Sgt. Bilko (1996): Dir: Jonathan Lynn / Cast: Steve Martin, Glenn Headly, Phil Hartman, Dan Aykroyd, John Marshall Jones: Here is a military comedy that should have viewers running out and renting superior types such as Stripes or Private Benjamin. Steve Martin plays Sgt. Ernie Bilko who allows his troops to gamble while authority is unaware of their actions. He is fun loving but his girlfriend longs for marriage so she gives him a month to commit himself before she pulls out and moves on. Trouble arises when Phil Hartman returns bent on revenge after a gambling loss. Seeing the opportunity he moves in on Bilko's girlfriend. While the film contains its share of funny moments the premise is not new and the structure is purely sitcom. Directed by Jonathan Lynn who achieved acclaim with My Cousin Vinny. Martin as Bilko wishes to be one of the crowd and avoid responsibility. Glenn Headly as his girlfriend is rendered the standard romantic who cannot rise above cardboard potential. Hartman makes a great foil for Martin's pratfalls but the ending fails due to actions that punish one factor but never highlights the wrong committed originally by the other. Dan Aykroyd is cast as a superior who looks the other way and the role should be worthy the comic's talent but sadly it is not. It never lacks in entertainment, which is what Bilko lives for but it also never elevates beyond conventions. Score: 4 / 10

I have watched a few films with Steve Martin and really enjoyed them all, but this is, so far, my definite favourite. I have not watched the original series of "Sgt. Bilko", but I picked up the idea of this film pretty quickly and I enjoyed almost every minute. The humour is very crazy, similar to cartoon humour, but at the same time it is often very intelligent. I felt many "YES!" moments in this film, lines or scenes where the hilarity, words and or slapstick were just about PERFECT. Not only were the lines and funny scenes mostly very well-written and done, but the characters were memorable and (mostly) relatable and the plot itself was engaging enough, though sometimes a little too farcical.I recommend this film to people who love "mad," but clever humour, people who like Steve Martin and already have an idea of his acting style and to people who like to see a "unique" portrayal of what goes on in the US army (not that it's realistic of course...). Enjoy "Sgt. Bilko"! :-)

Now, to be fair, I haven't watched a moment of the original show. I know nothing about the Sergeant. With that said, I can't imagine that this does justice to him. You see, if he was always this unfunny, I cannot imagine that he would be popular. I mean, none of the characters garner a single laugh(they aren't even entirely consistent; early in this, from one scene to the next, one of the leads behave in a manner that directly contradicts everything we've learned about him up to that point), and they are all one-note cardboard cut-outs, but you'd at least expect the dude they titled this after to be worth watching(yes, he is pretty smooth with the ladies, however, that's all; he's not charming). The plot is completely predictable. Gags and jokes are uninspired. OK, we get it, they are undisciplined, fine... if we laugh at it, will you move on? Martin and Aykroyd are hilarious... elsewhere. Tanks aren't that effective in combat anymore; they're slow, useless against the air and too easy to disable. The concept of a type that can hover is a worn-out sci-fi idea. This isn't devoid of positives... Phil Hartman is one, and the other is the great music. I don't know, I suppose this is what you get for hiring the director of Greedy and The Whole Nine Yards. Then again, I do still intend to catch Clue. There is a little moderate to strong language in this. I recommend this to... I don't know, people who like these flicks. 5/10

...I say that I like the movie. I think that Steve Martin was the perfect person to play the role, and that it was good for him and Dan Aykroyd to co-star after all these years. If it was lower humor than we usually associate with the two, then the crazy scenes justify that. I remember that I saw this a week or two after I saw "Mr. Holland's Opus", and was surprised to see Glenne Headly doing such a different role. Phil Hartman, meanwhile, makes one nasty dude (it reminds you what we lost when he got killed).Anyway, this is a silly movie, but quite funny. I suspect that up in that great army base in the sky, Phil Silvers must feel honored that they made this movie.Also featuring Chris Rock and Silvers's daughter Cathy in supporting roles.