En avant les recrues!

I know most people find Pauly Shore (Bio-Dome, Encino Man) to be really annoying. He can be extremely annoying, but he can also be truly funny. In the movie In the Army Now, Shore plays another one of his likable loser characters. He and his best friend, played by Andy Dick (TV's News Radio) just got fired from their jobs and need money. So they both enlist in the Army Reserves assuming they will never have to do anything. During the movie they meet some new friends, Lori Petty (Tank Girl, The Glass Shield) and David Alan Grier (McHale's Navy). Pauly Shore and Andy Dick decide to join the water purification unit and Shore displays a real talent for that. Of course, a war starts and they get sent into Libya to help out the troops by purifying water if needed. The film is actually very funny and had me laughing consistently, Shore stays away from being too annoying. Andy Dick is just as funny as he is on NewsRadio. Petty and Grier are also funny. I recommend this for Shore fans and those who want a good impression of him.

This whole movie was trying to look like the 90s version of the 1981 comedy classic "Stripes" starring Bill Murray and Harold Ramis. the story is so silly and stupid, the character are unpredictable and even the jokes are so lame despite being Pauly's Shore last film as a surfer until Bio-dome 2 years later since he had to get his head shave for the scene of the head shaving in this movie and even the budget went; there's even a few cameos in this film including Brendan Fraser as Link who also appeared with Pauly Shore in "Encino Mean" and "Son in Law" and yet the last film that Pauly Shore did as part of a three-film contract with Hollywood Pictures, so instead check out "Stripes" which is even better in my book.

It's Pauly Shore. It is what it is. However, i do have one, personally infamous issue with this movie. Oh sure, i can laugh about it now b/c it was so long ago, but at the time, i could have beat Pauly Shore with any number of garden tools. you see... I was going through basic training for the Army at Ft. Sill in 1994 and was "asked" by my drill sergeant's to be one of the unwittingly captive extras out there running in place in the "EXTEND TO THE LEFT---MARCH!!!" scene. That's right, sports fans, i was one of those poor souls kept out of bed until the wee hours of the morning so that Mr. Shore could have his early morning Army PT scene. Only it wasn't early morning. It was filmed in about three takes between the hours of 2000 and 2400. That's 9:00p.m. 'til midnight. For those or us who know, sleep in basic training is a rare and valued commodity and Mr. Shore took about four of the six hours i got away that night. So, needless to say, my fellow recruits and I didn't much care for Mr. Shore, especially at 0300 the next morning when the training day started. we somehow got through it but never really got over it. It wasn't until a few years later that I finally got to watch the movie. That infamous scene comes on and guess what I see. I see my bald-headed self out there running in place clear as day...well, night. It's only for maybe three seconds, but it's long enough to be confirmed by a number of people. So, there it is, three seconds of my fifteen minutes of fame used in a Pauly Shore movie. wow.

Bones and Jack are two ne'er-do-well best friends who work odd jobs to support themselves, but really have dreams of opening their own store. Out of work and looking to make some extra cash, they enlist in the U.S. Army Reserves where they sign up to be water purification specialists. Little do they dream that they'll be sent on active duty after conflict erupts in the country of Chad. Dry comedy has its moments and is likely to please fans of its star, but it's never uproarious and never really exploits the premise for all it's worth. In most cases actor Shore is an acquired taste, but he's enjoyable and adds life here. **

While Son in Law is Pauly Shore's best movie, this is proves to be my personal favorite among his body of work. The premise of Shore being in the army is about hilarious as Leonardo DiCaprio demanding $25 million and getting it! Plenty of laughs either way. Anyway, this film was rather funny and sarcastic, satirizing the military and the macho attitudes which seem to be quite prevalent. While the cast (Shore, David Alan Grier, Andy Dick and Lori Petty) isn't going to impress you with their firm grasp of the thespian arts, it still was good stuff to watch. Also, Esai Morales and Art LaFleur both

provided solid supporting roles.