Back to trending
Private Benjamin

Private Benjamin

Comedy · 1980

A sheltered young high society woman joins the US Army on a whim and finds herself in a more difficult situation than she ever expected.

Movie details

Private Benjamin

“The Army was no laughing matter until Judy Benjamin joined it.”

1980 Comedy 1h 50m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

6.2 / 10

31.3K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

84 %

Tomatometer

Metacritic

59 / 100

Metascore

TMDB

6.0 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

A sheltered young high society woman joins the US Army on a whim and finds herself in a more difficult situation than she ever expected.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Private Benjamin?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Babes

Babes

Comedy · 2024

After getting pregnant from a one-night stand, a single woman leans on her married best friend and mother of two to guide her through gestation and beyond.

The TV Set

The TV Set

Comedy · 2007

As a writer named Mike struggles to shepherd his semi-autobiographical sitcom into development, his vision is slowly eroded by a domineering network executive named Lenny who favors trashy reality programming. The irony, of course, is that every crass suggestion Lenny makes improves the show's response from test audiences and brings the show a step closer to getting on the air.

Mr. Roosevelt

Mr. Roosevelt

Comedy · 2017

A young woman returns home and must confront her ex-boyfriend when an unexpected tragedy occurs.

Wet Hot American Summer

Wet Hot American Summer

Comedy · 2001

It's the last day of Camp Firewood's season, but there's still time for the big talent show, a little romance… and for everyone to be wiped out by the piece of NASA's Skylab that's hurtling toward Earth.

Step Sisters

Step Sisters

Comedy · 2018

Jamilah has her whole life figured out. She's the president of her black sorority, captain of their champion step dance crew, is student liaison to the college dean, and her next move is on to Harvard Law School. She's got it all, right? But when the hard-partying white girls from Sigma Beta Beta embarrass the school, Jamilah is ordered to come to the rescue. Her mission is to not only teach the rhythmically-challenged girls how to step dance, but to win the Steptacular, the most competitive of dance competitions. With the SBBs reputations and charter on the line, and Jamilah's dream of attending Harvard in jeopardy, these outcast screw-ups and their unlikely teacher stumble through one hilarious misstep after another. Cultures clash, romance blossoms, and sisterhood prevails as everyone steps out of their comfort zones.

Jimmy Carr: Natural Born Killer

Jimmy Carr: Natural Born Killer

Comedy · 2024

Jimmy Carr refutes the idea that you can't joke about anything these days with his edgy takes on gun control, religion, cancel culture and consent.

The Dictator

The Dictator

Comedy · 2012

The heroic story of a dictator who risks his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed.

Bananas

Bananas

Comedy · 1971

When a bumbling New Yorker is dumped by his activist girlfriend, he travels to a tiny Latin American nation and becomes involved in its latest rebellion.

Ladies First

Ladies First

Comedy · 2026

An arrogant but charismatic ladies' man finds his life of money, power and casual flings upended when he wakes up in a parallel world dominated by women.

Freelance

Freelance

Action · 2023

An ex-special forces operative takes a job to provide security for a journalist as she interviews a dictator, but a military coup breaks out in the middle of the interview, they are forced to escape into the jungle where they must survive.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Howard Zieff

Written by

Nancy Meyers · Charles Shyer · Harvey Miller

Goldie Hawn

Goldie Hawn

Judy Benjamin

Eileen Brennan

Eileen Brennan

Capt. Doreen Lewis

Armand Assante

Armand Assante

Henrí Trémont

Robert Webber

Robert Webber

Col. Clay Thornbush

Sam Wanamaker

Sam Wanamaker

Teddy Benjamin

Barbara Barrie

Barbara Barrie

Harriet Benjamin

Mary Kay Place

Mary Kay Place

Pvt. Mary Lou Glass

Court is in session

Put Private Benjamin on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Popcorn Loyalist

“It owes the canon nothing.”

The movie pursues immediacy and audience pleasure without begging institutions to certify its worth.

The prosecution The Big-Idea Head

“Easy pleasure, short half-life.”

It moves efficiently through the moment but offers little reason to keep arguing once the credits end.