YMMV / Major Payne

• Alternative Character Interpretation: Did Payne really think that expelling Alex would have been letting him off easy? Or had Payne, having read through his cadets' files and backgrounds per Emily's suggestion, known that this would be a punitive one-sided solution and decided instead to pursue a more restorative avenue by promoting Alex instead?
• Crosses the Line Twice: Payne's bedtime story to Tiger about The Little Engine That Could. What starts as an innocent Pet the Dog moment turns into a PTSD flashback that is still hilarious.
• Fridge Brilliance:
  • It's considered inappropriate for an officer to wear his dress uniform in a bar or club like Payne does on his date with Emily, especially given what a stickler he normally is for military regs. However, considering how rarely Payne appears to wear civilian clothing and how much disdain he has for civilian life (at first), that's likely the closest thing to a suit he has.
  • When Alex suggests he should be expelled from the academy for planning the biker stunt, Payne refuses to send him "home on a vacation." Then we meet Alex's stepdad and realize that the expulsion would have been as bad a punishment for Alex as he made it out to be, if not worse.
• Heartwarming Moment:
  • Major Payne shooting the boogeyman in Tiger's closet. It's the middle ground between Major Payne's tough side and his fatherly instincts. While he reacts badly to Tiger's hug, it marks the moment Tiger starts to warm up to Major Payne as the father figure he needs.
  • Alex having Tiger stay behind when he and the cadets go to steal the trophy from Wellington academy can be seen as this. Alex knows that it could backfire and he didn’t want Tiger to be harmed.
  • Although he's not good at telling the story, Major Payne trying to tell Tiger the story of "The little Engine that could" is another look at his hidden potential to be a father figure. What's more, this is his attempt to comfort Tiger when he can't join the other boys in the trophy heist.
  • Payne's response to learning that Emily's husband left her because she wanted children and he didn't:
    Payne: Any man that would leave you ought to be monkey-stomped and have his brains mailed back to his mother.
  • As a parting gift, Payne gives Emily a gift from his heart... a bullet. That he took out of his heart with a field knife.
  • After he convinces Emily to blow the drill whistle he holds it like he just received the medal of honor. And she can't quite contain her excitement, either.
  • Major Payne standing up to Alex's Abusive Dad. It's a strangely quiet turning point where Payne and the boys finally see each other eye to eye: he acts like a strong father figure to them and they listen to him with loyal obedience. Alex is clearly fighting off Manly Tears as he declares to Major Payne that he's ready to take things seriously and work to win the ROTC games trophy. "I want that trophy, sir... I want to earn that trophy."
    • During the confrontation, Payne prioritizes Alex's safety over his own, always making sure that he is positioned between the cadet and his father even when the latter starts swinging.
  • The fact that Alex was willing to take one for the team by owning up planning the incident with the biker, knowing that if Payne had decided to expel him, he'd be sent back home with his abusive stepdad waiting for him.
  • Payne's Imagine Spot of leading a civilian life with Emily and Tiger.
  • Payne returning to watch the Madison school cadets win the trophy at the Games, and putting Tiger in charge of the unit after Alex Stone is injured, despite being 'little', because Tiger knows the routine so well.
  • In the end, it's strongly implied he married Emily and they both adopted Tiger.
• Misaimed Fandom: Payne's brutal treatment and punishment of the students is Played for Laughs given the movie's status as a comedy but there are some that have seen this and think that this was the reason for the JROTC boys' being whipped into shape. In reality, the boys didn't didn't start to respect Payne until he showed them compassion in his own rough, and sometimes psychotic, ways such as when he defends Alex from his father or when he shoots the "boogeyman" in Tiger's closet. This is also what helps him earn Emily's affection.
• Moment of Awesome: In the opening scene, Payne runs headfirst into raging battle with a sidearm, no helmet, and single-handedly storms the enemy leader's stronghold. Recognizing his badass nature isn't to be messed with, those inside wisely surrender.
• One-Scene Wonder: Michael Ironside as Alex's Abusive Dad.
• Poor Man's Substitute: Craig Safan who scored this film's music score seems to be this to fellow composer Michael Kamen.
• Signature Scene: The scene of Payne shooting at the "boogeyman" in Tiger's closet. Ask anyone who has seen the movie and odds are they will quote it.
• Tear Jerker:
  • Watch Alex's face when his drunk, abusive stepdad shows up.
  • The whole scene in general, makes you feel like you're watching a completely different movie.
  • Payne's attempt to tell Tiger a bedtime story instead devolves into a PTSD flashback, while darkly funny in showing how much he enjoys war, it also shows that it's left some serious scars on Payne's psyche.

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