Born on the Fourth of July (1989) -

PROGRAMMING NOTE: Summer is the time for big movies. Movies that wow on the largest scale while giving us a reprieve from the heat. So in honor of these movies, ILTBTA is embarking on “Summer of Epics: Summer of Sweat.” For the next couple months, we’ll be watching epic movies (defined as “ones that are way too long to do a Plots and Feelings write-up for”) that kept The Academy awake long enough to give them a Best Picture nomination. Join us as we travel from the sands of Arabia to the … sands of Egypt. (Look, a lot of these take place in the Middle East, it’s not our fault. They’re called sword and sandal movies for a reason.) But first, we find ourselves in the humid jungles of Vietnam …

Parades, parties, and post-traumatic stress: all of the hallmarks of Independence Day are right here in our latest ILTBTA endeavor: Born on the Fourth of July. Follow along with the mostly-true tale of Ron Kovic, a patriotic young man turned depressed Vietnam veteran turned different-type-of patriotic activist. This ILTBTA Epic clocks in at around two-and-a-half hours, so maybe take an intermission for some more red, white, and blue cupcakes before diving back in. It’s the feel-sad movie of the summer, so cue the fireworks, grab a hot dog, and jump in!

What, if anything, did we know about this coming attraction before we watched it?

Ellen: As far as I know, this is a lyric in “The Remedy” by Jason Mraz.

Tyler: I feel like I’ve heard this movie referenced in a couple songs (such as the aforementioned “The Remedy”), but otherwise I have no idea what it’s about. I was surprised to see Tom Cruise as the lead, as I often forget that he used to star in ~serious~ roles that did not include him trying to one-up himself in death-defying stunts. Here’s hoping this is better than the last dramatic Tom Cruise vehicle we watched …

This one’s pretty self-explanatory.

Short Version (courtesy of IMDb): The biography of Ron Kovic. Paralyzed in the Vietnam war, he becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights political activist after feeling betrayed by the country for which he fought.

Long Version (modified from Wikipedia and formatted to fit your screen):

In 1956 Massapequa, New York, 10-year-old Ron Kovic is playing with his friends in a forest, pretending to be soldiers. On his Fourth of July birthday, he attends an Independence Day parade with his family and best friend Donna, who gives him a Yankees cap. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy's televised inaugural address inspires a teenage Kovic to join the United States Marine Corps. After attending an impassioned lecture by two Marine recruiters visiting his high school, he enlists. His decision receives support from his mother, but upsets his father, a World War II veteran who lost many of his friends to the war. Kovic goes to his prom, dances with Donna and kisses her before leaving for recruit training.
- Ellen: As a NASA employee, when a see an old Kennedy speech I always expect it to be about the moon lol
- Tyler: Glad it wasn’t just me! #relateablecontent
- Tyler: I also found the dichotomy between his parents’ reaction to him enlisting to be fascinating, and one of the earlier (and less heavy-handed) of BOTFOJ’s expressions of masculinity. “You're doing the right thing. Communism has to go, it's God's will” is NOT the usual pre-war pep talk you hear from a character’s mom. Meanwhile, Kovic’s dad, himself a veteran who has clearly seen some shit, is much less gung-ho about the idea of his son potentially repeating his experiences.
- Ellen: Also: Tom Cruise with braces on his teeth 😂

In October 1967, Kovic is now a Marine sergeant on a reconnaissance mission in Vietnam, during his second tour of duty. He and his unit kill a number of Vietnamese villagers after mistaking them for enemy combatants. After encountering enemy fire, they flee the village and abandon its sole survivor, a crying baby. During the retreat, Kovic accidentally kills Wilson, a young private in his platoon. He reports the action to his superior, who ignores the claim and advises him not to say anything else. In January 1968, Kovic is critically wounded during a firefight, but is rescued by a fellow Marine.
- Ellen: This whole beach scene is hard to watch, but really well done. Kovic’s CO is pointing at seemingly random locations saying “see the rifles? SEE ‘EM?” and the camera pans and switches so fast that even as the audience, we’re not sure.
- Tyler: Yes! I found myself squinting at the screen and trying to spot the rifles myself before realizing they almost definitely weren’t there (yet, at least). The score here is also just as frenetic as the scene itself. It’s almost like John Williams knows what he's doing.

Paralyzed from the mid-chest down, Kovic spends several months in recovery at the Bronx Veterans Hospital in New York. Conditions in the underfunded and understaffed hospital are poor; the doctors, nurses and orderlies ignore patients, abuse drugs, and operate using old equipment. Against his doctors' requests, Kovic desperately tries to walk again with the use of braces and crutches, only to COMPOUND FRACTURE one of his legs, nearly requiring its amputation.

In 1969, Kovic, now permanently using a wheelchair, returns home and turns to alcohol to cope with his growing depression and disillusionment. During an Independence Day parade, he is asked to give a speech, but is unable to finish after he hears a crying baby in the crowd, triggering a flashback to Vietnam. Emblematic of the country’s disillusionment with Vietnam is the attitude of Kovic’s childhood friend Steve Boyer. He offers Kovic a cashier job at his innovative new Boyer Burger (with a hole in the middle of the patty for cost-saving purposes), but says that’s the best he can do and basically calls Kovic a moron for enlisting. Kovic visits Donna in Syracuse, New York, where the two reminisce. While attending a vigil for the victims of the Kent State shootings, they are separated when Donna and other protesters are arrested by police.

In Massapequa, a drunken Kovic has a heated argument with his mother, and his father decides to send him to Villa Dulce, a Mexican haven for wounded Vietnam veterans. He has his first sexual encounter with a sex worker, whom he falls for until he sees her with another customer. Kovic befriends Charlie, another paraplegic, and the two decide to travel to another village after getting kicked out of a bar. After annoying their taxicab driver, they are stranded on the side of the road, and an argument turns into a fight. They are picked up by a passing motorist who takes them back to Villa Dulce.

Kovic travels to Armstrong, Texas, where he locates Wilson's tombstone. He then visits the fallen Marine's family in Georgia to confess his guilt. Wilson's widow Jamie expresses that she is unable to forgive Kovic, while his parents are more sympathetic.
- Ellen: Mr. Wilson does say “we don’t have to hear this, Ron,” and like, yeah Ron, you’re saying this for you, not for them.
- Tyler: Sometimes it’s hell to be the main character in your own story.
In 1972, Kovic joins the organization Vietnam Veterans Against the War, and travels to the Republican National Convention in Miami, Florida. As Richard Nixon is giving an acceptance speech for his presidential nomination, Kovic expresses to a news reporter his hatred for the war and the government for abandoning the American people. His comments enrage Nixon's supporters, and his interview is cut short when police attempt to remove and arrest him and other protestors. Kovic and the veterans manage to break free from the officers, regroup, and charge the hall again, though not successfully. In 1976, Kovic delivers a public address at the Democratic National Convention in New York City, following the publication of his autobiography.

Love a good Wikipedia rabbit hole in search of some fun facts? Us too.

Born on the Fourth of July’s Wikipedia page has some interesting facts and anecdotes that we recommend you read through, but here are a few of our favorites:

Born on the Fourth of July is based on the 1976 autobiography of the same name by Ron Kovic, who apparently wrote the entire thing in less than two months. The book’s name, aside from being Kovic’s actual birthdate, is meant to be an ironic reference to a lyric in the patriotic song “The Yankee Doodle Boy.”
Main differences between the movie and book include the fact that Kovic did not confess to Wilson’s family about his role in his death, and Kyra Sedgewick’s character of Donna did not exist.
- Ellen: Based on my reaction to Kovic’s confession in Plots & Feelings, I’m glad that didn’t happen, though I certainly hope they didn’t find out from his book.
At various points during pre-production, numerous actors were considered to play Kovic, including Al Pacino, Sean Penn, Charlie Sheen, and Nicolas Cage.
After winning the role of Kovic, Tom Cruise spent a year preparing for the role, visiting veterans’ hospitals, reading books on the Vietnam War, and practicing riding in a wheelchair. At one point, director Oliver Stone suggested Cruise be injected with a chemical that would temporarily paralyze him to help him more realistically portray the difficulties of Kovic’s condition, but the film’s insurance company vetoed the idea.
On the last day of filming, Kovic presented his original Bronze Star for heroism in battle to Tom Cruise “for his heroic performance.”
BOTFOJ had several notable cameos, including: decorated Marine and Vietnam veteran Dale Dye appeared as an infantry colonel, interviewed by a TV reporter played by director Oliver Stone (himself a Vietnam veteran); Chicago Seven protestor Abbie Hoffman, in addition to serving as a consultant, played a student strike organizer at Syracuse University (Hoffman died before the movie was released, so he is mentioned in an In Memoriam in the credits); singer Edie Brickell appears as a singer at Syracuse; and Kovic himself plays a World War II veteran at an Independence Day parade who flinches at fireworks.
BOTFOJ is the second movie in Oliver Stone’s unofficial Vietnam trilogy, the first being Platoon and the third being Heaven & Earth.

Since we all know a movie is nothing without the food and drink it incorporates.

It’s now time to award the Oscar for Best Snacktor in a Supporting Role. And the nomnomnominees are:

A Boyer burger with a hole in the middle
The worm in the mezcal as a symbol of depression
A classic, American all-beef hot dog

And the Oscar goes to … the Boyer burger! Unfortunately, Ellen has already devoured the burger, so Tyler will accept this award on its behalf.

How did we really feel about The Academy nominating this?

Ellen: I’d like to buy The Academy a brand new Yankees cap. This one, like any good Vietnam War movie, is hard to watch, but it’s all so well done. Great acting, great score, and somehow for a nearly 2.5 hour movie, there’s not a whole lot that I would have cut out. In fact, there’s probably more from the book they could have put in. All that being said, I never need to watch this again. There are more classic Vietnam War movies out there to be seen that will be equally, if not more depressing!

Tyler: I’d like to give The Academy a second brand new Yankees cap … because I agree with everything you said above. Tom Cruise knocks it out of the park, partially because he’s so good at 1000% committing to a scene and role overall. Even if he’s jumping on a couch or saying “You complete me,” he’s got expressive eyes that really suck you in. (Is that how he convinces people to join Scientology? Note to self …) The movie itself is also an interesting look at the perils of traditional masculinity: rushing off to war to prove yourself to your buddies (also seen in both All Quiet on the Western Front adaptations), feeling like you need a functioning lower-half, not wanting to accept help from anyone. So I enjoyed it as a “war movie” from those perspectives, but yea I don’t need to watch this again.

Thanks for reading! Some quick housekeeping as you exit the theatre:

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