MovieChat Forums > The Great Santini (1979) Discussion > The Great DoucheTini

The Great DoucheTini

posted 14 years ago by Jimbo_BSD
9 replies | jump to latest

Bull Meechum was a piece of crap as a human being. The fact that I despised him so much is a testament to how great of an actor Robert Duvall is. The guy was just an awful person. He beats his wife, dumps people's heads in toilets, is a insubordinate marine, has a god complex, a poor sport, insults teenage girls and is a racist.

I grew up around marines my entire life. I've know hundreds of marines and never met anybody even close to this jerk. It's hilarious to me that people think this guy is a realistic character. A great performance to be sure by Duvall, but the character is about as realistic as Luke Skywalker.

Overall I'd rate this movie a 6/10. It would have been lower, but all the actors did a wonderful job. Except the oldest daughter. She was annoying.

[–] SJdryden70 14 years ago

But isn't, in fact, the character of Bull Meechum based on the author's father???

[–] qttroassi 14 years ago

I think some parts of this are reality based and some aren't. United States marines can be very egotistical and self absorbed but not to such an extent as the character in the movie. How can a sophisticated fighter pilot operating aircraft be a boozer/alchaholic. It is extremely rare if ever for a US marine regardless of rank (commissioned or enlisted) to go around unkept like that, they take there appearance very seriously. How could somebody like that rise to the rank of lieutenant colonel ???

[–] nyctc7 14 years ago

He may, in fact, have been worse in real life than the movie portrayal.

http://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/14/us/donald-conroy-77-model-for-the-gr eat-santini-dies.html

Though he did reconcile with his kids after he retired from the suck.

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[–] franzkabuki 10 years ago

There are countless abusive as-holes in the world far worse than Santini who actually seemed to genuinely love his family despite being a douchebag a lot of the time. And what's with this "racist" stuff? Just because he uttered the word "nig-er" once? Firstly, he was raving angry with Ben when he said it; secondly, he's the kinda guy to call all sorts of people all sorts of less-than-nice things; and thirdly, in his scenes with the black woman, he didn't appear to consider her in any way inferior. But, of course, his racial attitudes weren't the focus of the film, so it's hard to tell for sure.

"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan

[–] Blueghost 10 years ago

When I first saw the film I didn't understand it all that much. After studying aerospace engineering, living next to an F4 Phantom pilot (who later flew F-16s), and talking with them, I have to agree.

In fact, I find this movie insulting, like I find a lot of movies about the military. I've known tankers, I've known pilots of various sorts, even a few sergeants, and they're people like anyone else. So when I see one of these films, I just shake my head.

I can't imagine Duvall's character ever making it through flight school. With his attitude he would have washed out very early on.

[–] joed1667 10 years ago

Are you guys comparing the pilots of today and their attitudes or taking in the consideration of the pilots of yesteryear? I've read quite a few autobiographies of pilots from the WWII generation and many carried around huge ego's and lack of discipline.

[–] thesnowleopard 10 years ago

Domestic abuse is quite common in the military, at all levels and in all branches, as it is in all high-stress professions. These people are only human and Kick-the-Cat (or the wife and kids) Syndrome is a perennial response to stress.

This is coming from a military brat whose father was quite bright and very much like the Great Santini. In fact, he completely missed the point of both the book and film, and admired the guy. I'm not kidding.

Does this make the military bad or the people in it bad people? Absolutely not. It is a fine institution that has produced many a fine person. But there are people in it who can't deal with the pressure in a healthy way, even some who are quite competent as military personnel, but turn into awful human beings outside of that role.

Bull Meecham is one of those people. And if you look at the parts of the story where he isn't with his family (more of it in the book than the film), you can see why he is a great man in many ways, why even his family admires him. He's just also horrendously, destructively flawed.

I think it's a great book and a great movie but also a bit of a painful experience to watch or read for me. Too much rings true.

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[–] Ironman54 8 years ago

I wonder how well adjusted any of you would be if you had to drop bombs and napalm bomb on living human beings ? Did they do it because they LIKED killing people ?
I mean wtf, THINK !! They, at 17 -21 had to leave their farms and small towns as well as cities and get themselves in shape psychologically to fight true psychopaths. If you don't think nazis out of their minds on amphetamines and the fuhrer's lunatic rants or the Japanese fanatic mass killers were barbaric ... I mean DAMN, 'our boys' had to best them literally to save the WORLD !!
breathe breathe breathe... I mean what are some of you thinking ? I know Marines who, to this day, still sleep in separate bed from their wife because of the PTSD.
This man had to spray napalm on N Koreans and watch them burn to death ! Those were his orders. Think maybe you might have a few issues readjusting ? And they literally did it for YOU so you could raise your own families in freedom and peace.
It seems to me that critical thinking skills have become lost in the USA and parts of Europe. There was a time when this stuff was just understood.
I have to end this, too much for me to go on right now. Just THINK before running your mouths !

[–] liscarkat (19418) 2 years ago

He was an absolute mental-case asshole, but he was great in an airplane.