Classic Movie Pick: ‘A Few Good Men’ Showcases Great Actors Making The Most Of Great Script

This week’s “Classic Movie Pick” takes us to court, more specifically a military courtroom. “A Few Good Men” is one of those films you can’t seem to turn off after you turn it on.

This Oscar nominee hit theaters in 1992 and tells the story of two U.S. Marines who are charged with murder after a hazing incident takes the life of a fellow Marine.

Tom Cruise leads a talented cast as Daniel Kaffee, a Judge Advocate General (JAG) lawyer not exactly known as a hard worker. After being assigned as defense counsel to the two Marines, Kaffee is counting on mailing it in with a plea deal. That is until he finds conviction after sensing a coverup. Kaffee’s moral compass is tested by his co-counsel and fellow JAG core attorneys Demi Moore and Kevin Pollack. Kaffee follows the facts of the case up the command chain and starts to suspect that the two Marines were only following orders, eventually setting his sights on Col. Nathan Jessup, played by Jack Nicholson. Tom and Jack square off in this iconic courtroom scene.

As you can tell, both actors brought their A game to the project. In addition to Cruise, Jack, Demi and Pollack, rounding out a great cast are Kevin Bacon, who plays Cruise’s legal adversary, excellent and renowned character actor J.T. Walsh, and a young Kiefer Sutherland as 2nd Lt. Kendrick, Jessup’s right-hand man. 

Rob Reiner directed the film and said he was drawn to the material because of the relationship Kaffee had with his father, who we never meet in the film but find out he was a legal legend. Reiner’s father Carl was a Hollywood legend, and the director says he instantly saw the parallel. It didn’t take long for Reiner to fill his hilarious father’s shoes and he quickly ran out of room.

After being a successful actor, Reiner directed Hollywood classics like “Stand by Me,” “The Princess Bride,” “When Harry Met Sally,” “This is Spinal Tap,” “The American President” and, of course, “Misery.”

Personally, my favorite part he’s ever played was the uncredited role as the truck driver in “The Jerk,” who picks up a hitchhiking Steve Martin and drives him about 15 feet. 

“A Few Good Men” is written by legendary scribe Aaron Sorkin, whose credits include “The West Wing,” for which he won five primetime Emmys, “The American President,” “The Newsroom,” and “The Social Network,” for which he won an Oscar.

Sorkin’s material for “A Few Good Men” was based on real-life characters. Kaffee is based on former JAG and New Mexico U.S. Attorney David Iglesisas, who was fired by President George W. Bush in 2006. Demi Moore’s character is based on Sorkin’s sister, Deborah, who worked with Iglesias on a military hazing case that inspired the stage play. Deborah Sorkin was the writer’s main source for inside info throughout the writing process. 

Speaking of the stage play, smart filmmakers know good material when they see it. The movie rights to Sorkin’s play were sold even before the show premiered live.

And sometimes the sleazy stories you hear about Hollywood are true. When receiving studio notes on the script, one  executive said to Sorkin, if Demi Moore’s character and Cruise’s character aren’t going to sleep together in the movie, why is her character a woman? Sorkin said his response was “women have other purposes in life than to sleep with Tom Cruise.”

Sorkin said this was his worst experience as a writer. And finally, actual danger comes with the territory when you are a U.S. Marine. None of the Marines however probably thought they’d experience danger as extras on a movie set, but they did, thanks to Keifer Sutherland’s driving. While chauffeuring Kaffee’s team around the base, Sutherland had trouble navigating the Hummer due to its extra wide base and drove into actual Marines on multiple takes. Semper Widelis?

Come on, that’s a good one! Celebrate Flag Day by watching this classic. “A Few Good Men” is this week’s “Classic Movie Pick.”

Editor’s note: For more movie and entertainment talk, join Pete Schwaba weeknights from 6. to 8 p .m. for “Nite Lite” on the Civic Media radio network.