An Officer and A Gentleman
The Story
Richard Gere plays Zack Mayo, an aloof, taciturn man who aspires to be a navy pilot. Once he’s arrived at training camp for his 13-week officer’s course, Mayo runs afoul of abrasive, no-nonsense drill sergeant Emil Foley (Louis Gossett Jr.).
Mayo –or “Mayonnaise,” as he is dubbed by the irascible Foley — is an excellent cadet, but a little cold around the heart. Foley rides Mayo mercilessly, sensing that the young man would be prime officer material if he weren’t so self-involved. Zack’s affair with working girl Paula Pokrifi (Debra Winger) is likewise compromised by his unwillingness to give of himself. Only after Mayo’s best friend Sid Worsley (David Keith) commits suicide over an unhappy romance does Zack come out of his shell and mature into a real human being.
(by Hal Erickson, Rotten Tomatoes)
Extract 1 – Act 1
The first extract begins with Zack in a hotel bedroom after a wild night of celebrating his graduation. In flashback, we see his early childhood and difficult relationship with Byron, his father. He tells Byron that he has applied to become a navy pilot. The extract ends with the inciting incident: Zack’s arrival at boot camp.
Extract 2 – Act 2
The second extract is taken from near the beginning of Act 2 and an added complication to the storyline. It is also the first major reversal of the protagonist in pursuit of his goals. Zack is busted by Foley for black marketeering and put through a punishing weekend of drilling to force him to resign. Zack refuses but is only saved from being kicked off by the intervention of Sid and Paula at a crucial moment. The repentant Zack gives away his ‘goods’ to the same recruit he had earlier refused.
Extract 3 – Act 3
The third extract follows on from the crisis at the end of Act 2 (Sid’s suicide) and shows Zack threatening to leave the program and challenging Foley to a fight. In the resolution of this crisis, Zack reverses again; he sucessfully graduates as an officer and reclaims Paula as his love.
A structural analysis of An Officer and A Gentleman (PDF) that discusses its themes, characters and act climaxes.
“An Officer and A Gentleman” – Complete script (PDF)