But my real problem was, I only wanted humor for like the first half or so, and then I wanted it to get serious, which I really felt it didnt.
Serious? I'm glad it didn't get serious to the point of being an unrealistic melodrama. It felt perfectly authentic and had a lot of humanity. The main characters weren't great men, they were guys who had nothing to look forward to in life except being in a war and wanting to kill people. As for having nothing to go crazy for, go into the Marines, go through VERY disciplined and difficult training. Finally go to a war where you're doing nothing but wandering around the desert while the Air Force is cleaning up the land before you go through it. Jake Gyllenhaal himself was going crazy in the desert screaming at fellow workers because of the high temperatures (which is another thing to consider)
alone. Now imagine being in war with those high temperatures being the least of your worries.
I really wish they wouldve done some crazy psychological mind study shit, but we got nothing of the sort. I got my hopes up again when Swofford has the dream where he vomits sand, but it lasted like 10 seconds and that was the only time they did anything like that.
Sounds more like you were hoping for a cliche.
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As for the film, my proview is in the Movie thread. I think it was a great film just short of being a masterpiece. I think it screamed authenticity, especially in it's acting and humor. I can't think of another war film that depicts The Suck, and even includes the Dear John letters and infidelity videos.
