appearances (you’ll see Cuba Gooding Jr., Kiefer Sutherland, Kevin Bacon and a young Noah Wiley, among others) by showcasing their acting strengths in many of the scenes. Cruise grows into a convincing and powerful courtroom lawyer who initially struggled to take much seriously. Moore’s character, though faced with the sexism, is shown as tough at times and inexperienced and hopeful at others; in one scene, she is informed she will not be the lead counsel on the case when they told her, “We will find the right man for the job”. And then there is Jack Nicholson’s outstanding performance as the bullish and chauvinistic Colonel Nathan R. Jessep; in the gripping, final courtroom scene he and Cruise play out the verbal chess match with great skill, keeping the viewer riveted to the screen. I have seen this movie many times and even though it is nearly 20 years old it is one of those classics you continue to go back to because some movies are just that good.

Motherly Advice: ClearPlay does its job by cutting all the language in this movie and that is the main reason for the R rating. You will encounter two short scenes related to suicide and homicide but they are not graphic.

Hannah – Wow, I think I’m in a Tom Cruise movie phase.

Rated R for language; 138 min; Directed by Rob Reiner