A FEW GOOFY MEN

A FEW GOOD MEN (1992)
dir: Rob Reiner

A FEW GOOFY MEN
MAD #320, July 1993
w: Dick DeBartolo
a: Mort Drucker

Legal drama about lawyers in military court. Private Santiago has been abuses by other members of the marines for being a weak link, causing internal bleeding resulting in his death. The Marines that killed him are on trial for his death.

The cast of characters includes the defending team of Lieutenants Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise), Galloway (Demi Moore), and Weinberg (Kevin Pollak). On the prosecuting side is Kaffee's friend Capt. Jack Ross (Kevin Bacon). Col. Jessup (Jack Nicholson) is commanding officer at Gitmo, where the trial is taking place. Working for him are Lt. Col. Markinson (J. T. Walsh) and 1st Lt. Kendrick (Kiefer Sutherland). The defendants are Cpl. Dawson (Wolfgang Bodison) and PFC Downey (James Marshall.

Dawson and Downey say they were just obeying the Chain of Command and following orders under "Code Red" requiring them to haze Pvt. Santiago. They would rather face the consequences than get get off with a dishonorable discharge. Galloway approaches Kaffee while he's playing baseball and lectures him about his casual approach to this case and relative inexperience, and coasting on the legacy of his father.

It is revealed how in the past that Santiago cannot handle the harassment of his fellow officers and has written Jessup requesting a transfer. Kaffee and his team have gone down to Guatanamo Bay a/k/a Gitmo to talk to Col. Jessup and investigate the murder. They question why Santiago was to be sent to another base several hours after the murder, when it could have been prevented if it happened earlier. They visit his barracks to investigate further.

Reference is made to how Nicholson had previously played the Joker in Batman.

Kaffee, Galloway, and Weinberg hunker down and look into the case at his apartment. Kaffee thinks pursuing it is futile but they go through with it anyway.
   -MAD lied when they said Weinberg would not appear anywhere but the splash panel, so I assume heads rolled over this.
   -Drucker didn't bother with a likeness for the witness doctor, who was played by Christopher Guest, whose Nigel Tufnel in This is Spinal Tap is more famous than this movie.

Markinson shows up in Kaffee's car as an expert witness, but after committing suicide in a motel room the defense isn't sure they can win. They call Jessup to the stand during the trial and get him to confess that ultimately he was the one to order the Code Red. In his testimony he also goes into a monologue about how he deserves respect, because as a commanding officer in the marines, he did it and many of the other unorthodox things he does to keep the country safe. Not only does it give Nicholson a vehicle for his acting, it also provide the opportunity for screenwriter Aaron Sorkin to write such dialogue.

A FEW ODD MEN
Cracked #334, July 1993
w: Lou Silverstone
a: John Severin

This version using the opening credit sequence of marines' rifle formation and the beginning with the incident that was the basis for this movie.

Tailhook was a military party involving sexual abuse around the time of this parody. The issue of inequality in the military has been taken a bit more seriously since then. Emphasis on "a bit".

In the movie, Kaffee didn't like Dawson and Downey constantly treating him as an officer.

The next to last panel is Sgt. Schulz of Hogan's Heroes.