''Sgt. Bilko'' is a 1996 American military comedy film directed by Jonathan Lynn and written by Andy Breckman. It is an adaptation of the 1950s television series '' The Phil Silvers Show'', often informally called ''Sgt. Bilko'', or simply ''Bilko'', and stars Steve Martin,

Dan Aykroyd Daniel Edward Aykroyd ( ; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian actor, comedian, producer, musician and writer. He was an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" on ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1979). During his tenure on ''SNL'' ...

, Phil Hartman and Glenne Headly.

Plot

Master Sergeant Ernest G. Bilko is in charge of the motor pool at Fort Baxter, a small United States Army base that develops new military technology. Exploiting this position, he directs a number of scams, ranging from gambling to renting out military vehicles. His commanding officer, Colonel John Hall, overlooks Bilko's money-making schemes, as he is more concerned with problems in the "Hover Tank" that the base is designing.

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

Colin Thorn, an officer from the U.S. Army Inspector General's office, arrives at the camp and begins to scrutinize Bilko's record. Officially, Thorn is at Fort Baxter to conduct a general inspection and determine if the base should remain open in light of recent defense cutbacks. He is also determined to get revenge on Bilko to settle an old score the two have from

Fort Dix Fort Dix, the common name for the Army Support Activity (ASA) located at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, is a United States Army post. It is located south-southeast of Trenton, New Jersey. Fort Dix is under the jurisdiction of the Air Force A ...

, where Thorn was nearly court-martialed after a fixed boxing match which resulted in Thorn being shipped off to Greenland in the belief that he tried to fix the fight. Bitter and unprincipled, Thorn is not above breaking the law to ruin Bilko. He attempts to steal Bilko's long-time fiancée Rita, whom Bilko has stood up at the altar more than a dozen times. Rita is tired of waiting and gives Bilko 30 days to win her back or lose her for good. Bilko, with the help of newly assigned Private First Class Wally Holbrook, devises a means of avoiding Thorn's attempt to transfer him to Greenland: He rigs a demonstration of the base's malfunctioning Hover Tank, staged before a four-star general and numerous government officials. Since Thorn had deliberately tried to sabotage the tank the previous night, he confronts Bilko, Hall, and the general, loudly insulting Bilko and Hall. While ranting, he confesses to sabotaging the Hover Tank. Thorn is sent off again to Greenland. The last day of Rita's ultimatum has come. Just as she sadly begins to write Bilko off forever, Rita hears men outside her house, serenading her with a

favorite song Favorite Song may refer to: * "Favorite Song" (Colbie Caillat song), 2011 song featuring Common * "Favorite Song" (Chance the Rapper song), 2013 song featuring Childish Gambino * "Favorite Song" (Toosii song), 2023 song * ''Favorite Song'' (TV s ...

of hers and Bilko's. Looking out, she sees Bilko and his platoon. Bilko asks Rita to marry him, and she accepts. The next day is their wedding day, but Rita shows up late, due to a mix-up over Daylight Saving Time. After they play another card game (if Bilko wins, they get married), they finally get married. Unknown to Bilko, Rita is holding four aces in her hand.

Cast

* Steve Martin as Master Sergeant Ernest G. Bilko *

as Col. John T. Hall * Phil Hartman as Maj. Colin Thorn * Glenne Headly as Rita Robbins * John Marshall Jones as Sgt. Henshaw * Pamela Adlon as Sgt. Raquel Barbella *

Austin Pendleton Austin Campbell Pendleton (born March 27, 1940) is an American actor, playwright, theatre director, and instructor. He is known as a prolific character actor on the stage and screen who has appeared in films including ''Catch-22'' (1970); '' W ...

as Maj. Ebersole *

Chris Rock Christopher Julius Rock (born February 7, 1965) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and filmmaker. Known for his work in comic film, television and stage, he has received multiple accolades, including three Grammy Awards for best come ...

as 1st Lt. Oster *

Cathy Silvers Cathy Silvers (born May 27, 1961) is an American actress and author. She is the daughter of actress Evelyn Patrick and actor/comedian Phil Silvers. She is best known for her role as boy-crazy teenager Jenny Piccolo in later seasons of the TV si ...

as 1st Lt. Monday *

Steve Park Stephen Park (born August 23, 1967) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He won races in NASCAR's two top Northeast touring series ( Modified and K&N East) and all three national divisions (Truck, Busch, Cup Series). Park ...

as Capt. Moon * Debra Jo Rupp as Mrs. Hall * Richard Herd as Gen. Tennyson *

Dan Ferro Dan Ferro was an American actor, best known for his role as Tommy Ortega in the 1980s television series '' Falcon Crest'' and for his role as drug lord Tony Romero in '' Death Wish 4: The Crackdown''. Among his other works, he played an inept ...

as Spc. Tony Morales *

John Ortiz John Ortiz (born May 23, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for his antagonist role as Arturo Braga in ''Fast & Furious'' (2009) and ''Fast & Furious 6'' (2013), and Clyde in ''Jack Goes Boating'' (2010), which earned him a nomination for t ...

as Spc. Luis Clemente * Max Casella as Spc. Dino Paparelli * Daryl Mitchell as Pfc. Walter "Wally" T. Holbrook * Mitchell Whitfield as Pfc. Mickey Zimmerman * Travis Tritt as Self

Casting

Albert Brooks Albert Brooks (born Albert Lawrence Einstein ; July 22, 1947) is an American actor and filmmaker. He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for 1987's '' Broadcast News'' and was widely praised for his performance as a ...

was offered the role of Ernest G. Bilko, but turned it down.

Reception

On the film-critic aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, ''Sgt. Bilko'' received a 31% positive ratings from 39 reviews, with an average rating of 4.6/10. On Metacritic, it has a score of 47 out of 100 based on reviews from 23 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Gene Siskel Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune''. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted a series of movie review programs on television from 1975 until his d ...

and

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

gave it

two thumbs up ''At the Movies'' (originally ''Siskel & Ebert & the Movies'', and later ''At the Movies with Ebert and Roeper'') is an American movie review television program produced by Disney–ABC Domestic Television in which two film critics share the ...

on their television show. Ebert praised Steve Martin's performance and enjoyed "all the little jokes hidden in the corners" of the movie. Audiences surveyed by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...

gave the film a grade of "B+" on a scale of A+ to F. It won the award for Worst Resurrection of a TV Show at the

1996 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards The 19th Stinkers Bad Movie Awards were released by the Hastings Bad Cinema Society in 1997 to honour the worst films the film industry had to offer in 1996. Listed as follows are the different categories with their respective winners and nominee ...

. It also failed at the box office.''Sgt. Bilko''
at Box Office Mojo

References

External links

* *
''Sgt. Bilko''
at Rotten Tomatoes {{Brian Grazer 1996 films 1996 comedy films American comedy films 1990s English-language films Films about con artists Films about the United States Army Films based on television series Films directed by Jonathan Lynn Films produced by Brian Grazer Films scored by Alan Silvestri Imagine Entertainment films Military humor in film Films with screenplays by Andy Breckman Universal Pictures films 1990s American films