#75 - "An Officer and A Gentleman" (1982) with Ron West

Famed movie critic Roger Ebert said that this 80’s flick was the best movie about love that he’d seen in a long time. His original reviews states “Maybe that's because it's not about ‘love’ as a Hollywood concept, but about love as growth, as learning to accept other people for who and what they are. There's romance in this movie…but what makes the film so special is that the (romance) and everything else is presented within the context of its characters finding out who they are, what they stand for and what they will not stand for.” Get ready to be swept off your feet and let love lift you up where you belong as Tim Williams and guest co-host, Ron West, discuss “An Officer and A Gentleman” from 1982 on this episode of the 80’s Flick Flashback Podcast!

Here are some additional behind the scenes trivia we were unable to cover in this episode:

• In his book An Actor and a Gentleman Louis Gossett Jr. says that although he was honored to win his Oscar for this film especially being in competition with other veteran actors, he was disappointed that his co-star Richard Gere was not only not nominated for an Oscar, but he felt Gere should have been nominated and even won an Oscar for his role in this film. Many critics and others agreed with Gossett's sentiment feeling Gere should have been nominated for this performance, and as of January 2022 Gere has yet to be nominated for an Oscar.
• Paula (Debra Winger) shows Zach (Richard Gere) a photograph of her biological father, revealing that he was an Officer Candidate. The picture was actually of screenwriter Douglas Day Stewart when he graduated from Pensacola.

Sources:

Wikipedia, IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, Box Office Mojo

https://www.eightieskids.com/things-you-might-not-have-realised-about-an-officer-and-a-gentleman/

https://www.fast-rewind.com/making_officergentleman.htm

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/an-officer-and-a-gentleman-1982

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