Flashback Friday: A Few Good Men (Reiner, 1992)

"You can't handle the truth!" That's right, twenty years ago Jack Nicholson uttered these famous lines for the first time, uttering an era of immitators. Director Rob Reiner's Marine trial landed a spot in the top five of AFI's Greatest Courtroom Dramas Of All Time, and remains one of the most influential movies of the 1990's. Today on Flashback Friday, we're celebrating the 20th Anniversary of A Few Good Men. 

Tom Cruise shines as Lt. Daniel Kaffee, a JAG lawyer known for plea bargains who is assigned the defense of two young marines charged for murder. These marines, Lance Corporal Harold Dawson and Private First Class (Pfc.) Louden Downey, enacted an accidentally fatal "Code Red" on Pfc. William Santiago while stationed at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Dawson and Downey claim that this illegal "Code Red" was ordered by Lt. Jonathan Kendrick (Kiefer Sutherland), who was in turn under the command of the powerful Col. Nathan R. Jessup (Jack Nicholson).

Working with internal affairs officer Lt. Cdr. JoAnne Galloway (Demi Moore) and his friend Lt. Sam Weinberg (Kevin Pollack), Kaffee begins to investigate Santiago's murder. Along the way, he finds a trail of corruption and illegal activities happening on the military base at Guantanamo Bay. Realizing that there's more to the murder than meets the eye, Kaffee rejects the plea bargain and goes head-to-head with prosecution lawyer Captain Jack Ross (Kevin Bacon) in the defense of Dawson and Downey.


Funny and entertaining, while at the same time serious and topical, A Few Good Men succeeds at being a great courtroom drama. It's stellar ensemble cast dives into their roles with style, and have great chemistry with one another. Easily one of the most engrossing courtroom dramas, the film's final scene is electrifying in its intensity, silencing even the most stoic of critics.

As a character drama with a point to make, few other movies can match Reiner's in terms of development and character study. Lt. Kaffee is a real hero, strong yet scared of the consequences of losing such an easily contested trial. Think about it: he's defending two murderers, and whether they are accidental or not, the fact remains that they personally killed Pfc. Santiago. Even the jury seems to have made up their mind beforehand. Lt. Kaffee is a brilliant trial lawyer, and combats every point with an equally intelligent rebuttal. Lt. Cdr. Galloway and Lt. Weinberg offer interesting foils for Kaffee, as either ends of the trial's extreme; she's confident of their victory, but he's sure they are going to lose.

Jack Nicholson's Col. Jessup is a fun villain, appearing in only a few key moments of the film. But, much like Hannibal Lecter before him, the most memorable scenes of the movie are with Col. Jessup. Who can't help but repeatedly quote and instantly recognize his infamous monologue about the ethics of leading a military base? Hint: In addition to Tom Cruises's inability to handle the truth, Col. Jessup's speech includes such lines as "You want me on that wall, you need me on that wall!";"We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as a backbone of life worth defending something. You use them as a punchline,"; and, of course, "Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to!"

There's so much to A Few Good Men that makes it a good movie. Aaron Sorkin's script is both beautiful and relevant to today's controversial military activities, striking at the heart of everyone who watches the film. Twenty years after its release, we're still cheering on those few good men who stand up for what they believe in- no matter what the cost. It's not enough to obey orders. You have to stick up for what's right. That's a truth that's easy to handle.