A Soldier's Sweetheart

While Sutherland, and Ulrich were both great,and the story had you for the first half.. the second half was, shall we say, too far a stretch of the imagination, to be able to conceive of any thing of this sort happening , a much more solidly built actress, or better all around actress was needed, Cates was wholly unbelievable as the-- "sweet innocent butterfly turning into the manipulative, aggressive spider" character!

Of all the short stories from Tim O'Brien's book, "The Things They Carried", why did they pick this one? I could have picked better ones to put on the silver screen.

Otherwise, it did a good job, on the surface, of telling the story. But it seemed (to me, who has read the book) to unnecessarily drag on.

And what's up with the last scene? (Although I saw it coming for miles)

Another example of a good book turned into a mediocre movie

"A Soldier's Sweetheart" has Sutherland as a hunkered down Army medic in Vietnam telling an incredible tale to a disbelieving comrade. The tale, which is the bulk of the film, is about his experiences with another soldier (Ulrich) at a sort of mini-MASH outpost who manages to have his civilian sweetheart (real life spouse Cates) from home brought to him "in country" where the pert female finds herself enjoying her unauthorized vacation-of-sorts in war torn Vietnam a little too much. The film plays out as a sort of tall tale as it begs the question is the story fact or fantasy...a question it attempts to answer in the conclusion. An obviously budget conscious made-for-tv flick full of time consuming uneventful filler, the film flows like molasses though it does wax curiously if not interesting if not suspenseful. An okay watch for those into girl power and Vietnam war spook stories. (C+)

Movies that focus on the war in Vietnam now are almost completely forgotten. Well, "A Soldier's Sweetheart" is a different story and how the tale unfolds is remarkable. A soldier named Rat (Kiefer Sutherland) tells the tale that may seem like a tall one of how Fossie (Skeet Ulrich), an lonely army medic whom Rat had worked with a small Army hospital, who had his girlfirend, Marianne (Georgina Cates) flown in. Sutherland and Ulrich are fine here, but Cates steals the show here with a solid performance. A crafty and very unique experience.

Tim O'Brien's combat experience was either not particularly well reflected or deliberately altered by the director to better frame the story. Regardless, once you accept the premise, the movie became in many ways reminiscent of, perhaps a precursor to, Apocalypse Now. Marianne's descent into her own heart of darkness (though somewhat stagey) still illuminated the central question effectively. In a summer filled with cartoon cutouts going through their paces in front of blue screens, it was refreshing to watch a movie (even a flawed movie) which attempted greater things.