MAJOR PAYNE


US, 1996, 95 minutes, Colour.
Damon Wayans, Karyn Parsons, Michael Ironside, Steven Martini, Orlando Brown, William Hickey.
Directed by Nick Castle.

This is a 1990s comedy for a family audience. And enjoyment will depend on how the audience responds to the comic antics, manner of speaking, facial tics of comedian, Damon Wayans.

With its military title, the film begins with Major Payne in action in drug wars in Central America, the absolute textbook – and beyond – of an American Marine, inflicting pain, even on his own side. He has a squeaky voice, however, and is a bit more sinister because of his couple of gold teeth.

However, in reporting in after so many missions, he is found to be redundant but pleads to remain in the military. He gets his wish – but, it is not a mission that he would have chosen.

There have been any number of American films about somebody put in charge of training the least likely collection of youngsters to achieve anything. There are baseballers in The Mighty Ducks…

Payne is assigned to a school and especially to a group of more than most unlikely recruits for military training. They are slovenly. They laugh at him. But he soon puts a stop to that, getting them to do push-ups and situps, even having all their heads shaved. Major Payne is a by the book kind of person, no personal life, his main enjoyment being reassembling his rifle, no personal relationships, very demanding on others and with something of a sadistic mean streak.

The motley crowd of kids defies any belief in the first place because of their inadequacies and limitations – including a very short six-year-old – but that they should become a successful military squad and win a trophy! It has to be seen to be believed.

There is a teacher at the school who momentarily stops Major Payne in his tracks and his discovering some emotions. She is played by Karyn Parsons. She gives him a book to read about sensitivity, but his interpretation is fairly outlandish, especially telling the six-year-old a restructured version of the little engine who could, action in an explosive war situation.

The kids try all kinds of tricks on him to get rid of him, the cake that should cause diarrhoea but didn’t, a set up with one of the boys dress up as a girl and their taking photos in compromising positions but it resulting in their having to do a parade all dressed in dresses. Major Payne challenges them to go on a raid to rob the trophy that they want to win, leading to a brawl and their being bashed.

Payne takes the opportunity to give them a morale boosting talk, challenge them to want to win, they agree to go through all the discipline and, in contrast to their awkwardness in the initial training, they become very efficient.

Complications. Obviously Payne is attracted to the teacher, going out to dinner with her (and his demolishing food in rapid rate which his recruits also imitate), enjoying dancing with her. Then he gets an answer to his request to rejoin the marinies and be sent on a mission. Obviously, it will clash with the final parade and the winning of the trophy. The youngsters are dismayed at his absence, but, of course, he turns up and everything turns out very, very well.

Wayans was one of the sons of a very successful entertainment family of directors and actors who made their mark on television in In Living Colour.