ABSTRACT
In the midst of a critical and commercial blockbuster involving a smart attorney in pursuit of the truth and a male hierarchy determined to operate its own rules, we have the insertion of a strange piece of throwback sexual politics. Whilst Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise) is seeking to find out the truth in relation to events leading to the death of a recruit in basic training at the hands of his fellow soldiers, Lieutenant Commander Joanne Galloway (Demi Moore) is a woman lawyer higher up the pecking order. She has, however, no sense of proportion. She devotes an excessive amount of time to minor issues and cannot see the big picture. The contrast with casual and self-serving Kaffee is marked. Insofar as she has a role in A Few Good Men (1992), Galloway serves to provide the catalyst which awakens Tom Cruise’s commitment to justice rather than simply avoiding the stress and hassle of legal practice. She is on the team but her role is reduced to the kind of role one expects would be a feature of the legal practice of Mr and Mrs Tom Logan in their post-Legal Eagles (1985) partnership.
