I remembered this movie from way back and decided to look it up. So glad I did. I found it to be hilarious. I realize that it deals with serious subject matter but there was definitely comedy there. I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes. It is called a "black comedy", I am really not sure why, the movie was comedic and upbeat to me with only a few serious moments. The lengths that military brass go to in order to get approval for production is unreal. It does however make for a funny story line. Cary Elwes, Kelsey Grammar, John McGinley, Richard Benjamin all seemed to have played off one another and it worked well. I would recommend this movie.

The Pentagon is trying to field a new armored personnel carrier into production to replace the aging M113. The main objective was a vehicle that could get combat troops into the battle as quickly and safely as possible. So when the design was finally established certain generals decided they wanted the Bradley Armored Personnel Carrier to be able to do additional missions as well. So a larger cannon was added which caused it to be larger. Since it was larger it became more of a target so additional armor was added. But since it had more armor it caused it to be slower and so aluminum replaced steel. And so on. Eventually, rather than having a vehicle that could get soldiers into the field quickly and safely, it became a monstrosity that was actually unsafe for the soldiers. Yet rather than admit these design flaws the decision was made to hurry up production as if getting the project approved was the ultimate symbol of success. At any rate, this film is so funny because this scenario is so close to the truth when it comes to the military industrial complex. Billions of dollars (with a "b") are spent on weapons contracts while soldiers are constantly short-changed on a litany of issues important to them. Be that as it may I thought Kelsey Grammar ("General Partridge") and Cary Elwes ("LTC James Burton) performed in an excellent manner. I also enjoyed the performance of Viola Davis as the loyal sergeant, "SFC Fanning". In short, this is a really good film that I highly recommend for anyone who has ever served or cares to see what goes on behind closed doors. Again, it's closer to the truth than many people realize.

This movie could have been good to watch on a big screen. The humor is good, the dialogues are fine and the actors never overact. General Partridge (Kelsey Grammer) forgets that the business of war begins with providing good material to the troops. Colonel James Burton (Cary Elwes) knows this and he delivers a speech to the test-company that must make a demonstration of the Bradley troop transporter. The senatorial commission cannot understand that the development costs of the vehicle lasted for 17 years and costed 14 billion dollars. The hearings and questions of that commission provides one of the most humoristic scenes of the movie and are unsurpassed by other political movies.

Cary Elwes, who sounds like a cross between Martin Sheen and Richard Dreyfus, is pretty good as the earnest innocent, and Kelsey Grammar is superb as his immediate boss, blustering and puffed up and brimming with admiration for ex-military comrades who have gone into the private sector and make enough money to "buy and sell us ten times over." Supporting players are adequate, especially the full colonel and the major who are Grammar's flunkies. The two are outstanding as they wince, roll their eyes, and fiddle their fingers nervously when things begin to go wrong. The story involves an attempt on the part of the military to produce a simple, speedy personnel carrier. Bit by bit, overweight generals beef it up with additional heavy firepower, TOW missiles, more armor and ammunition, portholes for firing through, amphibious capacity, and whatnot, until the original objective is lost sight of, there being not much room left for personnel to be carried. The number of carried personnel dwindles from 11 to 6 in order to make room for additional ammunition and equipment. The thing is also a death trap. It is made partly of lightweight aluminum which, as the Brits discovered in the Falklands, gives off toxic gas when it burns, and it burns readily, as it would if, say, it were hit by an anti-tank round.The R&D program rolls along for 17 years and costs 14 billion dollars. And test results look pretty good based, as they are, on deceit. Elwes, as Burton, the congress-appointed rather junior overseer, fights the bureaucracy all the way and in the end has the congressional hearings he's been pushing toward. Yes, it looks like a happy ending. But we are left wondering as the epilogues appear on the screen. Burton was forced to retire. Grammar's character was promoted. The Bradley was put into trimmer shape before the Gulf War and this reduced casualties, but plans were already underway to beef it up again. According to the Bradley web site provided by the army, the beefing up has been completed. The way it is now described closely resembles the version that Elwes fought. It still has a dangerously high profile for a scout vehicle, a heavy turret, TOW missiles that must be reloaded from outside the vehicle, aluminum parts, inflatable tubes to make it amphibious, and it still can carry only 6 infantrymen. (The scout version designed for the cavalry can only carry two.) Caspar Weinberger, played by Richard Benjamin, is portrayed as honest and determined. But his orders to his subordinates are vacuous. Like, "I want reports on this vehicle, and I want them soon." So what? In real life, Weinberger was known as "Cap the Knife" when he ran the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, because he cut so many programs to save the taxpayer's money. At Defense, he lost the nickname and became much more generous with the taxpayer's money, indulging the military and business whims despite criticism from the taxpayers. People like Weinberger were ultimately responsible for the messy process we see in this movie. As sociology, it's pretty funny. As a more or less true story it would be ridiculous if its implications weren't so tragic.