Senator Lillian DeHaven wants to give her career a bit of a push and heavily criticizes the sexism in the army, which doesn't even admit women to some categories. In a tactical move the training camps agree to admit a test woman to one of the training programmes which hitherto have only admitted men. The fact that this is the hardest and most inhuman programme in American military history, the Navy SEALs, from which 60% of all participants voluntarily drop out, doesn't faze the senator one bit, being purely a matter of personal honour, and this rules out bringing back mothers in body bags from some future invasion. But no-one reckoned with the unbroken determination of Intelligence Officer Lt. Jordan O'Neil...
 

Many women (and lesbians and gays) would like to murder in defence of their respective countries, if necessary marching into other countries. Certainly, taking away the possibility to do this is unfair. Much more unfair, for those who bear the brunt of imperialist zeal, is the whole idea of taking part in such acts. Our idea of equality would be to block this career for all. However, the world is not perfect, and we have to deal with films like G.I. Jane.
We follow the ups and downs of the protagonist, although we seldom believe that the heroine is going to fail, especially in a film on this burning subject. For two hours, then, we see the brave élite of the US Navy being put through their paces to emerge victorious – and that women can also do it. Honestly, does anyone doubt that these days? Apart from our readership, most supporters of gender segregation in the military services are more concerned with trying to maintain the patriarchy, rather than not weakening the army with unfit individuals. After all, similar reasons are given when long-serving lesbians and gays are dishonourably discharged from the US Army on being detected.
But credit where credit's due: G.I. Jane is not afraid of complexity and detail away from the actual training programme. The clumsy treatment of the new woman in the unit hitherto barred to females is as well examined as the political interests in Washington and the initially invisible unholy alliances which join opponents and supporters of sexual equality.

G.I. Jane follows the old Top Gun format: first, personality clashes in training, then the team is sorely tested in a real situation. It is frightening that it is no longer frightening that, no matter how many films there are with appropriate countries to be attacked, it is always within the realms of possibility that the USA be involved in some invasion or other. This time it's Libya's turn. The interesting thing this time round is that the conflict is actively brought about, and the military conflict our characters have to deal with is their own doing.

Almost entertaining, if it wasn't so sad, is the sexism behind the scenes of G.I. Jane. The writer and executive producer, Danielle Alexandra, reveals that at every stage in the production of the film she could only ever imagine Demi Moore in the title role. Does this mean that, had Moore pursued a different career, the screenplay – let alone the film – would never have existed? Is Moore, then, the exception among women, who can take such a role, let alone do it for real?

Alexandra goes on to explain that the screenplay for G.I. Jane was written by a woman, for a woman and about a woman. But it was a man's action sequences (David Twohy), which made the film great. In other words, women cannot even picture real action, let alone film it? Action, "men's business", is better than drama, "women's business"?

This all leaves a rather bad taste in the mouth: here we have a film, a typical product of the "politically correct" 90s, which everyone should support intellectually, even though not even the film makers themselves do.

At the start of training, Jordan O'Neil has to guarantee that she is heterasexual through and through. But when she threatens to complete the course, a trap is set for her...

Filmdata:

Official link:  http://www.movies.com/GIJane/