Your Mother Wears Combat Boots
Encyclopedia
Your Mother Wears Combat Boots is a 1989 made-for-television American
comedy film
starring Barbara Eden
, Héctor Elizondo
, Meagen Fay
and David Kaufman
. The movie was directed by Anson Williams
.
) is an overprotective single mother from Iowa
, who does not want her 18 year-old son Jimmy (David Kaufman
) to follow in the footsteps of her late husband (who died in a parachute
accident in Vietnam
) by becoming an Airborne paratrooper
in the US Army
. Instead she sends him off to college, and then moves to Alaska
to take up a new job. But once she moves, Jimmy leaves college and enlists in the army. He initially keeps this a secret, and only tells her after he's completed basic training
and is about to begin Airborne parachute training at Fort Benning
, Georgia
.
Brenda drives down to Georgia in an attempt to stop him, but when she arrives Jimmy has already entered Fort Benning. So she assumes the identity of an AWOL
Airborne trainee named Susan Zimmel in order to enter the base and try to persuade Jimmy to leave. When Jimmy refuses to quit, she makes a deal with him – if she can make it through the Airborne training course herself, then he will not do the parachute jump at the end of the course, and will leave the army and return to college.
Brenda struggles to adjust to the strict military regimen and make it through the tough and physically demanding Airborne training course. Her fear of heights also causes her difficulties. This leads to a number of comic incidents, though her drill instructor
, Sergeant Burke (Héctor Elizondo
), fails to see the funny side. But with a little help from other trainees in her squad, Brenda perseveres, determined to get Jimmy to leave the army.
In the end, however, the experience leads Brenda to realise that Jimmy needs to complete the training in order to develop a closer bond with his late father, and gives him her blessing to complete the final qualifying parachute jump. She then conquers her fear of heights and also makes the jump herself.
Airborne School in 1988. The film features the original barracks which housed the 555th Parachute Infantry Regiment (which has since been demolished and replaced with a parking lot). The Military Clothing Sales Store, the Airborne School Headquarters, the tank trail on Kelly Hill, and various training sites are also featured.
Barbara Eden's real-life son Matthew Ansara
makes a cameo appearance
in the film playing a young soldier.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
starring Barbara Eden
Barbara Eden
Barbara Eden is an American film and television actress and singer who is best known for her starring role in the sitcom I Dream of Jeannie.-Early years:...
, Héctor Elizondo
Hector Elizondo
Héctor Elizondo is an American actor. Elizondo's first major role was that of "God" in the play Steambath, for which he won an Obie Award...
, Meagen Fay
Meagen Fay
Meagen Fay is an American actress.A native of Chicago, in the early 1980s Fay was a featured cast member at The Second City. Her first television role was in the 1987 television series Ohara....
and David Kaufman
David Kaufman (actor)
David Kaufman is an American voice-over artist and character actor, best known for his roles as the voice of Danny Fenton on Danny Phantom, the voice of Maggie's brother Aldrin on The Buzz on Maggie, and the voice of Marty McFly, Michael J...
. The movie was directed by Anson Williams
Anson Williams
Anson Williams is an actor and director, best known for his role as gullible but well intentioned singer Warren "Potsie" Weber on the television series Happy Days.-Biography:...
.
Plot summary
Brenda Andersen (Barbara EdenBarbara Eden
Barbara Eden is an American film and television actress and singer who is best known for her starring role in the sitcom I Dream of Jeannie.-Early years:...
) is an overprotective single mother from Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, who does not want her 18 year-old son Jimmy (David Kaufman
David Kaufman (actor)
David Kaufman is an American voice-over artist and character actor, best known for his roles as the voice of Danny Fenton on Danny Phantom, the voice of Maggie's brother Aldrin on The Buzz on Maggie, and the voice of Marty McFly, Michael J...
) to follow in the footsteps of her late husband (who died in a parachute
Parachute
A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag, or in the case of ram-air parachutes, aerodynamic lift. Parachutes are usually made out of light, strong cloth, originally silk, now most commonly nylon...
accident in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
) by becoming an Airborne paratrooper
Paratrooper
Paratroopers are soldiers trained in parachuting and generally operate as part of an airborne force.Paratroopers are used for tactical advantage as they can be inserted into the battlefield from the air, thereby allowing them to be positioned in areas not accessible by land...
in the US Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
. Instead she sends him off to college, and then moves to Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
to take up a new job. But once she moves, Jimmy leaves college and enlists in the army. He initially keeps this a secret, and only tells her after he's completed basic training
Recruit training
Recruit training, more commonly known as Basic Training and colloquially called Boot Camp, is the initial indoctrination and instruction given to new military personnel, enlisted and officer...
and is about to begin Airborne parachute training at Fort Benning
Fort Benning
Fort Benning is a United States Army post located southeast of the city of Columbus in Muscogee and Chattahoochee counties in Georgia and Russell County, Alabama...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
.
Brenda drives down to Georgia in an attempt to stop him, but when she arrives Jimmy has already entered Fort Benning. So she assumes the identity of an AWOL
Desertion
In military terminology, desertion is the abandonment of a "duty" or post without permission and is done with the intention of not returning...
Airborne trainee named Susan Zimmel in order to enter the base and try to persuade Jimmy to leave. When Jimmy refuses to quit, she makes a deal with him – if she can make it through the Airborne training course herself, then he will not do the parachute jump at the end of the course, and will leave the army and return to college.
Brenda struggles to adjust to the strict military regimen and make it through the tough and physically demanding Airborne training course. Her fear of heights also causes her difficulties. This leads to a number of comic incidents, though her drill instructor
Drill instructor
A drill instructor is a non-commissioned officer or Staff Non-Commissioned Officer in the armed forces or police forces with specific duties that vary by country. In the U.S. armed forces, they are assigned the duty of indoctrinating new recruits entering the military into the customs and...
, Sergeant Burke (Héctor Elizondo
Hector Elizondo
Héctor Elizondo is an American actor. Elizondo's first major role was that of "God" in the play Steambath, for which he won an Obie Award...
), fails to see the funny side. But with a little help from other trainees in her squad, Brenda perseveres, determined to get Jimmy to leave the army.
In the end, however, the experience leads Brenda to realise that Jimmy needs to complete the training in order to develop a closer bond with his late father, and gives him her blessing to complete the final qualifying parachute jump. She then conquers her fear of heights and also makes the jump herself.
Filming
Most of the movie was filmed on site at the Fort BenningFort Benning
Fort Benning is a United States Army post located southeast of the city of Columbus in Muscogee and Chattahoochee counties in Georgia and Russell County, Alabama...
Airborne School in 1988. The film features the original barracks which housed the 555th Parachute Infantry Regiment (which has since been demolished and replaced with a parking lot). The Military Clothing Sales Store, the Airborne School Headquarters, the tank trail on Kelly Hill, and various training sites are also featured.
Barbara Eden's real-life son Matthew Ansara
Matthew Ansara
Matthew Michael Ansara was an actor and bodybuilder, who was the only son of Barbara Eden and her then-husband Michael Ansara. His first acting job was when he was 15 years old, in the pilot episode of Harper Valley PTA...
makes a cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
in the film playing a young soldier.
Cast
- Barbara EdenBarbara EdenBarbara Eden is an American film and television actress and singer who is best known for her starring role in the sitcom I Dream of Jeannie.-Early years:...
as Brenda Andersen - David KaufmanDavid Kaufman (actor)David Kaufman is an American voice-over artist and character actor, best known for his roles as the voice of Danny Fenton on Danny Phantom, the voice of Maggie's brother Aldrin on The Buzz on Maggie, and the voice of Marty McFly, Michael J...
as Jimmy Andersen - Héctor ElizondoHector ElizondoHéctor Elizondo is an American actor. Elizondo's first major role was that of "God" in the play Steambath, for which he won an Obie Award...
as Sergeant Charlie Burke - Meagen FayMeagen FayMeagen Fay is an American actress.A native of Chicago, in the early 1980s Fay was a featured cast member at The Second City. Her first television role was in the 1987 television series Ohara....
as Edie Winchell - Maria O'Brien as Carla
- Conchata FerrellConchata FerrellConchata Galen Ferrell is an American actress. She is best known for playing Berta the housekeeper in the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men, for which she received two Emmy Award nominations in 2005 and 2007.-Personal life:...
as Specialist Mononaghee - Richard McGregor as Barry Barnes
- Ernest Dixon as Sergeant Hawkins
- Suzi Bass as Rose
- Kate Benton as Susan Zimmel
- Matthew AnsaraMatthew AnsaraMatthew Michael Ansara was an actor and bodybuilder, who was the only son of Barbara Eden and her then-husband Michael Ansara. His first acting job was when he was 15 years old, in the pilot episode of Harper Valley PTA...
as Young Soldier
External links
- Your Mother Wears Combat Boots at Yahoo! TV
- Your Mother Wears Combat Boots at movies.nytimes.com
- Your Mother Wears Combat Boots at Million Monkey Theater