Private Benjamin is a 1980 American comedy film directed by Howard Zieff, written by Nancy Meyers, Charles Shyer, and Harvey Miller, and starring Goldie Hawn, Eileen Brennan, and Armand Assante.
The film was one of the biggest box office hits of 1980, grossing $69 million against its $9 million budget, and also spawned a short-lived television series starring Lorna Patterson as Judy Benjamin, with Brennan reprising her role as Captain Lewis. It received three nominations at the 53rd Academy Awards: Best Actress (Hawn), Best Supporting Actress (Brennan), and Best Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen. Private Benjamin ranked No. 82 on the American Film Institute's 100 Years...100 Laughs list, and No. 59 on Bravo's list of "100 Funniest Movies".
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Plot
Judy Benjamin, a 28-year-old Jewish woman from a sheltered wealthy upbringing whose lifelong dream is to "marry a professional man", is devastated after Yale Goodman, her new husband, dies on their wedding night. Emotionally adrift, Judy tells her story on a radio call-in show and meets another caller, Army recruiter SFC James Ballard, who leads her to believe military life will provide the "family" she seeks. He also pitches the service pointing out attractive duty stations and that it has benefitted women. Judy has a rude awakening upon arriving at basic training at Fort Biloxi. Army regulations and the disapproval of Captain Doreen Lewis and Sergeant First Class L.C. Ross, the drill sergeant, frustrate Judy.
