Private Benjamin

1980
AA
1h 49m

IMDb RATING

6.2/10

30K

YOUR RATING

Play trailer2:42

1 Video

58 Photos

Satire Comedy War

A sheltered young high-society woman joins the United States Army on a whim and finds herself in a trickier situation than she ever expected.A sheltered young high-society woman joins the United States Army on a whim and finds herself in a trickier situation than she ever expected.A sheltered young high-society woman joins the United States Army on a whim and finds herself in a trickier situation than she ever expected.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.2/10

30K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 3 Oscars
- 1 win & 6 nominations total

Videos1

Trailer 2:42

Private Benjamin

Photos57

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Goldie Hawn signed onto Private Benjamin in June 1979 and went through boot camp training for six weeks.

Goofs
When the girls are in the war games and capture the Red Team truck the Sgt throws the keys away. Army vehicles do not require keys to start. The ignition is hardwired to a start button on the dash. EDIT: Every vehicle in the Army then required a key. If the vehicle did have a starter button (a switch on floor akin to the old headlight dimmer switches in cars) it would still be secured when parked by a chain welded to the floor and running up through the steering wheel and secured with a padlock. You can start it, but you can't steer it unless you have the key. Throwing away the key isn't a factual mistake.

Quotes
Judy Benjamin: I think they sent me to the wrong place.
Capt. Doreen Lewis: Uh-huh.
Judy Benjamin: See, I did join the army, but I joined a *different* army. I joined the one with the condos and the private rooms.

Crazy credits
Opening credits prologue:

When Judy Benjamin was eight years old, she confessed her life's desire to her best friend.

"All I want," Judy whispered, "is a big house... nice clothes, two closets, a live-in maid, and a professional man for a husband."

Today, all of Judy's dreams come true.

Alternate versions
In the 1997 VHS and DVD prints, the 1984 Warner Bros. Pictures logo was used as the opening plaster and the film rating that originally appears following the film is removed.

Connections
Featured in Sneak Previews: Why Would I Lie?, Terror Train, Gloria, Private Benjamin (1980)

Soundtracks
Hava Nagila
(uncredited)
Israeli folk song
played at Judy and Yale's wedding reception

User reviews80

Featured review

A funny comedy

This film is about a unfortunate young lady whose husband dies on their wedding night. She copes with her sorrow by mistakenly enlisting in the United States army.

"Private Benjamin" is very funny! Even the film is already thirty years old, the jokes are timeless. The scene that Goldie Hawn explaining that she is sent to the wrong army is hilarious. Well, actually the whole section about her adjusting to the fact that Army life is not a holiday is hilarious. Even though I have seen similar story lines before, it is still hilarious. If only all the comedies stood the test of time like "Private Benjamin"!