Where to watch In the Army Now
2 1/2 Stars
Bones and Jack are two guys with very little going right in their lives. The two decide to join the Army as part of the water purification team and eventually find themselves on the front lines in the conflict between the northern African countries of Chad and Libya. The two men, along with a few companions, have it upon themselves to save the day in combat, something they know little about.
Military-themed comedies have been big hits for a large number of classic screen comedians. Pauly Shore continues the longstanding cinematic tradition with In the Army Now, an occasionally laugh-out-loud funny but mostly dull wartime desert comedy. While Shore’s films did business at the box office, it was on home video where they reached the masses. In the post-Eddie Murphy boom and in the vacuum before Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler dominated the genre for the rest of the decade, Pauly Shore was the premiere name in comedic movies. Encino Man and Son-in-Law, both classics, launched Shore into superstardom, and while his follow-up movies In the Army Now, Jury Duty, and Bio-Dome weren’t in the same league as those early hits, they are guilty pleasures, and they have aged really well.
In The Army Now has lots of energy and laughs during its first half; neither are present during the film’s second half. Shore is amusing, and director Daniel Petrie Jr. places him among a quality set of supporting cast members, including David Allen Grier, Lynn Whitfield, Andy Dick, and Esai Morales. The lack of sustained forward momentum derails the goodwill built up in the first 45 minutes, and In the Army Now becomes less engaging as Shore, Grier, and Dick are required (or have chosen) to play the material straight and to less comedic effect. Still, a mediocre Pauly Shore movie from the 1990s is far more enjoyable than any comedy released in the last 15 years.
Directed by: Daniel Petrie Jr.
Written by: Steve Zacharias, Jeff Buhai, Robbie Fox
Starring: Pauly Shore, Lori Petty, Andy Dick