''Major Payne'' is a 1995 American

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by Nick Castle and starring

Damon Wayans Damon Kyle Wayans Sr. (; born September 4, 1960) is an American actor, comedian, producer, and writer. Wayans performed as a comedian and actor throughout the 1980s, including a year long stint on the sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live.' ...

, who wrote with

Dean Lorey Dean Lorey (born November 17, 1967) is an American writer and producer whose projects include films such as ''Major Payne'' and ''Animal Crackers'', and television series which include ''My Wife and Kids'', ''Arrested Development'', ''The Crazy On ...

and Gary Rosen. The film co-stars Karyn Parsons,

Steven Martini Steven Martini is a writer, actor, composer, editor, and singer/songwriter. His first break was as Cadet Alex J. Stone in ''Major Payne''. He and his brother Derick Martini wrote the films ''Smiling Fish and Goat on Fire'' and ''Lymelife''. Base ...

and

Michael Ironside Frederick Reginald Ironside (born February 12, 1950), known as Michael Ironside, is a Canadian actor, producer, director, and screenwriter. He is known for playing villains and "tough guy" heroes, and has also portrayed sympathetic characters. E ...

. It is a loose remake of the 1955 film '' The Private War of Major Benson'', starring

Charlton Heston Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923April 5, 2008) was an American actor and political activist. As a Hollywood star, he appeared in almost 100 films over the course of 60 years. He played Moses in the epic film ''The Ten ...

. ''Major Payne'' was released in the United States on March 24 and grossed $30 million. Wayans plays a military officer who, after being discharged, attempts to lead a dysfunctional group of youth cadets to victory in a competition.

Plot

Major Benson Winifred Payne, a battle hardened

Marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military ...

, returns from a successful drug raid in South America to find out that he has been passed over for promotion. Payne receives an

honorable discharge A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve. Each country's military has different types of discharge. They are generally based on whether the persons completed their training and the ...

and tries to adjust to civilian life but ends up being arrested. His former commander gets him out of jail and secures him a position back in the military. Payne is sent to Madison Preparatory School in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

and is given command of the

ROTC The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in al ...

students. The cadets are a disorderly group of delinquents and outcasts who have placed last in the Virginia Military Games for eight straight years. Payne immediately takes a hard stance with the cadets and asserts his authority. He shaves the cadets bald and moves them out of their dorms and into a dilapidated barracks. Payne's harsh punishments and lack of empathy for the cadets lead to friction with school counselor Emily Walburn, who tries to soften Payne's approach. The cadets, encouraged by the rebellious Alex Stone, make several attempts to sabotage Payne and drive him out of the school. Stone and the cadets hire a biker to assault Payne, in the aftermath Payne makes Stone the squad leader. Things come to a head and Payne offers to quit if the cadets can steal him the Military Games trophy from Wellington Academy. Payne tips off the Wellington cadets and they ambush the Madison cadets and beat them severely. Stone confronts Payne and realizes that he wants to earn the trophy, Payne offers to train him to win it. The cadets begin working hard and training for the Military Games. They develop into a unified squad, and Payne tells them that they have graduated the program and are fit to compete in the games. Before the games, Payne is asked to return to the Marines to fight in

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and Pars pro toto#Geography, often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of Southern Europe, south and southeast Euro ...

. He eagerly accepts the new posting but his deployment means he will miss the Military Games. As Payne waits for a train to depart he daydreams about being in a family with Emily and Tiger. The cadets don't want to participate in the Games without Payne, but Alex convinces them to do it. At the games, the boys hold their own until Alex injures his ankle and is unable to participate in the final event. The Madison cadets angrily fight with the Wellington cadets. The fight is broken up, and the judges deliberate having Madison disqualified. Payne refuses his new posting and commission and shows up at the last minute. He smooths things over with the judges and tells Tiger to lead Madison in the final event, a drill competition. The group executes an unorthodox but entertaining routine which wins them the trophy. On the first day of the new school year Madison displays the Military Games trophy, along with another one won by Alex. Payne resumes being an instructor, having married Emily and adopted Tiger. Stone resumes his role as a squad leader. Payne has softened a bit, attempting to befriend the new recruits. When a disrespectful blind cadet shows up with his service dog, Payne shaves both him and his dog bald with his field knife and laughs.

Cast

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 indicato ...

Benson Winifred Payne, a battle-hardened Marine. Payne has difficulty adjusting to life outside the military. * Karyn Parsons as Emily Walburn, the school counselor. She and Payne clash over his style of training the cadets. * William Hickey as Dr. Phillips, the headmaster of the school. He takes little interest in the cadets and asks Payne to keep them out of his way. *

as Cadet Alex J. Stone, a rebellious teenager with no respect for authority. He opposes Payne's hardline approach to training and actively works to get rid of Payne. *

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colon ...

Stone, Alex's adoptive father. He's an alcoholic who abuses Alex. * Orlando Brown as Cadet Kevin "Tiger" Dunn, an orphan adopted by the school and raised by Emily Walburn. The youngest of the cadets, he struggles to keep up with the others and find his place. *

Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no governm ...

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

Elias Decker, Payne's former commanding officer. *

Andrew Harrison Leeds Andrew Leeds is an American actor, comedian and writer. He is known for his portrayal of Josh on ''Cristela'', Christopher Pelant on ''Bones'', and David Clarke on ''Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist.'' He is also in the Main Company of the sketch co ...

as Cadet Dotson, a brown-noser who is cadet squad leader. * Damien Dante Wayans as Cadet Dwight "D" Williams * Chris Owen as Cadet Wuliger * Stephen Coleman as Cadet Leland * Mark Madison as Cadet Fox * Peyton Chesson-Fohl as Cadet

Sergeant Sergeant ( abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other ...

Johnson *

Bam Bam Bigelow Scott Charles Bigelow (September 1, 1961 – January 19, 2007) was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Bam Bam Bigelow. Recognizable by his close to 400-pound frame and the distinctive flame tattoo that spanned most ...

as Biker. He is hired by the cadets to confront Payne and intimidate him into leaving. * George Cheung as

Vietcong , , war = the Vietnam War , image = FNL Flag.svg , caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green. , active ...

Guerrilla from Major Payne's Daydream * R. Stephen Wiles as Cadet Heathcoat * R. J. Knoll as Blind New Cadet

Filming

Major Payne was filmed at the Miller School in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Reception

Review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

gave the film an approval rating of 29% based on 14 reviews. Kevin Thomas of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'' wrote, "While ''Major Payne'' is too predictable for most adults, it's an ideal entertainment for youthful audiences that allows Damon Wayans to be at his best in a dream part." Caryn James of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote, "Though the movie is rarely more clever than its title, Mr. Wayans gives the dark cartoonish comedy an irreverent edge."

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 ...

of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the '' Chicago ...

'' rated it 3/4 stars and called it a smart and funny satire of military films:

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Box office

The film debuted at number 2 at the US box office behind ''Outbreak (film)">Outbreak In epidemiology, an outbreak is a sudden increase in occurrences of a disease when cases are in excess of normal expectancy for the location or season. It may affect a small and localized group or impact upon thousands of people across an entire ...