-Yeah -What’s that
Yeah
-Yeah -Funky, funky
-How ‘bout a big hand now -Wait-Wait a minute
Groovy, groovy, jazzy, funky pounce, pounce dance
As we dip in the melodic sea the rhythm keeps flowing and drips to M.C.
Sweet, sugar pop sugar pop, roxy pop
You don’t stop ‘til the sweet beat drops
I’m showin’ proof as I stick and move, every poem’s recited on top of the groove
Smooth my floatin’ like a butterfly, notes that are floatin’ sung like a lullaby
Brace yourself as the beat hits ya dip trip, flip fantasia
[ Radio ]
-Yeah -What’s that
-Biddy-diddy bop -Yeah
Biddy-diddy bop
Funky, funky funky, funky
-Would you like another muffin? -No, that’s, uh, fine.
[ Clears Throat ]
Just take one, please.
I’ll give you another. They check in, but they don’t check-out. Billy Rago wrote that.
The guy was practically a god in New York. Worked for all the heavy shops...
before we got him out here, and I’m telling you, we had to beg.
It’s got to be the traffic. He’s always on time.
Have another muffin. I’ll see what I can do.
-[ Man On Radio ] W-E-Z, Detroit. The Big Wheeze.! -[ Phone Rings ]
-Yeah? -Where are you?
Where am I?
Take a look out the window. I’m parked in the middle of Jefferson.
-I’ve been here for 20 minutes. -What?
It’s construction everywhere. They’re laying down cones. Hey.! You had to pick today?
These guys are on a 1 0:30 back to Chicago. They’re not the sitting-around types.
I’m 500 yards away. Can’t you stall ‘em? Give ‘em a muffin.
I’ve been stalling. We talked about the Bulls three times. They didn’t like the muffins.
-Just put me on the speaker. -What? No way.
-I’ll pitch in on the phone. Let me talk to these clowns. -Okay.
Uh, we’re gonna try a little modern science here. We do it all the time.
-Bill, you still with us? -Uh, yeah. Can they hear me?
Bill, I want you to meet Noah Bradley and Peter Brosnan of Key Brands.
-Morning. -Noah. Pete. Good to see ya.
Yeah, Bill, listen, we really do have a plane to catch.
Hey, guys, I mean, can’t you wait ten minutes? It’s not the last flight out of town.
-Jack, flip up the first panel. -Bill, I think--
Just flip up the first panel! Jesus, a lab monkey could do that!
-Okay, now. -Let me take you to the panels.
When you think of food wrap, you think of America, baseball, Mom...
apple pie, the old west.
-Speaking of which, you should be looking at a sheriff. -[ Together] Yeah.
Yeah, well he’s sittin’ there and he’s got his feet up on the desk, see.
Now, behind him, his jail cell is covered with Key Brands food wrap.
Right? Now, we got all this food inside tryin’ to escape.
We got an actor dressed up as a melon. One is a wedge of cheese.
Another one is uh, um, is a, uh, um, um--
-Another one is, uh-- -A sandwich.
Okay. A sandwich. Right.
And the sheriff smiles into the camera and he says--
Blow it out your butt, tubby!
That’s right, wide load. I’m talkin’ to you, fatso. You guys aren’t fat?
Anyway, so the sheriff’s lookin’ right into the camera and he says...
Partners, there’s only one way-- [ Static ]
"Key Brand--’"[ Static Continues ] "... Name that means qual--’"
-[ Static ] You get a sheriff like... -I think we’re having a little phone trouble.
-the guy from Gunsmoke. -Bill, you’ve gone into cell hell.
[ Woman ] Hi, I’m Joy.
If you want to be dominated, press one. If you want to discipline me, press two.
-No, that’s not Bill. We’ve got some crossover here. -[ Man ] How many kilos?
Stop it!
Moms will love it. Dads’ll love it. Kids are gonna have shiny badges, boots.
Look, I may lose you in the elevator, but I’ll see you in a couple of seconds.
-[ Elevator Bell Rings ] -You got me? Hello?
-One, two, three, four--okay. -Good morning. Shorris-Grey Advertising.
Whoo! Traffic was a--
-[ Panting ] Where are they? -[ Groans ]
I’ll pack up your office. I kept the boxes we moved in with. It’ll save a few bucks.
-[Jack ] Let me talk to him. -[ Man ] Tell him to print up some resumes.
His work’s slipping. He’s hostile to clients. I couldn’t believe it.!
A six-million-dollar account and what do you got?
-You got two guys staring at a speaker phone! -What was I supposed to do?
You were supposed to be working with professionals.
-I’ve never seen a stunt like that in my life. -Paul, look.
The man’s had a few personal setbacks the last couple years.
[ Beeps ]
[ Man ] Yes, this is Evan from You-Love-To-Rent Furniture.
You love to rent, but apparently, you don’t love to pay.
Our truck will be there at 9::00 a.m. Thank you. [ Machine Beeps ]
Bill, it’s Jack. Listen, I’m making a few calls...
but I got to tell ya, you burned a few bridges out there, pal.
Now, I’m gonna try and line up some freelance stuff next month. Just stay in touch, okay?
Bye. [ Machine Beeps ]
Mr. Rago, my name’s Akeem. I deliver your Free Press.
You still owe me $ 1 1.50. [ Machine Beeps ]
Hi, Daddy. It’s me, Emily.
Daddy, I know you’re probably still at work, but, uh, listen.
I hate to ask you this, but Mom said she’s broke until next month...
and since you just got that big, new Key Brands account, I had to ask you.
So, here it goes. There’s an eclipse coming up in Mexico, and it’s a big deal.
My whole astronomy club is going. If we get the ticket early enough, it’ll be cheap.
This is really important to me. I really, really want to go.
There it is. Thanks, Daddy. [ Machine Beeps ]
[ People Singing ]
-Hey, buddy, you got two bits? -No.
[ Harmonizing ]
I’m flat broke but I don’t care
[ Female Clerk ] How many times I gotta tell you?
-You can’t collect unemployment if you don’t look for a job. -[ Grunts ]
[ Male Clerk ] If you bring that in, we’ll help you.
-Thank you. -Next!
[ Exhales, Sighs ]
-You were in advertising, I see. Hmm! -Yeah.
Princeton?
-Yeah. -Guess that was before it went co-ed. [ Laughs ]
My, my, schools like that, you think they’d teach you how to read.
-Wrong line. -What?
New claims are the two windows at the end. You get that stamped, you come back to me.
What are you, crazy? I’ve been here since 9:00.
So have I. Next!
-[ Female Clerk ] Number 1 25. -[ Woman ] Okay.
-You’ll hear from us. Next! -Thanks.
You think there’s a chance I could get unemployment before I get social security?
Have you previously collected benefits?
No. I’ve always had a job.
Can you operate any industrial machinery, farm equipment?
Yeah. That was a required course in college. Theory of Plowing.
I have all day, Bill. Now, why don’t you tell me what you’d be willing to do?
If you give me a check, I’d be willing to cash it.
Come here. Come here.
Now, this is your first time here, right?
A man your age. It can’t be easy.
You’re humiliated. You’re frustrated.
I see it on a hundred people’s faces everyday.
And whether you believe it or not, I feel for each and every one of’ em.
Now...
you can either help me help you, or you can be an asshole...
in which case I’m gonna make you stand there until you die and turn to dust.
So...
let’s begin again.
Have you previously collected benefits?
No.
What would you be willing to do?
Milk cows.
Uh... shear sheep.
-Pluck chickens. -All right, Bill.
A couple of weeks you’ll hear from us. Next.!
[ Bill ] Smack it.! Run.! Go, go, go, go, go, go, go.!
-Aw! Oh! -Bang, bang, bang.
He can’t run. Two million dollars a year, he runs like Bill Clinton.
The eclipse, Dad. Mexico.
Come on, Emily. You don’t wanna go down there.
It’s a hundred degrees. You get held up at the airport.
-You probably won’t get off the toilet long enough to see it, anyway. -Dad!
[ Bill Groans ]
Astronomy? Jesus, when are you gonna grow up?
-I am growin’ up. You know it’s what I wanna do. -Damn!
There’s the path to big bucks. Starin’ out into space. Look!
I discovered Venus. Pay me.
Astrology, maybe you could make a few dollars doin’ people’s horoscopes or somethin’.
Why do you always have to be such a jerk about all this for?
-Frozen malts. -You want a frozen malt?
-No. -Gimme two. Gimme two.
Em. Wait a minute. Em, come on.
I’m sure you’ll find a very nice eclipse to see around here someday.
-Yeah, in the year 2047! -You want your pennant?
No, I just want you to believe in me.
[ People Singing ]
-Hi, guys, how ya doin’? Okay. -Okay.
You feel like you wanna drown
-Next! -Hi, Beverly.
-Bill. Good to see you. -How are the kids?
-Great. Everything’s great. -Good.
-How’s your daughter? -She hates my guts.
Surprise, surprise.
You know, it’s strange. I don’t like you either.
Yet somehow I’m gonna miss you.
We found you a job. There you go.
What do you think?
No, no, no, no. I--Beverly.
You got the wrong file. When have I ever been a teacher?
Look, you got a master’s degree. That means you can teach.
No, it doesn’t. No, it only means hypothetically that I could.
Come on, Bill. Now, it’s a good job. Six weeks.
A decent salary. And you get to live there.
Bev-Beverly, I-I’ll get my head blown off.
Do you know how many kids carry guns to school these days?
Hmph! In this case, all of’ em.
[ Chuckles ] I guess you didn’t get to the "where’" part.
Must be the army that’s turning me on
Must be the army that’s making me strong
Yes, sir.
Sir. Halt.
-May I help you? -Yeah.
I need directions to the Army Education Center.
A.E.C.? That’s building 231 0.
Park your vehicle in the green zone, step inside, get a pass.
I’m runnin’ a little late. Can’t I drive somewhere?
Yes, sir. You can drive to the green zone and get a pass.
Look, I’m not even in the army. I just have to meet--
Park in the green zone, step inside, get a pass!
Right. Green zone, inside, pass.
You’d probably get along good with my ex-wife.
I’m just a soldier, Sergeant marching for you
[ Drill Sergeant ] I will not quit until P.T. is through
-I will not quit until P.T. is through -Excuse me.
Excuse me. I’m lookin’ for the Army Education Center.
Captain Tom Murdoch.
Captain Murdoch’s not at the A.E.C. Captain Murdoch’s at the A.R.C.
A.R.C., A.E.C.
You lookin’ for Captain Murdoch? The A.E.C. is building 231 0.
-You want building 4475. -447--
Look, here’s what you do. You go right here. Take another right at the P.X.
Go half a click ‘til you see the D.P.T.M. Center.
-Then take a left. -P.M., P.X.
[ Sighs ]
D.P.T.M. R.F.P.C.
Can I buy a vowel?
[ Ringing ]
Captain Murdoch’s office. May I help you? Oh, hi again, sir.
-Can you hold? -Okay, Sergeant, these are ready to go.
-Uh, sir. -Bill Rago.
-Sorry to keep you waiting. -Well, actually, I needed to catch up on world events.
-That Gulf War thing worked out for us, huh? -Sure did.
I’m Tom Murdoch. Welcome to Fort McClane. Would you come with me, please?
-Give us a couple of minutes. -Sir, the extra housing units.
I’m workin’ on it.
They keep shutting down forts on us and we’ve picked up troops from every goddamn one.
I got 1 5 buses coming in at 21 00. Fifteen!
-Bummer. -I’ve got that key somewhere.
Uh, uh... here it is. Would you come with me, please, Bill?
-You mean, go? -Yeah, after you.
-Ever been in the army? -No.
Good. I’ll show you around and explain your job to you.
-The sergeant sent us a list of names. -Next.
No go, they said. These are the ones who can’t hack it.
-None of’ em wanted the boot. They all volunteered. -Ouch!
-[ Groans ] -Come on, Bill. It don’t hurt much. They all go through it.
Where was I? That’s when Colonel James stepped in.
He put out a call to find the kids that could best be served by this program.
-[ Panting ] -Keep breathing. -This is sick.
-Bill? -You all right? What are they gonna catch in Michigan?
Bill? Stay with me, okay?
The point is, their Drill Sergeants out there in the field...
didn’t have the time to explain everything a dozen times over to these guys.
As far as I’m concerned, they shouldn’t have to. But that’s strictly between you and me.
-Okay. -Hoo-ah, Drill Sergeant!
-I can’t hear you! -Hoo-ah, Drill Sergeant!
[ Capt. Murdoch ] So the squeakers we’re talkin’ about are in your file.
-Why don’t you just send the squeakers home? -That’s a darn good question.
Ask the colonel. He keeps insisting if we can help ‘em do push-ups...
we can give ‘em a hand in the brain department.
That’s where you come in, Wild Bill. You’re it for these guys.
-The last chance saloon. Sergeant Save-it. -Is it much further?
-What’s this? -Oh, isn’t that a thing of beauty?
That’s our victory tower. Biggest one in the country. We give ‘em physical confidence.
Doesn’t do much good if they got sawdust for brains.
What we need you to do is to get ‘em to think a little better on their feet. That’s all.
-[ Screaming ] -Oops.
Must be one of yours, Bill. [ Laughing ]
Let me get this straight.
-The colonel selected these eight kids for his program? -Right.
-And you want me to teach these guys how to comprehend? -Yes, sir.
-Hard stroke left! -[ Recruits Shouting ] Kill! Kill!
Are they saying kill?
-You betcha. -[ Recruits ] Kill! Kill!
Victory Starts Here. That’s Fort McClane’s motto.
Novel.
Here it is, Bill. Home sweet home.
-[ Recruits Singing ] -They never stop singing.
What about my car and all my stuff?
Don’t worry about a thing, Bill. It’s all taken care of.
Would you like to do the honors?
Yeah. [ Sighs ]
I’ve died and gone to Gomer Pyle’s house.
[ Murdoch ] He’s a marine, Bill.
What did I tell ya?
-[ Door Closes ] -Bill.
Your bedroom with a closet and a latrine are right over here.
-[ Bill ] Mmm, elegant. -Come on. Lots to see.
And you were worried about your stuff. All-purpose table.
And... you share this lovely kitchen with the people next door.
-What? -It’s a Scandinavian thing. Simplicity of design. Economy.
-Uh, the Swedes I think. -You ever wonder why so many of’ em blow their brains out?
[ Chuckles ] I’m gonna use that one.
I’ll let you get washed up, Bill. You got 40 minutes ‘til your first class.
Cheer up, will you? You’re serving your country now.
[ Door Closes ]
[ Exhales ] I’m honored.
I won an advertising award. What am I doin’ here?
[ Sighs ]
-Maybe I could hock it. -[ Banging ]
[ Recruits Chanting ]
Hi. [ Chuckles ] I’m Bill Rago.
Uh, welcome to...
the first class in basic comprehension.
[ Exhales ] I’ve never taught before...
and you’ve never thought before, [ Chuckles ] so good luck to all of us.
[ Sighs ]
Oh.
[ Mumbles ] What am I gonna do?
-[ Man ] Left.! Left, right. -[ Recruits ] Warriors.!
-Left! Left! Left, right! -Warriors!
-Left.! Left.! Left, right.! -One, two, Warriors.!
Left! Left! Left, column right, march!
Left! Left! Left, right, left.
Squad, halt!
-[ Marching Stops ] -Left, face!
Sir!
First squad reporting for instructions, sir! Sound off!.
Sir, Private Myers, 1 02 4, sir!
Sir, Private Benitez, 7 061 , sir!
-Sir, Private Haywood, 389-- -Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
[ Chuckles ] Lighten up. Uh, you guys don’t have to do this.
This is just a class. We’re not invading Angola here. [ Chuckles ]
Uh--
-Um-- -Sir, permission to speak, sir.
-Yeah, sure, speak. -Sir, what should we call you, sir?
Bill.
[ Clears Throat ]
Uh, si-sir! I think the private means your rank, sir!
Well, I don’t have one. I’m a civilian.
-Oh, man. -What?
You got to be kidding me. They let a civilian in here. I don’t believe this.
To teach double-D’s? Who do you think they gonna get, Colin Powell?
-[ Squad Leader ] Squad, sit. -I ain’t no double-D, homeboy. You speak for your damn self.
Wait, hold up. You in here by accident? You somebody special? I don’t think so.
-Sit your dumb double-D ass down, Haywood. -Screw you.
-Asswipe. -Screw you!
-[ All Chattering At Once ] -You wanna sit down or you want me to sit you down?
Haywood! Haywood!
-Stop it.! -Whoa, whoa.
-Guys, guys. -Haywood, sit down. Yo, yo.
-Sit down. Sit down. -That’s Shaolin, see?
-Why don’t you do something? -What do you want me to do?
Haywood, sit down. Haywood, sit down.
Hey! Hello? Hello!
-[ All Chattering At Once ] -[ Whistling ]
What the hell’s goin’ on here?
-That dumb-ass hillbilly talkin’ that bullshit. -Look at your dumb ass.
Haywood, please!
-Look, you don’t wanna be here and I don’t wanna be here. -You got that right.
So let’s just make the best of this, okay?
God! Squeakers. And what’s a double-D?
The whole fort calls us double-D’s.
[ Barking Continues ]
[ Howling ]
All right, I’m supposed to take attendance now. So, uh, help me out, all right?
[ Whispers ] I’ll help you out.
-Benitez, Donald. -Yup, yup.
That’s me. Present. New York City, New York.
-[ Scoffs ] Who would a guessed? -You’re killin’ me, Haywood.
-[ Haywood ] I just might. -Haywood.
Here we go. Tommy Lee.
Present, sir. Tommy Lee Haywood. Willacoochee, Georgia.
Is that as small as it sounds?
-No, sir. -Sooey.!
Small? This boy grew up in a cave.
His mother come downstairs every morning. [ Stomping ] Tommy Lee.
Time for breakfast. Run on out there and scrape up a squirrel.
We’re gonna have us a "roadkill omelette".
Aaah, back at ya.
[ Bill ] Hobbs, Roosevelt.
-Uh, it says here you’re from Detroit? -Mm-hmm.
-What part? -The part you drive through doin’ 85.
-Been there. -Mm-hmm.
-Is anybody else from Detroit? -Hoo-ah. -Yeah.
Miranda Myers, it says Cleveland here.
Yeah, I lived there too. I lived in Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Miami, L.A.
-Seattle. -Any particular reason?
My mother liked to drive.
-Sound like she liked that back seat kinda right too. -Excuse me.
-[ Bill ] All right, all right. -[ Groans ] Yo!
-Now, you deserved that. -True.
-She hit harder than you, Haywood. -[ Haywood ] Very funny.
Leroy Jackson.
Yes, sir. Um, but that’s Jackson Leroy, sir.
Oh, sorry. It says here you play football.
-Yes, sir. Well, I--I did for a while. -All-state.
-Yeah. Um--yeah. -This boy was all-planet.
I seen him one time pick off a pass and go 90 yards through the other team like, bang.!
Left ‘em all on the field. Dead. This boy got skill.! Gimme some love, kid.
Two times. Go ahead, sit on down, Heisman boy. You should a won the Heisman.
-What? -Uh--
Brian Davis, Junior, sir. Grand Forks, North Dakota.
-Hey, Bill. Ask him about his daddy. -Yeah.
Shut up, Benitez!
-My daddy was the bravest and neatest soldier... -[ Bill ] Hey.!
-in the whole wide world. -Everybody shut up! God!
Um, Melvin, Mel. Charlotte, North Carolina.
Melvin Melvin?
-[ Snoring Lightly ] -Is he up?
Mel. He does this sometimes, Bill. Mel.
Hey, Bill, he was at the B.R.M. yesterday in the hole with his rifle, just like this.
-[ Snores ] -And you’re--
Me? Montgomery, Jamaal, from Detroit, Michigan.
Jamaal, you mind letting these people speak for themselves?
How he gonna speak? That boy droolin’ down his chest.
None of the others are. You got a wise comment for everybody.
Bill, what’s the matter? I’m tryin’ to help you. I’m your assistant. What’s what?
-Yeah, well you’re succeeding in bein’ an asshole. -Aw, thank you!
Hey, he can’t do that. You can’t do that. You can’t do that. You cannot do that.
-It says in the rule book-- -Thank you.
Shut up! No soldier shall be singled out for abusive mistreatment of any kind!
-That’s regulation. Leroy, I want a new teacher. -Shut up.
-Shut up? -Shut up.
[ Bill ] All right, all right.
[ Sighs ] So much for attendance.
So, Mr. Rago, what are you gonna teach us?
That’s a good question. Anybody got any ideas?
How ‘bout teachin’ somebody to get a job?
Uh--
Everybody will read something. What?
Not for nothin’, I mean, I don’t see any books. Maybe you do, but I don’t.
-You know what I’m sayin’. -All right.
Then we’ll all write something.
Would you hand these out for me?
-[ Benitez ] Hoo-ah.! -Here you go. Thanks.
Um... start now and have these ready for the next class.
Uh, write about... why you’re here.
-This is where they told us to come. -No.
I mean the magical twist of fate that prompted you to gravitate...
toward this institute of imbeciles.
What?
Write why you joined the army.
Why I joined the army. [ Chuckles ]
[ Montgomery ] I joined to be with you, Billy boy.
Do you want us to, like, write that at the top, sir?
W-Why I joined the army?
[ Sighs ]
-[ Bugle Playing Reveille ] -[ Groans ]
[ Troops Shouting ]
-[ Bangs Table ] -[ Groaning ]
[ Shouting Continues ]
What the heck’s goin’ on here?
What the heck is goin’ on at 4:30 in the morning?
[ Shouting Continues ]
I hate this place!
A bunch of banshees.!
What? You have to do this here?
On my lawn? Can’t you take it six blocks down the road?
What are you doin’ here? Aw, that’s it. I can’t stand this job. I’m outta here.
Platoon, attention!
More P.T., Drill Sergeant! More P.T.! We like it! We love it!
We want more of it! Make it hurt, Drill Sergeant! Make it hurt! Hooo!
[ Bill ] Find me something. I’ll do it for free. If they like it, they can pay me.
I’ll work nights. Nobody sleeps around here anyway.
No, no, no, you’re not listening to me, Jack. You’re not listening.
Screw my pride! I’ll take anything.
I’ll write papers for your children. Do you hear this?
[ Shouting Continues ]
It’s the sound of hell.
Seven... eight...
nine... ten...
eleven.
[ Troops Shouting ]
Go, Navy!
[ Grunts ]
[ Chattering ]
Eat your beans, Haywood.
-[ Chuckles ] Oh, why bother? -Don’t, no, no.
Pay him no mind, Tommy Lee.
-You took it all. Now eat it all! -Eat, eat, eat, eat.
You got more than me.
I could kick his ass.
I could definitely kick his ass.
Double-D’s. Dumb as dogshit.
-[ Girls Laughing ] -Dumb, huh?
Well, let me tell you somethin’. I’d rather be a double-D...
than a swinger from the ugly tree, you fat pig.
[ Girls ] Oooh! [ Laughing ]
You’re bad.
Nice goin’, Myers.
-Swingin’ from the ugly tree? Damn. -[ Laughs ]
[ Drill Sergeant ] Anything left on your plate, we’ll do extra push-ups.!
You know, Mel, cling peaches were my daddy’s favorite.
Gimme a break, will ya, Junior? My daddy this.
My daddy that. How many freakin’ times do we have to hear about your daddy?
Eat! Eat! Eat!
Eat! Eat!
We eat now, we taste it later!
-Where did all this freakin’ food come from? -Eat! Eat it!
-[ Chattering ] -All right, who wants to start?
Nobody?
[ Snorts ] I thought this was the volunteer army.
You tryin’ to diss us? You can’t do that. Leroy, tell him he can’t do that.
-Shut up, asshole. -Naw, man, he’s dissin’ you.
Why you startin’ with me, inbred Jed? Sit over there and shut up.
Montgomery, you finished? Is that the end of the intelligent repartee?
All right. Why don’t we begin with Haywood?
How come I got to go first?
Because you’re from Wallahoochee, Georgia.
-[ Montgomery ] Get up there, boy. -Willacoochee, Bill.
Willacoochee.
There’s these woods behind our trailer park.
This old guy lives in the woods there...
and everybody in town swore he was crazy.
-""He showed me how to hunt... -[ Yawning ]
how to be real quiet and how to listen.
He said he had seen everything in the world there was to see.
And that’s why he never wanted to leave those woods.
Me and my daddy got laid off at the paper mill.
""Whilst I spent about five months watchin’ TV with my brothers...
I kept thinkin’ of what the old man said.
Finally, I decided that I did want to see more of the world...
than what was behind that trailer park, so I joined up.
I liked living with my Aunt Mavis in Chicago the best.
But last summer, my mother Ruthie came back, and we drove to Atlanta.
She said we don’t have to stay long, but then she met a man and take off.
""I waited around for a while for her to come back...
but everybody keeps sayin’ just go on home.
I don’t know where that is.
""So I take the bus to Cleveland and spend two days staring at the poster behind the driver...
that said, Be All You Can Be.’
""So I think about that for a week...
and then I think...
I gotta be somewhere, so here I am.
[ Montgomery ] ""In my crib...
there ain’t never been a time when we eat, or sleep, or nothin’.
You know, everybody just runs around crazy. Half the time I don’t even know who they are.
[ Scoffs ]
I must be the only person in the world to join the army...
so he’d know exactly what time he was eatin’ lunch.
I wanted to learn a new trade.
-Sergeant Cass. -Afternoon, sir.
-[ Bill ] Brian Davis, Junior. -Sir, yes, sir.
[ Clears Throat ] Why I joined the army...
I wanted to be in the army for as long as I can remember.
""I never really knew my dad ‘cause he died in Vietnam when I was a baby.
His name was Brian too.
My whole life my mama showed me pictures of him...
and read me his letters and told me how he was a hero.
-Bullshit, man. He wasn’t no hero. -He was so!
-How you gonna prove that? You got no proof. -Hey, hey, hey.
-[ Davis ] I don’t need proof. -Get it through your thick skull. Your daddy was no hero.
-[ Myers ] Shut up.! -Read my lips. He’s selling you a dream.
-Would you knock it off and let him finish? -[ Davis ] My mom told me.!
-[ Benitez ] Your mommy made it up. -[ Haywood ] Cut it out.!
Go ahead.
She told me about how he was a hero. He died for his country.
I think that if my daddy was alive today...
he’d want me to be in the army too...
[ Crying ]
so I could learn to be brave.
I’m sorry.
That’s okay. It’s all right.
Take it easy.
[ Clears Throat ] So, um--
I guess the real reason I, I joined the army...
was to get a better education so I could get a better job.
And that’s why. ‘"
When I was a kid, I used to love summers ‘cause there was no school.
[ Montgomery Laughs ]
"I had to baby-sit my kid sister, but I didn’t mind too much.
I mean, we’d fight a lot but, you know, mostly we just used to kid around.
She wanted to be a dancer. She was pretty good too.
One day a couple of summers ago, I sent her up to the store to buy some milk.
Now, the bullet was meant for the dude comin’ out of the store...
""I still miss her a lot, but I always miss her more in the summer.
After that I decided that being part of a gang didn’t seem like such a good idea.
So I joined this gang.
That good enough, Mr. Rago?
Yeah.
-[ Man ] How you doin’, sir? -Let’s have a coin check.
[ Bill ] Can I have a Dewars, please, with seven aspirin back?
-Seven aspirin? You okay? -Catch you later.
Yeah. Oh, Jesus.
I mean, some of the stories these kids have. I can’t--I can’t believe it.
It’s really somethin’, huh? Everybody’s got a story. You wanna hear my story, Bill?
[ People Chattering ]
Not now, Tom. Some other time.
Well, you know what I think?
What’s that, Tom?
You see, after their families let ‘em down, they go to what’s left of their schools.
The teachers are underpaid. They’re scared, so they stop teaching.
But that doesn’t stop ‘em from handing out high school diplomas like they were toilet paper.
So that means we gotta take ‘em.
Country better shape up soon, though.
We’re going to hell in a handcart. But that’s strictly between you and me, right?
Yeah. [ Knocking Bar] Could I have my aspirin, please?
[ Drill Sergeant ] Swing up and stand on--No.!
-Stand on the log! You ready to quit? You ready to quit? -No!
-No, Drill Sergeant! -Get the hell back up there! This is not that complicated.
Forty-one, Drill Sergeant.
No, Private, it’s not 41 . You’re reading the wrong numbers. Read the red numbers.
-One, two, three-- -[ Groans ]
-You’ve got to be kiddin’ me. -No, Drill Sergeant.
Three weeks, motor mouth. Three weeks, you have yet to show me a real push-up.
-I expect to get this one pretty good. -They’ve all got to be good!
Two fingers. That’s what it’s supposed to be, two fingers.
-Understand that, Private Myers? -Yes, Drill Sergeant.
[ Drill Sergeant ] Keep movin’, Benitez. All the way to the end. Don’t stop.!
Come on, get back to the line! Go back to the start of the line! Hurry up!
You’re gonna make it, Benitez.
All right, time’s up.
Who wants to talk about what they read?
-Benitez, come on up here. -All right.
[ Chuckles ]
-What are you readin’? Okay. -Archie comic.
I mean, what’s up with Jughead? Archie’s got Betty.
And you got Reggie with Veronica. I mean, what’s up with Jughead?
In my neighborhood, it didn’t matter how ugly you were, you always had a girl.
I don’t know what’s the matter with this guy. Another thing, you guys maybe could help me.
-Mr. Rago, hold on a sec. Uh, here it is. -[ Groans ]
Come on, Archie, let’s go to the malt shoppe. “What the hell’s a malt shop-ee”?
-[ Montgomery ] Benitez. -What’s a malt shop-ee? You guys know?
Bring your stupid ass over here.
-What’s the matter with you? -What do you mean?
-What are you doin’ readin’ a comic book? -He said bring anything.
-I bought a comic book. I like comic books. -Knock it off.
-You’re here for education, not to read comic books. -You’re embarrassing me, boy.
-That’s stupid. -You could a got something else at the P.X.
-Yeah, like Batman or Superman or Spider-Man. -Come on, shut up!
-[ Benitez ] They scare me. -[ Sighs ]
-[ Montgomery Laughs ] -Bunch of hyenas.
-What’s the book you got, Mr. Rago? -This?
-Yeah. -This is called Hamlet.
Hamlet. Yo, that’s about a little-bitty pig, right?
No, it ain’t about a little-bitty pig!
What’s it about, Billy boy?
It’s about... sex...
murder, incest...
-insanity. -Ohhh.
-Shoot. Beats the hell out of this garbage I’m readin’. -Guns.
Sure does. Pretty much beats the heck out of any book ever written.
-All right, Leroy. -Yeah?
-What are you readin’? -Uh, Sports Illustrated. The Faces in the Crowd section.
Why don’t you tell us more about your book? Sounds more interesting.
Yeah, who wrote it?
Well, it was written by William Shakespeare. You ever hear of Shakespeare?
-I heard of him. That guy’s in Central Park every summer. -Dude must’ve got mugged a lot.
He’s been dead for almost 400 years.
-See that? They killed him. They killed him. New Yorkers. -Yeah, yeah.
He wrote plays.
Plays. You know, like TV. Without the box.
Mmm.
They didn’t have any TVs back then or movies.
Or that many books even.
So everybody went to the theater. Everybody.
Kings, queens, right down to the working stiffs.
-Why don’t you read us some of that? -Word.
Skip to the page with some incest so we can make Haywood feel at home. Sooey!
No, you guys don’t want to hear about Hamlet.
What? What? What? I guess we’re not smart enough.
-No, no, no, no. It’s just very, I don’t know, it’s-- -[ Montgomery ] Here we go.
-What? It’s just what? -It’s complicated.
So? We’re here. We’re listenin’.
[ Clears Throat ]
Sit down.
Okay, okay.
All right, here’s the deal. Um--
Hamlet is, uh...
uh, he’s a prince.
All right. And, uh...
-and he’s away at college. -[ Montgomery ] Rich kid.
Right? And he, he gets word that his father died.
-Oh, no, Davis, please, don’t start cryin’. -Leave me alone, Benitez!
-Forget about it. -Benitez, shut up, all right?
-Chill. -Go ahead.
All right, so he comes home from college for the funeral.
And when he gets back, everything’s fishy.
All right?
You ever hear of the term, something is rotten in the state of Denmark?
Naw, but in apartment 3-C, my building, Miss Leary...
every Thursday, she always cooks the corned beef and cabbage.
-Mm-hmm. -Something sure smells rotten in the state of New York.
All right. That’s the same kind of thing.
-That was dumb. That was really dumb. -Leave him alone, man.
He gets back, and he’s in mourning...
and less than a month goes by and his mother gets remarried.
-Damn. -To his uncle.
-[ Everybody Gasps ] -That’s the incest part.
Okay? So, now, Hamlet spends the rest of the play trying to decide...
whether he’s got the guts to go after his uncle the king...
and avenge his father’s death, or if he wants to just...
go with the flow and do what his mother is tellin’ him to do.
-Naw. -Don’t go out like that.
So, where I am in the play, [ Clears Throat ]
He’s with his mother and the king and she’s trying to cheer him up.
And she says...
Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted color off...
and let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark.
Do not forever with thy veiled lids seek for thy noble father...
-in the dust. -[ Montgomery ] What?
-Hey, you wanna lay that down one more time? -Please.
Well, it’s--it’s really easy.
You just gotta listen, all right?
Cast thy nighted color off. Well, what color do we wear at a funeral?
-Black. -Black!
-A nighted color. -She’s tellin’ him not to wear black, to stop mourning.
-[ Bill ] Right? -[ Hobbs ] Right.
It says, Let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark.
Which means she’s sayin’ don’t glare at me as though you hate me.
Why should he? His father’s body’s not cold yet and she’s given the punnani to UncleJoe.
Something like that. Only it’s Uncle Claudius.
-What the hell is a punnani? -[ Montgomery ] Cave boy never heard of punnani.
Hey, Mr. Bill, when my daddy split on my mama, he moved in...
with her sister, who is, of course, my auntie.
And I got a baby cousin who’s also my baby sister. That’s sort of the same thing.
Mel speaks. [ Chuckles ]
[ Applause, Whistling ]
-Glad to have you, Mel. -I got a question.
-Yes? -Now, if look like a friend means don’t hate me...
why don’t she say don’t hate me?
-Because it’s poetry. -But it don’t even rhyme, yo?
Yeah, but it’s like, you know, uh--
It’s language. It’s trying to put things together that evoke...
a certain--
It sounds better.
What do you mean? I mean, it doesn’t sound like anything to me. I don’t get it.
Yeah. Come on, Teach, teach us.
It’s--all right. It’s a simile.
-A what? -A simile. All right, here.
-[ Benitez ] A simile. -Yeah.
[ Montgomery ] That’s a little yellow face with a smile on it.
Um--
-[ Melvin ] Si-mi-le. -Simile.
It’s, uh... when you take two things...
that, um... don’t seem alike...
but in a way, they are.
-Huh? -[ Leroy ] Hmm?
All right. All right, we’re lookin’ for a simile. Haywood.
Um...you’re, uh--
You’re workin’ in the mill and, uh...
you come home or you’re on your way home.
You go to a bar, you stop for a brew. Down at the end of the bar is a beautiful woman.
And she winks at you.
All right? You go to her like--fill in the blank.
-[ Mumbling ] I don’t know. -Like a rooster with an itch!
[ Class Chuckles ]
Like a rooster with an itch.
Way to go, Davis. You gotta love those barnyard similes.
All right, that was simile. Now, here’s somethin’ else. A metaphor.
-All men are-- -Dogs.
Dogs! Okay, you got it?
Simile: like dogs. Well, here’s metaphor.
We just plain are... dogs.
Okay? All right. Now, this is a good one here.
-All right, let’s see. -[ Writing On Chalkboard ]
-Oxymoron. -[ Montgomery ] Hold up.
Hold up, hold up. You can’t do that. That is a diss. I ain’t no oxmoron.
No, no, no, no. Not oxmoron, schmuck. Oxymoron.
It’s when you take two words that are totally the opposite and you jam ‘em together.
All right? Like, uh... military intelligence.
Dark victory.
Thunderous silence.
Hmm?
Girly-man.
-[ Class Chuckling ] -He talkin’ about you, Benitez.
-[ Benitez ] You’re killin’ me. -Okay. So, let’s end the class with, uh...
an oxymoron from Shakespeare himself, Parting is such sweet sorrow.
If you say so.
-Take it easy, Billy boy. Two times. -[ Leroy ] Fall in outside.
-Thanks, Mr. Bill. See you tomorrow. -Hoo-ah.
Thanks, Mr. Rago. That was neat.
-Take care, Bill. -Take it easy, Rocko.
I’m teachin’ Shakespeare.
[ Chuckles ]
That is, uh, Parting is such sweet sorrow.
All right.
Readin’ Hamlet to the double-D’s.
Come on!
-I’ve been waitin’ for this! -[ Troops Shouting ]
-Beat him down! Let’s go! -Kick his ass!
Come on!
[ Grunts ]
[ Helicopter Passing Overhead ]
-Hey! Hey! -Huh?
You must be Bill.
-Yeah, that’s me. -Yeah.
-You don’t seem to mind them calling you that. Okay if I do the same, Bill? -No problem.
Bill, I’d appreciate it if you’d employ a bit more discipline in your classroom.
Would that be too much to ask? I mean, this isn’t Harvard yard. This is a military--
-Whoa, whoa, Lou, take it easy. -Who the fuck is Lou?
What’s your problem? I’m just walkin’ here. You got a bug up your ass?
You know what I think, Bill? I think your whole class thing is a bunch of bullshit.
-I think you’re wastin’ my time. -Your time?
-That’s right. -It’s their class. I don’t see you in the class, so lighten up.
Their time is my time, Bill. Now, I have exactly 54 days to teach these young kids...
what it takes to save lives in combat, in combat, Bill!
Now, I don’t think they’re gonna learn that...
writing a bunch of touchy-feely little papers for the English teacher. No.
They’re gonna learn that out here with me! I’m gonna be certain of that.
Now, that’s my mission, Bill. And I can handle it ‘cause it’s my job.
Yeah, well, you do your job and I’ll do mine.
You know what the difference here, Bill, is? I care about what I do.
[ Troops Continue Shouting ]
Do him, Haywood.
-[ Class Chattering ] -Lady and gentlemen, it’s show time!
[ Montgomery ] Oh, show time at the Apollo.
-What’s this? -This is Hamlet.
I figured that since we have to do something, we might as well do something that I love...
and that you showed a little bit of interest in, so... here.
-Put your desks in a circle facing each other. -[ Chattering ]
You mean you want us to read this stuff?
Yeah, Benitez, even you could do it.
-Plus, it cost me nine bucks to run those things off. -Billy boy, it says here...
""Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven...
uh, whiles--Willis, like...
the puffed and reckless “libertinay”.
-Libertine! -Libertine. Hey, yo.
-You gonna come translate this for us? -Why? It’s in English.
-Uh-uh. -Now... Roosevelt Hobbs...
-you be Hamlet. -All right.
Benitez, you’re gonna be Hamlet’s best friend, Horatio.
-That’s cool, bro. -Okay, Miranda Myers, you will be...
-Hamlet’s girlfriend, the fair Ophelia. -She ain’t exactly fair.
-Quiet. Melvin! -[ Hobbs ] Mighty fair to me.
Melvin! Mel.
Melvin, when you wake up, you will be Polonius, Ophelia’s father.
-Leroy. You’ll be Ophelia’s brother, Laertes. -Right.
-Montgomery, you’re the ghost. -The who?
-The ghost. -[ Haywood Chuckles ] You the ghost in the hood.
[ Mimicking Haywood ] You the ghost in the hood. Goo-ooh.
-[ Blabbering ] -[ Sighs ]
Haywood...
-you’re the king. -Thank you, Bill.
-Damn, I should have been the king. -Davis.
You will be Queen Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother.
-[ Class Laughing ] -Sir, isn’t that a woman’s part?
-Alas, Private Davis, we have but one woman in our class. -One.
But, sir, I’d really prefer another part.
Relax, Davis. You’ll be reassured to know...
that in Shakespeare’s day, all the parts were played by men.
-What? -Yeah. That’s right.
-Romeo and Juliet were a couple of guys? -Correctamundo.
Bill, you know as well as I do a guy playing a girl is plain filthy!
Especially if it’s gonna be my wife.
-That’s your woman. -[ Haywood ] Shut up, Leroy.!
Oh, they say Jove laughs.
Oh, gentle Romeo.
""If thou dost love, pronounce it faithfully.
Or if thou thinkest I am too quickly won, I’ll frown.
And be perverse. And say thee nay.
So thou wilt woo.
In truth, fair Montague, I am too fond, and therefore...
thou mayst think my behavior light.
But trust me, gentle man.
I’ll prove more true than those that have more cunning to be strange.
Hmm.
I should have been more strange.
I should have been more strange, I must confess.
But that thou overheardst, ere I was ware, my true love passion.
Therefore, pardon me, and not impute this yielding to light love.
Which the dark night hath so discovered.
You know, that shade of blue really brings out your eyes.
-[ Laughing ] See? -[ Class Laughing ]
-Hoo-ah. -No problem. All right.
[ Troops Yelling ]
Let’s go, ladies. Come on.
-That’s it, Baby Huey. Come on.! -Move it!
Do not saw the air too much with your aim thus.
[ Troops Yelling ]
[ Shouting ]
No, no, no, no. Gimme that.
-You step in and then step in with the right foot. -All right, Drill Sergeant.
So, what Hamlet’s father, the ghost, is tellin’ him...
that because he was killed...
poisoned in his sleep in the afternoon...
with his sins still on his soul...
that he can’t get a pass straight to heaven.
All right, soldiers. Close your eyes and break the seal of the mask.
-Do it! -Keep your mouth closed...
-and do not inhale the gas under any circumstances. -Drill Sergeant.
Too easy, Drill Sergeant!
[ Coughs, Gagging ]
[ Grunting ]
All right, good, Melvin. See how good it is when you stay awake?
Hamlet’s confronted his mother, and she knows deep down in her soul...
she’s gonna have these stains forever on her soul.
That’s deep, man. Stains on her soul.
-Way deep. Right? -Mm-hmm.
[ Troops Shouting ]
Queen Gertrude.
[ Drill Sergeant ] Yeah. Yeah. Too easy, Hobbs, eh?
Neither... a borrower...
nor a lender bef---before--"
No. For loan oft...
"Ioses both... itself and friend.
"And borrowing...
"dulls the edge of husbandry.
This above all, to...
thine own self be true.
Melvin. All right, Melvin. Stop. You can say the rest when you come out of the coma.
Sit down. Look, look. You gotta, you gotta say it...
to a beat, you know?
-Does anybody play the drums? -[ Together] Hoo-ah.
-Both of ya? -Mmm.
Whack this out on the desk. Bop, bada, bop, bada, bop-bop-bop-bop.
Da, dada, dat, dada, dat-dat-dat-dat.
Da, dada, dat, dada, dat-dat-dat-dat. Come on, Haywood, get with it.
Give him time. He’s a white boy.
Da, dada, dat, dada, dat-dat-dat-dat.
You see, you say the lines to the beat. And you--you hear it?
Um, do I hear ‘em bangin’ on the desk?
No, this, fool! Bop, bada, bop, bada, bop-bop-bop-bop.
This above-- Get up.
This above all, to thine own self be true. Say it.
This above all, to thine own self be true.
[ Everybody ] This above all, to thine own self be true.
This above all, to thine own self be true.
-This above all, to thine own self be true. -Come on, Mel.!
-This above all, to thine own self be true.
-Go, Mel, go!
This above all, to thine own self be true.
-You got it! -This above all, to thine own self be true.
-Way to go, Mel! Gimme five! Mel Melvin! -[ Class Cheering ]
Yee-haw!
One two three four one, ho, three four
-Tiny bubbles -Tiny bubbles
-In my wine -In my wine
-Makes me happy -Makes me happy
-Makes me feel fine -Makes me feel fine
[ Haywood ] Don’t you tell my heart
-My achy-breaky heart -[ Groans ] That’s cruel.
-Whoo! -[ Hobbs ] Damn, Haywood.!
Oh, if you tell my heart
My achy-breaky heart
I just don’t think he’ll understand
-[ Hobbs ] Davis is thinking about his daddy again. -I’ll cheer him up.
Hey, Davis, you should a seen me in there.
[ Imitating De Niro ] Never got me down, Ray. Ya hear me?
-Never got me down, Ray. -Who’s that?
Jake LaMotta.
-Who? -You never seen the movie Raging Bull?
-No, I missed that. -You crazy?
[ As De Niro ] Hey, Larry! Who’s an animal, Larry, huh?
Your mother’s an animal! I’m gonna eat your dog for breakfast, Larry!
-Ya hear me, Larry? -You’re an animal.
What? I’m an animal? What are you, crazy?
Huh? I’m not an animal!
-I’m not an animal! -Stop!
-Please stop. Stop. -Okay.
-Thank you.
-All right, I got mail call! -[ Men Shouting, Whooping ]
All right. We got Abney.
-We got Anderson. -Right here.
-Judd. -Ho!
Bonner. Whoa!
-Byrd. -Look out!
-Montgomery. -Oh, man.!
Montgomery. Montgomery.
Montgomery.
Ahh! Hey, give me that.
-Albrecht. -See that, baby?
-Get out. -We got Melvin.
-Melvin! Melvin! -Melvin.!
Anybody home? [ Laughing ]
Ho! We got Ben.
We got Bartol.
-And we got Scott! -Right here.!
-That’s it, fellas. -[ Men ] Aw.!
Sorry, man.
Davis ain’t gettin’ no letter, Junior?
Look, I got one.
I ain’t got a letter yet. You gotta read that to me.
-Has anybody seen my green socks? -We all got green socks.!
Let’s see what he has to say.
How ya doin’. How ya’ doin’. How ya doin’.
Let’s see, uh--
Oh, listen. Dad put new holleys on the Camaro...
so he could race it up at the speedway.
It was runnin’ like greased owl shit.
Hey, that’s a simile, Mel.
That is a simile, ain’t it?
Damn right.
Let’s see. Then Toby drove it last week and threw a rod...
and Dad got mad and threw him down the stairs.
This ain’t my real dad. This is my step dad.
Things are sure different...
now that you’re in the marines.
-Marines? -Well, he’s 1 2. He gets ‘em mixed up, ya know.
so I guess he’s startin’ in on his real kids.
Mel, what kind of Camaro has he got? A Z-28?
Mel. You okay, Mel?
Mel?
[ Sighs ] I ain’t never gonna hit my kids.
Oh, don’t start sleepin’ again, Mel.
You know it ain’t gonna solve nothin’.
[ Sighs ]
-Mama, mama, don’t you cry -Mama, mama, don’t you cry
-Little boy ain’t gonna die -Your little boy ain’t gonna die
-Oh! Aw, jeez! -What’s the matter? Heart attack?
-It’s the food, I’m tellin’ you. -Oh, Jesus!
Junior, where you goin’?
-I gotta go back.! -We’re gonna be late! Junior!
Oh, no! Oh, no, no! Stop! Stop! Stop!
-What? -Wait, wait, wait!
-Jesus. -What’s your freakin’ problem, Davis?
-My bag! My daddy’s bracelet! -His what?
-It’s a Montagnard bracelet. He got it in Vietnam. -He wore a bracelet?
Lots of soldiers wore ‘em over there. I left it in my shirt pocket.
Good, now it’ll be clean. Come on. Let’s go.
Come on, man! What if it gets lost?
Please, you gotta help me, man. It’s all I got.
We gotta get this to the quartermaster’s laundry on time.
[ Imitating Al Pacino ] I don’t care. Look for the bracelet, okay?
-All right. What’s his name? -His name is Brian Davis, Jr.
-Come on, man. This is stupid. -[ As Pacino ] Shut up, you!
I kill you, you cockroach! Shut up!
Now look. I gotta touch the dirty clothes, man? You kiddin’ me.
Please, please. Yes! Yes!
Here it is. Oh, man, thank you. Thank you!
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five...
four, three, two, one!
Freeze! I said freeze!
What was that again? What time is it?
Drill Sergeant! Breakfast is at 0600, Drill Sergeant!
Zero six hundred. That’s correct.
Which by my reckoning has come and gone, has it not?
-Drill Sergeant.! Yes, Drill Sergeant.! -Hi, Miranda.
[ Cass ] I don’t know. Maybe it’s me. I just can’t seem to hear ya.
I don’t hear that--
Benitez! Davis!
Front and center.!
You wouldn’t happen to have the time, would you, Private?
Sorry, Drill Sergeant. Slight problem with the laundry.
Does this building look like a Denny’s to you, New York? Huh?
Show me where it says breakfast served anytime.
Get on down there and push ten.
Who was I talkin’ to? Was I talkin’ to you?
Drill Sergeant, I asked him to help me find my daddy’s bracelet.
-My daddy! My daddy! -My daddy sent it--
Your daddy ain’t here, son, and your daddy can’t help you.
I don’t know if anybody can help you, high-speed.
Lou. Lou, go easy on the kid.
What?
He’s five minutes late.
I mean, talk about anal. You must’ve been toilet-trained at gunpoint.
[ Stifles Chuckle ]
Come over here. Come over here.
-What? -Come over here. Right here!
-Take it easy. -Don’t ever interrupt me when I’m talkin’ to my soldiers.
-He was five minutes late. -You understand me?
Man, you been on my bad side since the day I laid eyes on you.
You better comprehend this. You better get this down...
-’cause I have had it with your smug college-boy attitude. -Yeah?
You listen to me: stay away from me.
And don’t you ever, ever impugn my authority in front of my soldiers.
-Now, you got that, man? -Yeah, I got that.
-You got it? That’s point-blank and period. -Yeah, I got it.
[ Muttering ]
For the rest of the week, you’ll show up here nine minutes early.
-You will report here-- -Davis.
Just show up to my class nine minutes late is all, ya see? No problemo.
-Oh, that’s it! That is it! -What?
-Drill Sergeant! Drill Sergeant! Calm down. -What?
Who do you think you are? You gonna tell me what to do?
-You’re nothin’. You’re nothin’. -I’m nothin’?
Did you hear what he said? I’m nothin’.!
-Come on. Come on. Right here. -Just let me--
[ Knocking ] Sir?
So they finally sent you to the principal’s office.
Yeah.
Man could’ve killed you, Mr. Rago.
He would’ve been court-martialed, but he could’ve killed you.
-He started it. -I don’t know what happened, and I don’t care.
All I care about is this program...
Okay.
You never served in the military, did you, Mr. Rago?
No, my military experience is limited to the day...
that I walked for hours in the rain from Arlington Cemetery...
to the White House carrying the name of a soldier...
who died needlessly in Vietnam.
Do you remember the soldier’s name?
No.
Do me a favor, Bill.
Whatever your personal views are, while you’re here...
remember you are a guest of the United States Army, okay?
Okay.
From now on, by the book.
Dismissed.
By the book.
[ Softly ] What am I doin’ here?
Spud duds. Spud duds.
Potato topping for the whole family.
Hmm.
- [ Hobbs ] How late is he now? - [ Myers ] He’s very late. What difference does it make?
- Damn. - Why would he do this?
[ Montgomery ] Check it out.! We got us a substitute teacher.!
[ Benitez ] He looks just like Mel. Bring it here.
Which one is the dummy?
Melvin. Wake up, Mel.
Time for school, Mel.
[ Montgomery ] So how long are we supposed to hang around?
[ Benitez ] Maybe he got sick or something.
- Oh. - [ Hobbs ] Here comes the excuse.
Sorry I’m late. The traffic really stunk.
- Traffic. Whoo! See? - Ya ever notice when you’re in a hurry...
they radio-dispatch all people to drive in front of ya?
It’s ridiculous. Okay.
So where were we?
[ Montgomery ] Where were we? We were here.
[ Recruits ] Uh-huh.
Give me a break, will ya? I had something important.
- That’s all right. We’re used to it. - [ Benitez ] That’s for sure.
- It was a job interview, for cripes’ sake. - [ Myers ] A what?
- Job interview? I thought this was your job. - Mm-mmm.
- We’re part time, like a paper route. - Aw, come on.
- Hey, what do ya want from me? - Not much, I guess.
- Huh? - Yeah, we got a victory tower at 1 7 00, sir.
- Everybody fall in outside. - I don’t believe you guys.!
- You stay and listen. - We ain’t nothin’ but a hobby to you.
Hey, Davis, we’d better go.
We might get stuck behind some old people.
You guys are never late, right, Benitez?
[ Haywood ] Last time I come to this damn class.
I got 1 5 minutes left!
I stood up for you, Davis.! Oh, sure.
Go ahead, go.
Aw, to hell with ‘em.
[ Grunts ]
If I lose ‘em now, I’ll never get ‘em back. Damn!
Victory tower. Victory tower.
[ Cass ] Come on. Let’s go.! Let’s go.!
[ Shouting ]
Come on!
[ Cass ] That’s it, Leroy.! That’s it.!
- Hand over hand! Hand over hand! - [ Cass ] That’s good, Leroy.!
- Yes! Outstanding! - All right!
[ Shouting Continues ]
Hey, look! Billy boy!
[ Shouting Continues ]
Oh, you are lookin’ at one puffed and reckless libertine!
Check that. Whoop!
Fish in the net.!
Montgomery, Leroy, you hold it!
Don’t go anywhere! I got 1 5 minutes, and I want ‘em now!
- Shakespeare, what’re ya doin’ here? - Hold on a second, Lou.
- All right, I was late. Big deal. You gotta give me a break. - Rago.
- This is important, Lou. - No. No, Bill. This is important. This.
This is why we’re here. This is what we’re here to do. Go!
Come down from there! Leroy!
Hobbs, I got 1 5 minutes left, and I want ‘em.!
- I don’t think they want to talk to you, Bill. - Montgomery!
Montgomery, get down here.!
I don’t even think they can hear you.
Come on, Davis. Do this one for daddy.! Make him proud.!
You know, from down here.
- Hey, wait a minute! -Just hold up, Drill Sergeant.
Can’t just quit. Ohh!
That’s what you been doin’ all your lives.
Davis.! Hold it.! Hold it.! Don’t go nowhere.
Hold it. Whoa.
Okay, you guys got problems.
- Well, so do I, goddammit.! - Move! Move, Davis! Keep moving!
Mr. Rago, you’re gonna make me fall!
- What the hell are you lookin’ at? - Aah!
[ Cass ] Great, Oswald.! You don’t want to end up like him.!
- Rago, have you gone crazy? - [ Cass ] Montgomery, keep moving.!
Montgomery, where ya goin’?
I can’t talk to you right now, Mr. Rago!
- [ Cass ] That’s it.! - Hold it!
Davis!
Hold it!
- [ Cass ] Keep movin’.! - [ Leroy ] You’ve gone far enough, Mr. Rago.
- All right? Now go down. - Do any of you have the slightest idea...
- what it’s like to have mortgages... - [ Recruit ] Get him.
doctor bills, alimony payments?
Wait’ll you have your kids. Then you talk to me about priorities.
Then you tell me what it’s like to have a little cash flow.
- What the hell are you doing? - You got up here. Now you gotta get down.
- Get on your knees for safety, sir. - Huh? Jeez.
Ohh.
Oh. That’s far.
Baby Huey, show Shakespeare how we get down from the victory tower.!
Yes, Drill Sergeant!
- [ Cass ] Let’s go, Leroy.! - Whoa.
- Holy shit. - See ya on the ground, Mr. Rago.
- [ Cass ] Aha.! Lookin’ good.! - [ Shouts Of Approval ]
- Whoa. - Outstanding.
- Drill Sergeant. - Too easy, huh?
Too easy, Drill Sergeant.
Your turn, Rago!
- Your turn. - [ Cass ] To be or not to be, Shakespeare.
- What’ll it be? - Yeah. All right.
Okay. Come on. Let’s go! Let’s go!
- You do not want to do this. - I’m doin’ it. Let’s go.
You do not want to do this, sir. You’re clippin’ him?
- Watch the jewels. Ooh. - Clippin’ him. He wants to do it.
- [ Bill ] All right. - Put on the gloves, Mr. Rago.
All right. Get down. Get down.
You’re gonna swing your legs over the edge of the platform.
Reach your foot down and find that ledge.
- [ Cass ] Come on, Rago.! - [ Hobbs ] There’s a ledge.
- No ledge! No ledge! - There’s a ledge. A ledge right there.
- Okay. - Come on. Get your foot on it.
- Get both those feet on there. - All right.
All right, now. Just lean back.
- [ Grunting ] - Okay, first thing:
don’t look down.
- [ Cass ] What the hell you doin’? - Whoa! Aah!
I told ya not to look down!
Everybody looks down when you tell ‘em not to look down! You know that!
All right. All right. Look, just lean back, relax.
Okay? Everything’s gonna be all right.
I got the rope up here, and there’s a guy down there with the other end.
Come on. Relax. Just lean back. Get the rope. There you go.
All right. You all right down there, man?
Come on, Mr. Bill. No sweat.
Melvin! He’ll be asleep before I reach the ground!
He’s not gonna be asleep. He’s gonna be all right.
Just trust me, man.
- All right. The victory tower is yours. - Ohh--
-Just let the rope slide. - Whoa!
- [ Recruits Shouting ] - I’m dead! I’m dead!
- Yeah! - Yeah.! Lookin’ good, Mr. Rago.!
- [ Hobbs ] Gonna take you all day to get down that way. - Guy’s a joke, man.
[ Recruits Shouting At Once ]
[ Davis ] Come on.! Do it to a beat.!
Oh. Eee.
- [ Cass ] Let’s go, Rago.! - [ Davis ] One... two... three--
- Good work. Come on. Here we go. - [ Hobbs ] Down. Yeah.
[ Groaning ]
[ Davis ] Mr. Rago, put your feet up.! Ow.!
Feet up.! Watch those jewels you mentioned, Mr. Rago.
Turn around the other way! Turn it around!
- That’s the wrong way. - Stay in the l’’ position.
[ Benitez ] Take it easy, Mr. Rago. Don’t look down.
- Pull me up! Pull me up! - Whoa.! Whoa.! Whoa.!
- Pull me up.! Pull me up.! - Whoa.! Whoa.! Hang on.! Don’t worry, I got you.!
Don’t let go, Mel! Mel, Mel, don’t let go!
[ Montgomery ] He’s got on dancin’ shoes.! Dance down the wall.!
- [ Leroy ] Damn, Bill, be careful. - Flap your little wings.!
- Come on! - [ Benitez ] Uh-oh, the ball’s dropping.!
- [ Laughing ] - [ Benitez ] Happy New Year.!
- [ Whooping ] - All right! Way to go, Rago!
- [ Whistling ] - Good work. I knew you had it in you, Mr. Bill.
Not bad for an old man, huh?
[ Applause, Whistling Continues ]
Tomorrow, 1 600 hours, right?
[ Together] Hoo-ah!
- Hoo-ah’s right. - Good work, Mr. Bill.
Go, boy. Loosen up them ropes.
He’s the man.
Ohhh.
- You should’ve wore a glove. - I did wear a glove.
Oh. [ Laughs ]
I wish I could’ve been there.
The guys must be so proud of you.
Yeah. I’ll remember that when they’re fittin’ me for a new hand.
Huh?
[ Laughs ] That’s what my kid keeps askin’ me.
You have a kid?
Yeah. Emily.
She wants to be an astronomer.
Go figure.
Go figure what? What?
[ Groans ]
All right. Let’s start swallowing and digesting.
- [ Recruits ] Hoo-ah, hoo-ah.! - Come on, Tommy Lee.
More victory tower, Drill Sergeant.
I like it. I love it. I want more of it.
- [ Rago ] Make it hurt, Drill Sergeant.! - Way to go, Mr. Rago.
- Good work, Mr. Bill. - All right.
- Do you mind if I sit here? - No, please.
[ Haywood ] Damn, Bill, you done tore that tower down.!
Whew!
- So what happened, anyway? - What?
Two-ten. Nothin’ but muscle. Star fullback.
College scouts must’ve been tossin’ hookers through your bedroom window.
Yeah, yeah. Just about. I busted my knee my senior year.
I mean, I can push on it a little bit now, but--
Well, let’s just say it blew my shot.
Oh.
Isn’t there somethin’ else you can do?
No, there’s nothin’ else for me to do.
I was black and I played ball. That’s all anybody ever cared about.
They didn’t teach me anything, but, oh, they kept passin’ me.
- Mmm. - So I’m here, you know?
My wife works on the post here ‘cause we got a baby comin’.
Leroy, Jr.? Great!
Kid’ll probably come out wearin’ a helmet, get the Heisman.
I’m keepin’ that kid as far away from the playin’ field as I can.
Runnin’ a football never helped nobody pass a civil service exam.
Least ways, it never helped me. Excuse me.
Hey, Leroy.
Ya ever hear of a guy named Leonbattista Alberti?
Yeah, yeah. He played for the 49ers, right?
Nah. He played for the 1 400s.
The renaissance.
- The what? - He’s what you’d call a renaissance man.
The guy was an architect, a writer, a painter, a musician...
a scholar-- god knows what else.
But you know what I remember most about him?
They say that he could stand with his feet together like this...
and spring straight over a man’s head.
- Re-- Really? - Yeah.
If Leonbattista Alberti couldn’t have done that...
I wouldn’t have remembered a thing about him.
So he was sort of like a smart jock, then, right?
That’s right. You got it.
Now, ain’t that an oxymoron?
- That is. That is. - Uh-huh. Uh-huh.
- [ Laughing ] - Give me some. All right.
- Talk to you later, Mr. Rago. - All right.
The real question is, is Ophelia right?
Is Hamlet crazy?
Hobbs.
I don’t know. I think he’s just playin’ the fool.
Go on.
Well, it’s like he says. Denmark’s a prison.
Everybody’s watchin’ him all the time, spyin’ on him.
If he thinks Denmark’s a prison, all he gotta do is move to a trailer park.
Tiny little rooms, six brothers and sisters.
I couldn’t even take a whiz by myself.
Gets to you, man. It can make you crazy.
Imagine all your life waitin’, growin’ up hopin’...
- a tornado would come and whoosh you out of there. - [ Recruits Laughing ]
That’s not what I’m sayin’, man.
What I’m sayin’ is that Hamlet’s actin’ crazy for a reason.
To give him some time to think...
to plan his next move...
keep his eye on everybody else.
You sure you’re readin’ the same play?
Smart move, Benitez.
Uh... all right. That’s it.
Okay? Let’s call it quits for today.
- Hoo-ah. - Hoo-ah.
[ Leroy ] Fall in outside. First aid today.
So how’d you get to be so smart, huh?
- Told you, girl. I been around. I seen things. - Hobbs.
- Yeah. - What’s the deal, man?
Deal?
Where’d you go to school?
Well, lots of places.
- You ever read this stuff before? - [ Chuckles ] Nah.
Whew. Well, stick with it. You’re doin’ fine.
He who increases knowledge, increases sorrow.’’
[ Whispering ] Increases sorrow.
Increases sorrow. Shakespeare?
Mm-mmm, the Bible.
Even Shakespeare has his superior. Tch!
[ Leroy ] Let’s go, Hobbs.!
Forward march.!
Look, is there any way you guys could have made a mistake with this kid?
[ Laughing ] Us? Make a mistake?
I’m telling you, he doesn’t belong in there.
He belongs in, uh, lieutenant training school or something.
You think I can wave a wand and send this kid to West Point?
Rago, come on. I got guys sleepin’ in the rafters.
I got a flood in the laundry.
I just got a call from the motor pool tellin’ me they lost an A.P.C.
They lost it.! The thing’s the size of a tank.! How could they lose it?
It’s a machine, Captain. This is a human being I’m talkin’ about.
This is a smart kid, as good as they come.
Damn it, Bill, it is just not that easy!
All right. Roosevelt Hobbs.
He deserves a shot.
Hobbs.
- [ Recruits ] To be or not to be - You got no rhythm.
- [ Laughs ] Ba-da-da! There! - To be or not to be
- [ Davis ] We gotta sing at the same time? - [ Myers ] Yeah. Of course.
- Whatta ya think I’m trying to show you? - Or not to be
- [ Laughter ] - [ Melvin ] Hey, hey.! Here he comes.!
- Hurry up.! Everybody get ready.! - [ Hobbs ] Are you ready?
- And-- - [ Recruits Rapping ] They gotta know
They gotta know we gotta flow They gotta know
They gotta know, o-ho They gotta know
They gotta know we gotta flow They gotta know
They gotta know, ho They gotta know
They gotta know we gotta flow They gotta know
They gotta know, ho They gotta know
- They gotta know - Come with me
Cue it check it out
To be or not to be
The double-D M.C.s are lettin’ it be
Let it be to be or not to be
M.C. Hobbs on the job rippin’ rhymes like the mob
The shit’s iller than Cape Fear the Shakespeare saga
Started with this prince kid his moms and his father
By his brother man now his brother’s king lover man
Actin’ real trite he took his brother’s life
For his green and to sex up his queen
But the prince, he ain’t goin’ for it he’s out for revenge
His pop’s ghost told him Damn it, Hamlet, those are your ends
So just chill and cool for now
P-P-Play the fool until ya take him out
‘Cause all eyes is on you So one way or the other
It’s a kamikaze style or do it undercover
But either way ya gotta slay-ah so what the hey-ah
So strap on your black and get set for the payback
Ain’t got no gat but he’s sportin’ a tool
Strappin’a sword for the Laertes duel
‘Cause he’s tryin’ to blame Hamlet for his sister’s death
But she took her own last breath She ain’t got shh left
Never heard yet a more absurd set
Of circumstances murder and romances
- So - Incest, we had to put it to rest
We had time to manifest He stuck the dagger in the king’s chest
To be or not to be
The double-D M.C.s is lettin’ it be
Let be to be or not to be
- The double-D M.C.s is lettin’ it be - Ophelia
Let be to be or not to be
The double-D M.C.s is lettin’ it be
- Let be to be or not to be - To be or not to be
The double-D M.C.s is lettin’ it be
- [ Applauding ] Wow.! Great.! - [ Whistling ]
- Great. Bravo. Bravo. - Go, Hamlet. Go, Hamlet.
[ Recruits ] Go, Hamlet. Go, Hamlet.
Go, Hamlet. Go, Hamlet.
- [ Man On P.A.] Fire.! - [ Gunshots ]
- Breathe, Haywood. - [ Console Beeping ]
- [ Gunshots Continue ] - [ Davis ] Damn, Haywood.!
Outstanding. Outstanding.
Drill Sergeant! No problem, Drill Sergeant! Too easy!
- Outstanding, Haywood. - [ Gunshots Continue ]
What ya need to get is a Winchester .30-30 like my pa got.
Ain’t nothin’ that can touch that rifle.
You know, you could pick off a deer at about 1 50 yards away...
but that’s open-sight, mind you.
Don’t get no Winchester .30-30.
Get yourself a Galil, an Israeli assault rifle. All right?
You can stick on twin banana clips...
pump out 60 rounds in three seconds.
- That’s what I’m talkin’ about. - Right? Yeah.
- That’s pretty good. - Yeah, that’s a lot of deer, I guess.
Lot of deer.
Right face.!
- At ease! - Carry on!
Go on, man.
- Straight ahead, sir. - Which one, Sergeant?
[ Whispering ] He’s comin’ to get me. He’s comin’ to get me. Ahem.
[ Murdoch ] Put down your tray, son.
[ Shouting Orders ]
Oh, this is too long for me.
[ Drill Sergeant ] Eyes front.!
[ Murdoch ] Carry on, Drill Sergeant.
- What? What? - You were right. He’s a sharp kid.
His real name is Nathanial Hobbs. He doctored his driver’s license.
- I hear it’s the smart thing to do in his line of work. - What? What?
He sold crack, Rago. Apparently he was quite the entrepreneur.
Wayne County Sheriff has a warrant out for his arrest.
Two counts possession.
I guess he thought he could hide out in the army.
Sorry, Bill.
Damn it!
- Life in the streets isn’t easy - That’s it.
- All I see is pain and misery - You forgot about these.
I kneel and pray for the victory
Strength and protection to survive
In this society
A wild kid out to get a bid
Did some shit that he never should a did
But he paid the price lived real trite
Ruined his life and lived by the knife
Had to learn the hard way
But someday you gotta pay
Hold it.! Wait.!
Wait! Wait up!
Wait. Look.
I talked to Colonel James.
This is ridiculous.
It’s the army.
- Teach. - I don’t know what to say.
Let it be.
I’m sorry this happened. I--
Just let it be, Teach.
‘Cause statistics show that kids with no dough
Ain’t got no chance got nowhere to go
- That’s why life on the streets-- -[ Davis ] Good luck, Hobbs.
- It’ll echo in your head ‘til you’re dead - Bye.
[ M.P.] Stay up, Hobbs.
- Poor bastard. - [ Sighs ]
He had the stuff.
He could a made it.
[ Ignition Starts ]
Life in the streets is a mystery
Don’t know my friends from my enemies
Up the ladder could be trouble
But I’ll hold on tight
And I will never never give up the fight
- How ya doin’, Miranda? - All right.
- [ Montgomery ] You all right? - Mm-hmm.
- Keep your head up. - All right. Um--
We just, uh-- we just finished the play within the play.
Um, so let’s discuss what happens.
Come on. You know what happens.
Wanna know what happens? I know what happens.
You try to stand up, and they knock you down.
Then you show ‘em that you’re smart...
and they get rid of your sorry ass.
- That’s what happens. - That’s right.
That’s the way it always goes. Hoo-ah?
[ All ] Hoo-ah.
A couple of days ago...
without discussing it with him...
I went to the army to ask them to look into Hobbs’s record.
- You did what, man? - [ Davis ] Oh, man.!
- [ Davis ] Oh, man. - [ Montgomery ] What’s the matter with you?
[ Recruits Chattering ]
I didn’t know anything about his past.
- Neither did any of you. - Yeah, right.
I believed in his potential. I wanted to see him succeed.
I am sorry for the result.
You sorry?
All I know is, the choices we make...
dictate the life we lead.
To thine own self be true.
- One, two, three-- - [ All ] One!
- One, two, three-- - Two!
- One, two, three-- - Three.!
[ Grunting ]
Hey, excuse me, sir. I’m lookin’ for the base chapel.
Base chapel? Go back around the curve ‘til you reach the P.X.
Ya hang a right. Ya come to that line of A.P.C.s, ya turn left.
Go half a click, ya come to the R.F.P.C. building.
- It’s right around the back. Got it? - Yeah.
- [ Platoon Leader ] Show the world - Yeah.
[ Recruits ] Show the world
Ma?
Ma, ya home?
[ Giggling, Laughing ]
Aah!
[ Whimpering ] Ooh, let’s see.
[ Giggling ]
Daddy.
[ Bill ] Hamlet’s mama she’s the queen
Buys it in the final scene
She buys it in the final scene
Drinks a glass of funky wine
- Now she’s Satan’s valentine - Now she’s Satan’s valentine
- Left, left, left, right-- - Warriors!
They come from the cities and they come from the smaller towns
- [ Montgomery ] They know the words too.! - From the beat-up cars
- Come on. Change it! - No, this is good!
Boom! Bang!
R-O-C-K in the U.S.A.
Yeah, yeaaaah
Rockin’ in the U.S.A.
- Mr. Rago, that’s funny. - All right, the joke’s over.
- Change it. - It’s gettin’ scary back here, Mr. Rago.
- Here we go. Guitar. - [ Radio Plays Guitar Solo ]
- [ Bill ] Go, Melvin.! - Uh-oh! Uh-oh!
Aah! [ Laughing ]
- Look at Mel! Look at Mel! - [ Laughing ]
[ Benitez ] He’s sick. Go, Mel.! Go, Mel.!
- Go, Mel.! - Give the drummer a solo.
- [ Shouting, Whooping ] - [ Davis ] Come on. Let’s take ‘em in.
There was Frankie Lymon, Bobby Fuller, Mitch Ryder--
Hey, Mr. Rago! I had enough.
Mr. Rago, let me out. Let me out!
- Don’t forget James Brown -James Brown.
-James Brown? James Brown! - Rockin’ in the U.S.A.
- Oh! Oh! Oh! - [ Yelling, Whooping ]
-James Brown! - All right! Turn it up!
R-O-C-K in the U.S.A.
- [ Montgomery And Leroy ] James Brown - R-O-C-Kin the U.S.A.
- James Brown - R-O-C-Kin the U.S.A.
- Sweet juicy brown - R-O-C-Kin the U.S.A.
- Bobby Brown - R-O-C-Kin the U.S.A.
- Snoop Doggy Brown - [ Bill ] R-O-C-Kin the--
All right, all right, all right, all right.
Okay, take it easy. Calm down a little. Hold it. Hold it.
Hi. How long are you staying in Canada?
- Couple of hours. - Where do ya live?
[ Together] In the U.S.A.!
- [ Radio ] R-O-C-Kin the U.S.A. - Okay.
[ Montgomery ] We gotta go to Canada to see Henry V?
[ Bill ] It’s the nearest theater it’s playin’.
[ Benitez ] This better be good.
[ War Drums Beating ]
[ Drumming Continues, Shouting ]
- It’s the drummer. Hey. Ya hear that? - [ Man ] Shh.
Turn around. What are you, the noise monitors?
Turn around. Turn around already. Aah.
Lend thee eye a terrible aspect.
Let it pry through the portage of the head like the brass cannon.
Let the brow overwhelm it as fearfully as doth a galled rock.
Now set the teeth...
and stretch the nostril wide.
Hold hard the breath and bend up every spirit to his full height.
On...
on you noblest English...
whose blood is fet from fathers of war-proof.
Fathers that like so many Alexanders have in these parts...
from morn ‘til even fought...
and sheathed their swords for lack of argument.
Dishonor not your mothers.
Now attest that those whom you called fathers did beget you.
Be copy now to men of grosser blood and teach them how to war.
And you, good yeomen...
whose limbs were made in England...
show us here the mettle of your pasture.
Let us swear that you are worth your breeding...
which I doubt not.
For there is none of you so mean and base...
that hath not noble luster in your eyes.
I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips...
straining upon the start.
- [ War Drums Beating ] - The game’s afoot.!
Follow your spirit...
and upon this charge cry...
- God for Harry. - Harry!
- England! - England!
And Saint George!
[ Men Shouting, Cheering ]
[ Shouting Continues ]
[ Grunting ]
[ Yelling ]
- Come on, Mel! - Aah!
- [ Melvin Groaning ] - Who shall be-eth my next victim?
- Yo! - I can’t wait to get back and do the push-ups.
- [ Laughing ] - Mel, you slept through the whole thing, didn’t you?
No, I didn’t sleep at all.
I really enjoyed it, Mr. Bill. I can’t thank you enough.
The best part was the drummer. The drummer was the best part of the whole joint.
Listen, I liked the whole thing. Everything was great.
I just didn’t like them stupid accents they used.
That’s so stupid. Why can’t they talk like us, right?
- Listen to yourself. - Listen to you!
- [ Haywood ] Rocky Balboa or somebody. - [ Laughing ]
[ Haywood ] Talk about an accent.
[ Benitez ] Henry Vsays...
[ Imitating Al Pacino ] Once more into the breach, dear friends, once more.
Or close the wall up with our English dead.
- In peace, there is nothing so becomes a man--’" - As shuttin’ the hell up.
[ With Cuban Accent ] Shut the hell up, okay?
- You’re drivin’ me crazy, okay? - Okay, okay. I said okay.
- Quiet, now. - One time you gotta tell me. One time.
- Where’d you get that? - At the theater. Relax, I paid for it.
Hump-ty dump-ty dump
- All together now - Hump-ty dump-ty dump
Ohh, humpty dumpty sat on a wall
Humpty dumpty had a great fall
Hump, make it funky now Hump, make it funky now
Hump-ty dump-ty dump
See, I need some information about a soldier who served in Vietnam.
- His name is Brian Davis, Sr. - Okay.
No, wait. It would be, actually, Brian Davis.
Grand Forks, North Dakota.
Okay. Are you C.I.D.?
Of course I’m C.I.D. Why else would I be here, right?
Excuse me one second.
Excuse me, Sergeant. He needs--
- [ Speaking Low ] - He does, huh? I’ll handle it, then.
- Hi. No. - What?
She’s not allowed to access those files...
without prior authorization from her supervisor.
I’m her supervisor.
But I just told her I was C.I.P.
C.I.T.?
C.I.G.?
- D.’’ - D.’’
I’m C.I.D. So, can I get the records?
- No. - Aw, come on. Is that all you ever say?
No.
Hmm. A window of opportunity.
[ Softly ] Huh?
No?
Mr. Bill, why do we need to know...
every Tom, Dick, and Orsic in this play anyhow?
Aha.
Melvin, I’m glad you asked.
- Where you goin’? - No, no, no.
[ Recruits ] Oh.! Aw.!
In four days, each and every one of you...
will be up in front of the class...
facin’ the firing squad.
- Who’s doin’ the shootin’? - Me.
You never said nothin’ ‘bout no damn test.
Nobody asked me. I’m the teacher.
- My hands are sweatin’ already. - I thought you was my boy. Give us a ride here.
No more rides, Montgomery. No more free passes.
Look, um, Mr. Rago, we talked about this. I’m not good at tests.
- [ Recruits Chattering ] - Look.
You are not dumb.
But I need you to know that.
that nobody gave you anything.
I want you to know what it feels like to make the grade...
all on your own.
You can do it.
I know it.
Victory starts here.
- [ Man ] Recruits, single file.! - I need you to fill these in...
and return ‘em with your attendance sheets A.S.A.P.
I need ‘em for the boys’ records. They graduate next week.
- What is this? - It’s a certificate. It says they’ve completed the course.
Oh. Well, they haven’t. Not yet.
I’ll sign ‘em when they pass the test.
Test? What test?
I’m giving ‘em a test this Friday.
- Oh, no, you’re not. - Oh, yes, I am.
Look, you don’t kid around with tests in the army.
- Tests are real things here. - That’s right, including mine.
Look, you’ve done your job. The Drill Sergeants are happy with your guys.
They’re makin’ it as soldiers. They don’t need your test.
You’re wrong, Tom. If they pass it, they’ll know they earned something.
And if they flunk it, they’re gone.
This isn’t Princeton. We don’t have summer school. You got it?
- [ Exhales ] - Sit down, please, Bill.
Look, I know you mean well...
but this time listen to me.
They’re almost there.
Don’t do to them what you did to Hobbs.
This came for you.
[ Hobbs ] Dear Mr. Rago...
thanks for all your letters.
I don’t know what you and Captain Murdoch wrote to the warden...
but it sure worked ‘cause I may be gettin’ outta here soon.
Just wanted you to know I been reading Othello.
Imagine that::
Mr. Shakespeare writin’ about a black man way back then...
and a soldier too.
Prison librarian says I’m the first to check out Shakespeare in 1 6 years.
She asked me if I was interested in signin’ up for some college classes.
I told her if they had a few teachers like you...
I just might.
Well, Mr. Rago, like Hamlet says...
""The rest is silence. ‘"
Sincerely...
Nathanial T. Hobbs.
Hey, Mr. Rago, let’s talk about the fight...
Yo, Billy, my boy, let’s get back to the graveyard...
‘cause them clowns diggin’ up them skulls-- that’s the mad stuff.
- Yo, what’s up with that? - All right. Okay.
Mr. Rago, does Hamlet have a last name or what?
[ Montgomery ] I know you know. You the man.
Yup. Yup. We’re gonna go over everything...
but, uh... but first I have to talk to you about something.
Um, according to the army...
[ Exhales ] you’re not required to take a test...
to pass this class.
Hallelujah! Hey, yo!
We passed! I give you an A+, Mel.
Thank you. Well, you get an A+ too. Now, hold on, Mr. Bill.
What are you sayin’ here...
that if we fail, we still pass?
No. If you take a test, and you fail...
you’re out.
You’re out of the army. Is that clear?
- What? - Um, you said if we take the test.
Yeah, Davis. The choice is yours.
Hold on. Hold on, Billy. How ‘bout if we take the test, pass the test?
We get a bonus? We get, like, keys to a car, cash, a prize maybe?
A little somethin’? Some incentive?
You get a prize.
Yeah.
But you can’t drive it...
or spend it...
or even see it.
All you can do is feel it.
What the hell kind of prize is that?
I got a family, all right? I need this job.
Imagine goin’ home, tellin’ your ma you got a Shakespearean discharge.
- Bill. - Hmm?
If you get any sadder, you’re gonna trip over your lip.
I’m sorry. Uh, I’m just not a fun date tonight.
Aw, just lighten up a little bit.
- People are gonna think I kidnapped you. - [ Laughs ]
You know, we get to keep these.
- Ah. - I have a lovely set of 1 6 at home.
I’m not much of a collector, but maybe if I get a bigger footlocker.
Yeah. Heh.
- You have a great sense of humor. - Well, I’m a staff sergeant.
- Staff Sergeant Marie. - Staff Sergeant Leighton to you.
- Staff Sergeant anything to me. - [ Woman ] Sergeant?
- Oh, there you are, Shana. Are you okay? - Sorry I’m late.
Mm-hmm. Hi.
- Remember me? - Hi.
I’m Shana. Shana Leroy. I believe you know my husband.
You’re Leroy’s--
Yeah. So is he.
Ah! I-I didn’t know that--
- Well, how’s the kid? - Fine.
- Oh. Oh. - You’re right, you know.
[ Chuckles ] Little joke.
- Yeah? - [ Chuckles ]
These are for you. Mr. Davis’s records.
Mr. Rago, can you put it--
[ Marie ] I would show it to Sergeant Cass first.
Marie.
Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you.
And thank you.
- [ Whispering ] Uh, I’m gonna-- - Yeah. Mm-hmm.
They’re on bivouac tonight.
- Mmm. Looks like things went well. - Yeah.
- Nice kiss? Mm-hmm. - Yes, it was. Thanks.
Oh.
[ Cass ] Said weapon was found...
approximately 50 yards to my left...
- in a large puddle of water. - [ Haywood ] It’s my rifle, Drill Sergeant!
Now, men, this is totally unacceptable!
[ Haywood ] Drill Sergeant, yes, Drill Sergeant.!
- Fall back in! - [ Bill ] Lou.!
Come here.! I got somethin’ for ya.!
Lou! Hey, Lou! Come here!
It’s important.!
[ Groans ] I know he does this on purpose.
[ Grunts ]
[ Cass ] Yes, I love this weather.! I love the rain.!
- He’s crazy. - I love it.!
This is where we really start trainin’!
Just because it’s rainin’, the battle doesn’t stop! Remember that!
- [ Cass ] Go.! - [ Recruits Grunting ]
[ Grunting ]
My old drill sergeant used to say-- go!
[ Shouting, Grunting ]
""If it ain’t rainin’, we ain’t trainin’.!’"
Oh, give me the rain! Give me the rain!
Yes, indeed.
Go.!
Private Melvin, front and center on the double!
Go.!
[ Recruits Shouting, Grunting ]
Private Melvin, you study Shakespeare.
Yes, sir, Drill Sergeant!
Go! Let me hear it, then.
I study Shakespeare, Drill Sergeant!
No.! No.! I wanna hear some.!
Recite it. Go!
Fall back in. Private Benitez!
Front and center.!
[ Grunts ]
Private Benitez, New York.
- You study Shakespeare? - Drill Sergeant, yes, Drill Sergeant!
All right. Let me hear some. Go!
I said I wanna hear some. Let’s go!
[ Shouting Continues ]
He that lives--
Come on, what? What was that? I can’t hear it!
Come on.! Go.!
[ Grunting, Shouting Continue ]
He that outlives this day...
and comes safe home...
will stand a-tiptoe when this day is named...
and rouse him at the name of Crispian.
I didn’t tell ya to stop. Keep goin’!
Go.!
He that shall live this day and see old age...
will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbors and say...
tomorrow is Saint Crispian.’’
Then will he strip his sleeves, show his scars...
and say, These wounds I had on Saint Crispian’s day.’’
Old men forget, yet all shall be forgot.
But he’ll remember with advantages...
what feats he did that day.
Then shall our names...
familiar in his mouth as household words...
Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter...
Warwick and Talbot...
Salisbury and Gloucester...
be in their flowing cups freshly remembered.
And this story shall the good man teach his son.
And Crispin Crispian shall ne’er go by...
from this day to the ending of the world...
but we in it shall be remembered.
[ Thunder Rumbling ]
We few...
we happy few...
we band of brothers.
For he today that sheds his blood with me...
shall be my brother.
And gentlemen in England now abed...
shall think themselves accursed they were not here...
and hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks...
who fought with us...
upon Saint Crispian’s day.
That enough, Drill Sergeant?
Yes, Benitez. Good.
- That was nice! - Good job!
Great.
What’s this?
These are Davis’s father’s records.
Do what you think is right.
One, two, three, four
- Warriors! - Double! Rear! Hesitate! March!
Ahh... ahh...
- damn! - Double! Rear!
Change step! March!
Ahh... ahh...
- damn good! - Change step! March!
Column left! March!
- Left, left, left, right, left. - Go, company. Company. Warriors.!
Left, left, left, right, left.
Left, left.
[ Leroy ] Squad, halt.!
Right face.!
Fall out to instructional positions.! Huh.!
[ Together] Ten, nine, eight, seven, six...
five, four, three, two, one, freeze!
I said freeze!
Squad, assume test positions! Huh!
Sir.! Double-D squad reporting for final exam... sir.
Hoo-ah!
I feel sorry for Ophelia ‘cause she kills herself.
‘Cause first Hamlet dumps her, and then he kills her father.
It was an accident, but he did it.
that he really did love her.
Suicide ain’t the way out.
A lot of people are on their own, and they make it.
- The ghost. - Excellent.
- Benitez. - Uh, Yorick.
Yorick.
Yeah. Haywood.
Laertes.
Gimme somebody else.
- Laertes, Haywood. - Laertes is a fool!
He ain’t never stopped to think about what type of person Hamlet was.
All he does is do what the king tells him to do.
When he fights Hamlet, all they do is end up killin’ each other.
That’s his problem. He don’t stop and think before he acts. I want somebody else, Bill.
[ Bill ] Queen Gertrude. Fortinbras.
What did we learn from the graveyard scene?
- Leroy. - Well, maybe it means something, maybe it don’t, but, um--
Well, I can see why the gravedigger say he went to work the very day Hamlet was born.
I mean-- Well, it’s kinda funny when you think about it.
The day you’re born, you start to die.
You see, when Hamlet see that skull in the graveyard, he see the light.
Skull ain’t got no tongue, you see?
That’s why later, when Hamlet’s lyin’ there, dyin’...
he won’t let his man Horatio kill himself.
Say, Nah, man. I’m already gone.
Don’t fall on your sword for me.
""You gotta go on and be my tongue...
tell my story, so I can live on.’’
You dig what I’m sayin’?
It’s deep, ya know?
- Yeah, it’s way deep. Two times. - Yeah. All right.
Two times, baby. Three times.
So what do we get out of this play?
Melvin.
Ya know...
all the people in the play-- the kings and the queens and the princes-- they all die.
And in the end, all that’s left is the two guys...
Fortinbras and Horatio.
A soldier and a student.
Ain’t that somethin’?
That is something, Melvin.
Some eight or nine weeks ago, a young man or woman...
apprehensively boarded a train, plane, or got into a car...
and began a journey to become a part of something...
they only knew vaguely as the army.
That’s Marie over there.
- [ Colonel James ] They did not go away to do something. - [ Bill ] See?
This is Emily. My daughter.
[ Emily ] Hi.
I met her here. Well, you could tell.
- She’s cute. - Thank you. Well, she’s very nice.
Today, we see them on this graduation field.
They are somehow stronger, prouder...
more mature, changed.
Today, you fine young men and women...
assume your positions as guardians of America’s future...
and that future looks bright indeed...
for both you and your country.
But we must never forget our debt of gratitude to the past...
and those who have served the army so bravely...
and so well.
That is why I am especially proud...
to dedicate this ceremony...
to a fallen, but not forgotten, American hero.
A young radio operator serving in Vietnam...
whose platoon came under mortar attack near the outpost at Soc Trang.
This soldier held his post under fire...
to relay coordinates...
which facilitated an artillery response.
This soldier gave his own life...
in order to prevent the loss...
of so many others.
I want to thank a civilian instructor...
for pointing out this oversight...
Mr. William Rago...
for his efforts in seeing that the family of this fallen soldier...
receives the honor he so richly deserves.
Company, attention!
Son, it’s an honor to present to you...
your father’s silver star.
About face.!
[ Band Plays Washington Post March’’ ]
[ Drill Sergeant ] Eyes right.!
Gee, they’re tough.
To the right, march!
[ Drill Sergeant ] Eyes right.!
- Forward march.! - There’s Miranda.
Face front.!
That’s them. That’s them.
Eyes right!
Ready! Front!
Double-D’s, eyes right!
[ Band Plays ""The Caisson Song’"]
[ Band Continues ]
[ Whistling The Caisson Song’’ ]
[ Cass ] Get in step.! Left, right, left.
- Left-- - Stay together!
Left, left, left, right, left.
Signin’ up for another term, Bill?
Sir, yes, sir!
That’s the way the English do it, Rago.
- Your left, your left, your left, right, left. - [ Chuckling ]
Left, left.
[ Cass ] Hamlet’s mama she’s the queen
Buys it in the final scene
Now she’s Satan’s valentine
[ Recruits ] Now she’s Satan’s valentine
[ Drumroll ]
Maybe one day we’ll be united
Oh, oh, yeah
And our love won’t be divided
Maybe one day we’ll be united
Ooh-ooh-ooh
And our love won’t be divided
Oh-oh-oh-oh
In a hungry nation, yes you’ll get a hungry people
Peace, I gotta plead for calm
I seen too many kids in the city they’re fallin’
In the streets, it’s right a waste of a life
‘Cause he got it by the bullet or he’s stuck with a knife
Chill, it ain’t the way to go
You can’t kill the next man just to get the dough
We gotta fight tonight but we gotta fight right
Can’t fight for the dough gotta fight to unite
Maybe one day we’ll be united
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah
And our love won’t be divided
Ooh, ooh, yeah, yeah
Maybe one day we’ll be united
United
And our love won’t be divided
Oh-oh-oh-oh
In America they come and take over
In Kingston, Jamaica
Me nah joke, me nah play me nah jester
Respects Abu Baka Respects Mandela
Bob Marley he tell the genuine stuff
If you live by the gun now you will perish by the gun
We need O-N-E L-O-V-E
Why not see why before we all die
But you don’t listen you don’t understand
Still kickin’ that bullshit tryin’ to be the man
Well, you wanna go and do it with your own piece
‘Cause when you’re rough you be from the streets
You gonna go against the man with the corporation
Get an education to rebuild the nation
Maybe one day we’ll be united
Ooh, yeah, yeah, yeah
And our love won’t be divided
Oh, oh, yeah, yeah
Maybe one day we’ll be united
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
And our love won’t be divided
Maybe one day we’ll be united
Ooh, yeah, yeah, yeah
And our love won’t be divided
Oh, oh, yeah, yeah
Maybe one day we’ll be united
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
And our love won’t be divided
Maybe one day we’ll be united
United
And our love won’t be divided