| Director | Howard Zieff |
|---|---|
| Genre | comedy drama, comedy film, military comedy film |
| Runtime | 105 min |
| Country | United States |
| Budget | $9.2 million |
| Box office | $69.8 million |
Judy Benjamin, a 28-year-old Jewish woman from a sheltered wealthy upbringing whose lifelong dream is to "marry a professional man", is devastated after Yale Goodman, her new husband, dies on their wedding night. Emotionally adrift, Judy tells her story on a radio call-in show and meets another caller, Army recruiter SFC James Ballard, who leads her to believe military life will provide the "family" she seeks. He also pitches the service pointing out attractive duty stations and that it has benefitted women. Judy has a rude awakening upon arriving at basic training at Fort Biloxi. Army regulations and the disapproval of Captain Doreen Lewis and Sergeant First Class L.C. Ross, the drill sergeant, frustrate Judy.
When Judy is caught trying to desert, she is reunited with her parents. However, when her parents say they will make all her decisions, she resolves to graduate basic training to forge her own way in life. At a war games exercise, Judy and some other recruits lead a sneak attack that captures the opposing team, impressing Colonel Thornbush, the unit commander. Upon graduation from basic training, Judy and her friends spend the weekend on leave in New Orleans, where she meets Henri Tremont, a French doctor attending a medical conference. After a brief but inspiring romance, Henri returns to Paris, and Judy begins training with an elite paratrooper unit, the Thornbirds.
Judy quickly discovers that she was chosen for paratrooper training because unit commander Colonel Thornbush finds her attractive. Because she is too scared to jump after the other trainees have jumped from the plane, he attempts to sexually assault her. When Judy jumps out of the plane rather than comply, he attempts to have her transferred. Judy negotiates an assignment to Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in Belgium and meets up with Henri again on a visit to Paris. He proposes marriage, and she accepts. After Captain Lewis discovers that Tremont is a communist, Judy resigns from the Army.
Following his engagement to Judy, Henri reveals his self-centered, controlling nature. He tries to "remake" Judy and insists she sign a prenuptial agreement. Finally, when Henri sleeps with the housemaid and makes it obvious that he has not gotten over his ex-girlfriend Clare, Judy has a change of heart. On the day of the wedding ceremony, she punches Henri and abandons him at the altar, throws her bridal veil into the wind, and walks alone into the unknown, empowered by her newfound freedom.