Editor Reviews:

Product Description:
Once in a great while a movie comes along that truly grips and uplifts its audiences. Such a movie is An Officer And A Gentleman, a timeless tale of romance, friendship and growth. Loner Zack Mayo (Richard Gere) enters Officer Candidate School to become a Navy pilot and in thirteen tortuous weeks he learns the importance of discipline, love and friendship. Louis Gossett, Jr. won an Academy Award* for his brilliant portrayal of the tough drill instructor who teaches Zack that no man can make it alone. And while Gossett tries to warn the young officer about the local girls who will do anything to catch themselves pilot husbands, Zack eventually learns to love one (Debra Winger) while his fellow candidate, a memorable character portrayed by David Keith, struggles with a very different fate. An Officer And A Gentleman is a rich and satisfying story with moving performances that will stay with you long after the film has ended.

Amazon.com essential video:
Richard Gere plays an enrollee at a Naval officers candidate school, and Debra Winger is the woman who wants him. That's pretty much it, story-wise, in this romantic drama, which is more effective in a moment-to-moment, scene-by-scene way, where the two stars and Oscar-winner Louis Gossett Jr.--as Gere's tough-as-nails drill instructor--are fun to watch. Sexy, syrupy, with occasional pitches of high drama (Gere having a near-breakdown during training is pretty strong), An Officer and a Gentleman proves to be a no-brainer date movie. --Tom Keogh

Rating : - Good Movie, But Poor Guide to Dating
It is great to watch a young and buff Richard Gere evolve from a self-serving bad boy to a caring and involved friend. I absolutely love the scene where Zach helps Segar walk the wall of the obstacle course, including watching the guys go wild with happiness over their triumph.

Debra Winger is a good actress, and you have to hand it to both Gere and Winger that they could pull this movie off when their lack of rapport was legendary. To be fair to Gere, Winger (at least at that time) was known as a habitual problem child on the set of this and other movies. I believe shortly after filming AOAAG she went into rehab.

I enjoy this movie for a lot of reasons, but I would hate for young girls to watch this and think that the young women (Paula and Lynette) could be so easy and still get the guys in the end. If Paula had had more self-esteem, she would not have allowed Zach to "kiss it all better" after behaving so badly toward her in the hotel room.

Easy girls may get the guy for the short haul, but the Paulas and Lynettes are unlikely to form quality, lasting relationships with men that truly respect and value them.

That said, we generally watch movies to escape and to be entertained, and overall this is a compelling, well-acted movie that I still watch from time to time.