Buffalo Soldiers (2003)

REVIEW
This cynical and decidedly anti-military black comedy sat on the shelf for two years awaiting release, its distributor weary of the film's perceived unpatriotism in a post-9/11 support-our-troops-or-you're-a-traitor climate. Set in 1989 on a West German U.S. Army base, the story centers on the shifty Ray Elwood (Phoenix), a battalion clerk turned black market profiteer and heroin dealer who runs afoul of the snarly new Top Sergeant (Glenn), a tense situation that escalates to a fever pitch when Elwood puts the moves on Top's rebellious daughter (Paquin). Harris portrays the disillusioned and perpetually oblivious base commander. The film doesn't quite rise to the anarchistic heights of brass-knocking satires like M*A*S*H and The Last Detail, but Phoenix's badboy charm makes for a likeable anti-hero worth rooting for.