Uplifting tale is where it belongs again
Overload on romance as iconic 80s film goes live
SQUEEZED into a tight white pilot’s uniform, Richard Gere, at the height of his hunky powers, swaggering into a factory to sweep his girl off her feet and into a ripplearmed embrace.
We all remember that iconic — some may say barf-in-your-bucket — romantic final scene in An Officer and a Gentleman, played to the epic strains of Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes’s Up Where We Belong. But would you believe this was almost the ending that never was?
Over at the press preview for the new stage musical of An Officer and a Gentleman, in Leeds, Douglas Day-Stewart — who wrote the 1982 film, which was one of the highest grossing movies of all time and co-wrote this latest musical version with Sharleen Coopher Cohen — revealed if Gere had his way, we’d have been cheated out of this fairytale.
Now in his 80s, Dougie, who epitomises old Hollywood with his gleaming white teeth, and permatan, revealed of his close pal Gere: ‘We’d one piece of disagreement — Richard wasn’t so sure that anyone in the modern era would buy the idea of a white-suited officer going into a dingy factory and carrying a girl out in his arms and the director agreed with him.
‘So on the day, we were shooting in this awful looking paper factory in Seattle.
‘I went in and they were just walking out and I went up to the director Taylor and asked why they weren’t shooting it as I wanted and he said, “Dougie, we never intended for that to be the case — who would believe that would happen?”’
To appease Dougie, they shot two scenes.
He adds: ‘But later on when Richard and I saw the film with the song in that moment he looked at me and said, “You’re right — it really works”.’
BUT more than 30 years later, does it still work? Now that we’ve found ourselves slap-bang in the golden age of 1980s’ nostalgia musicals — Dirty Dancing and Flashdance spring to mind — it’s not too much of a surprise An Officer and a Gentleman has been rejigged for the stage.
Close your eyes and for those of us of a certain age, it’s like being flung back to the 80s, listening to that mix-tape you recorded off the radio. The power ballads will have fans of the decade dancing in their seats but many film fans wondering what in hell the connection to the story is anyway.
The big hits just keep on coming — The Final Countdown is in there, as is Livin’ on a Prayer, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Hearts on Fire and St Elmo’s Fire.
The relevance of the songs to the scenes is sometimes confusing however, they’re all belted out brilliantly by the heavyweight crooning ensemble.
Leading the band of women is multi-Olivier award-winning lead, Emma Williams, playing Paula and Jessica Daley, her scheming pal, Lynette. In the stage version, about to open at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, we are whisked jauntily through the story of tough guy Zack Mayo’s road to redemption via a drunk dad, a ferocious flight school drill sergeant, a dead friend, a romantic entanglemant and ultimately true love with local factory worker, Paula.
Jonny Fines plays a pitch-perfect Zack, although sadly without the rogueish, bad-boy edge lent by Gere to the part in the movie.
The 1982 film, directed by Taylor Hackford, was inspired by Dougie’s own life.
He explained: ‘I went through a 13-week story, which was the most difficult thing I tried to do.
‘I went through a learning experience with a drill instructor who turned me from a boy into a man. I met a beautiful factory girl who I thought of marrying and carrying out of that factory — it didn’t happen, I had a tough dad.
‘I took all of these experiences and when I became a screenwriter I brought them all together.’
Decades on, and Dougie is still keeping a very close eye on his ‘baby’ — it deviates very little from the original script so I suspect movie fans will be a tad bored and disappointed most of the dialogue seems to be straight lifts from the film script, albeit with the more colourful exchanges — that lent a dark, dirty rawness to the film — airbrushed out.
Ray Shell playing the asswhipping drill sergeant Emil with aplomb but without the curses.
For me, this whitewash resulted in a cheesy overload that can be hard to swallow but that’s musicals for you. Us modern day gals can’t imagine sitting around in dead end villages and factories, waiting for our knights in shining armour to sweep us off our feet so the basic ‘girls seeking their happy ever after’ premise jars a tad.
But one of the best scenes is played out on the factory floor with the factory girls angrily booming out It’s A Man’s World, while Keisha Atwell, playing Casey and Maisey Bawden, also show remarkable vocal range.
But we all know where we’re headed and when the final scene comes, it’s corny as hell but the audience love it anyway.
Richard, how could you get it so wrong?
Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, May 28 – June 2. Tickets from €21, bordgáisenergytheatre.ie.