Every word that comes out of R. Lee Ermey’s mouth in the iconic film Full Metal Jacket is gold. Every line is quotable and nearly every line he speaks has oozed its way into the words we speak today.
I remember seeing the movie the first time around and being nearly in tears at how funny he was, even at his most cruel and berating points. As I get older, I begin to question if military life was truly like that, or if it was overplayed for a theatrical audience. What blurs the lines even more, was the casting decision of R. Lee Ermey for the role. Originally, Stanley Kubrick hired on Ermey as a consultant to assist the original actor in speech, movements, etc because Ermey was a real Marine Drill Instructor. But, during pre-production, Kubrick became so enamored with Ermey he was hired and the rest is verbally abusive history. R. Lee Ermey went on to be nominated for a Golden Globe for his role, but lost out to Sean Connery and his performance in The Untouchables.
But aside from the history and the pop culture significance, what makes this character such a classic? He’s one of the first characters we meet in the film after the opening credits and it’s a lasting impression. There aren’t enough words for me to do it justice, but it’s a performance that captivates you and pulls you in as you wait for him to tell someone else to “Un-fuck yourself or I will unscrew your head and shit down your neck!” There is no lull in his character, there is no high point because each scene he lifts his bar higher and higher and meets it every time. What’s even more impressive is he’s only in the first half of the film. After that we never see him again. Most people don’t know or remember what happens after they leave boot camp. Some people are just so fixated on Sgt. Hartman that once he leaves the narrative, their attention leaves with it.
Go and watch this movie and be amazed at such an insanely animated performance. If you’re unsure, there are loads of videos on YouTube of people’s favorite clips that will get you more than motivated to watch the movie. Now get to it OR I WILL GOUGE OUT YOUR EYES AND SKULL FUCK YOU. I won’t. That’s really aggressive, but he does speak that line in the film. It’s great!