Major PayneMovies like Major Payne
- Key Features:
- Military comedy, Fish out of water, Transformation, Discipline, Underdog team, Character development, Boot camp, Leadership, Self-discovery, Orphan, Coming-of-age, Satire, Charismatic protagonist
- Tone:
- humorous, satirical, earnest
- Target Audience:
- Comedy lovers, Fans of military comedies, Viewers seeking feel-good movies, Those who enjoy underdog stories
- Emotional Arc:
- Frustration → Growth → Affection
Major Payne

Major Benson Winifred Payne is being discharged from the Marines. Payne is a killin' machine, but the wars of the world are no longer fought on the battlefield. A career Marine, he has no idea what to do as a civilian, so his commander finds him a job - commanding officer of a local school's JROTC program, a bunch of ragtag losers with no hope.
Major Payne
An acclaimed college hoops coach is demoted to a junior varsity team after a public meltdown.

Jaycen 'Two Js' Jennings is a washed-up former pro football star who has hit rock bottom. When sentenced to community service coaching the Underdoggs, an unruly pee-wee football team in his hometown, he sees it mostly as an opportunity to rebuild his public image. But in the process, he may just turn his life around and rediscover his love of the game.

After relocating his family - and his prized restored Sherman tank - to a small Georgia town, Sargeant Major Zack Carey butts heads with the local sheriff. Zack doesn't agree with the ways of the local police, and when the sheriff goes after Zack's son, it's time for Zack to roll out the Sherman tank and wage a little war of his own.

When a long list of shenanigans lands Tyler in hot water, he’s forced to suit up and spend his summer training for an elite junior lifeguard program.

When fluffy, bubble gum movie star Megan Valentine suddenly finds herself broke and humiliated in the public eye, she wanders from the wreckage of a car accident and witlessly enlists in the U.S. Army hoping in vain that it will change her life.

Bones Conway and Jack Kaufman, two misguided youths, join the reserves to make some easy money for their entrepreneurial dreams. Unfortunately, no sooner than they finish basic training they find themselves at war as part of the water purification team.

Sergeant Grimshawe wants to retire in the flush of success by winning the Star Squad prize with his very last platoon of newly called-up National Servicemen. But a motley bunch they turn out to be, and it's up to Grimshawe to put the no-hopers through their paces.

New rules enforced by the Lady Mayoress mean that sex, weight, height and intelligence need no longer be a factor for joining the Police Force. This opens the floodgates for all and sundry to enter the Police Academy, much to the chagrin of the instructors. Not everyone is there through choice, though. Social misfit Mahoney has been forced to sign up as the only alternative to a jail sentence and it doesn't take long before he falls foul of the boorish Lieutenant Harris. But before long, Mahoney realises that he is enjoying being a police cadet and decides he wants to stay... while Harris decides he wants Mahoney out!

After his best friend is killed in a shark attack, Quinn, a lovable yet tenacious seal assembles a SEAL TEAM to fight back against a gang of sharks overtaking the neighborhood. But this merry band of international seals are not at all trained for such a mission. They seek the help of a much more skillful combatant, Claggart, but even his tricks and flips can’t whip these guys into shape. However, with a little bit of ingenuity, intelligence and a lot of heart, our SEAL TEAM may actually be able to bring peace back to their undersea community.

The US army is known for churning out lean mean fighting machines intent on protecting our great nation. Sergeant Ernie Bilko is the leader of a ragtag group of the sorriest soldiers ever to enlist in the armed forces.

A high-school gym teacher has big plans for the summer, but is forced to cancel them to teach a "bonehead" English class for misfit goof-off students. Fortunately, his unconventional brand of teaching fun field trips begins to connect with them, and even inspires ardor in some.

A man eager to serve his country but rejected by the Marines pairs up with a young runaway to form an unlikely team on a misguided adventure.

An advertising man is slowly sliding downhill. When he is fired from his job in Detroit, he signs up for unemployment. One day they find him a job: teaching thinking skills to Army recruits. He arrives on base to find that there is no structure set up for the class.

Teddy Walker is a successful salesman whose life takes an unexpected turn when he accidentally blows up his place of employment. Forced to attend night school to get his GED, Teddy soon finds himself dealing with a group of misfit students, his former high school nemesis and a feisty teacher who doesn't think he's too bright.

New Orleans, 1981. Sonny Phillips, just discharged from the Army, returns home. The only life he's known is as a gigolo, working for his mother, but he wants to leave that behind. However, the job his Army buddy promised doesn't materialize, and he can't escape his past.

Hyperactive teenager Kelly is enrolled into a military school when her new stepfather becomes the Commandant. At first she has problems fitting in and taking orders until she tries out for the drill team.

West Point graduate lieutenant Jeff Knight meets cynicism when taking command of sergeant Michael McNamara's tour veterans platoon in a Vietnamese trench camp. Unlike his predecessor, who hid till the end of his tour, Jeff takes charge, experiences the manual doesn't allow coping with all realities and gets wounded. He returns, now fully respect by men and superiors. Besides the Vietcong, the platoon wrestles with the inscrutable villagers, which the G.I.'s officially protect, but also fear as some collaborate with them, other covertly with the Cong, either way subject to bloody reprisals.

A comedy that follows two high school students -- one overachiever struggling to write his valedictorian speech, the other a senior now going on his 15th year of school.

A stubborn and hotheaded minor league basketball coach is forced to train a Special Olympics team when he is sentenced to community service.

Duncan is a genius straight A student, Blade is juvenile delinquent. But because of a mix up with their school records, everyone thinks each is the other one. Now, Duncan kind of likes the attention from being thought of as a real bad dude, if only the school bully would stop trying to rough him up. And Blade definitely likes being thought of as important instead of as trouble.

Maverick Navy Lieutenant Commander Tom Dodge will never be a textbook officer, but he's a brilliant seaman who's always wanted to command a nuclear submarine — he's been given one last chance to clean up his record. Unfortunately, Admiral Graham, his nemesis, would rather sink the fleet than give Dodge his own boat. So, Graham stacks the deck against him and assigns Dodge to the Stingray, a diesel-powered WW2 submarine that can barely keep afloat. To make matters worse, Dodge's crew is a collection of maladjusted, mistake-prone misfits. Then, he's tagged the "enemy" in a crucial war game, and ordered to take on the U.S. Navy's best.

Hard-luck cabbie John Winger, directionless after being fired from his job and dumped by his girlfriend, enlists in the U.S. Army with his close pal, Russell Ziskey. After his barely satisfactory performance in basic training, the irreverent Winger emerges as the figurehead for a ragtag band of misfits. However, his hijinks threaten to cause an international scandal when he inadvertently commandeers a military assault vehicle behind enemy lines.

A group of diamond thieves on the run kidnap the wife of a recently discharged marine who goes on a chase through the South Carolinian wilderness to retrieve her.

Richard Clark has just left the well-known Wellington Academy to teach at Marion Barry High School. Now, he will try to inspire the D-average students into making good grades and try to woo a fellow teacher.

Three friends attempt to recapture their glory days by opening up a fraternity near their alma mater.

Two former nightclub partners are now enlisted in the Army. Sergeant Puccinelli ranks above his former partner, Private First Class Korwin. Puccinelli is desperately trying to get transferred from his dull job to active duty overseas. Meanwhile, all Korwin wants is a pass to see his wife and new baby.

Dealing with a sociopathic school bully, three high school freshmen hire a low-budget bodyguard to protect them, not realizing he is just a homeless beggar and petty thief looking for some easy cash.

When a pint-sized 8-year-old kid witnesses a murder he offers to help the police, if they make him a cop, too. Saddled with this streetwise sidekick, a hardboiled cop is forced to take his new partner seriously as they race the clock to bring the bad guys to justice.

A Grand Slapstick comedy about four buddies serving in the army. Their long-suffering sergeant attempts to whip them into shape but the conflict spirals out of control.

Two salesmen trash a company truck on an energy drink-fueled bender. Upon their arrest, the court gives them a choice: do hard time or spend 150 service hours with a mentorship program. After one day with the kids, however, jail doesn't look half bad.

Under the leadership of their counselor, teenagers at a juvenile detention center gain self-esteem by playing football together. Based on a true story.

Desperate for money and running out of options, Marine veteran Brian Brown-Easley holds several people hostage inside a bank, setting the stage for a tense confrontation with police.

Good-natured teen surfer Mitchell Goosen finds himself staying with his aunt and uncle in Cincinnati, Ohio when his parents head to Australia for work. There he meets his cousin, Wiley, and together they try to navigate the perils of high school—avoid the bullies, get the girl, and win a little respect.

Out-of-luck coach Lambeau Fields takes a rag-tag bunch of college misfits and drives them towards the football championships. In the process, this life-long loser discovers that he is a winner after all by redeeming himself, saving his relationship with his family and friends, and finding that there is indeed, no "I" in "team"!

Tracy Flick is running unopposed for this year’s high school student election. But Jim McAllister has a different plan. Partly to establish a more democratic election, and partly to satisfy some deep personal anger toward Tracy, Jim talks football player Paul Metzler to run for president as well.

Ellie DeWitt and Janis Zuckermann are admitted to the very strict FBI Training Academy. They get a hard course, in which they learn to deal with guns and to recognise crimes. They also get a physical training. It appears that Ellie is a real fighting- machine, in contrast with Janis, the great student. They have to help each other, all the way to graduation.

The story of a forty-something rapper considered a boy by his parents and a grandfather by his classmates. They send him to the university to change and he changes everyone else. This is Matusalen's history.

When underappreciated video specialist Joe Scheffer is brutally humiliated by office bully Mark McKinney in front of his daughter, Joe begins a quest for personal redemption. He proceeds by enduring a personal makeover and takes martial arts lessons from a B-action star. As news spreads of his rematch with Mark, Joe suddenly finds himself the center of attention, ascending the corporate ladder and growing in popularity.

Nerdy high school senior Dizzy Harrison has finally gotten lucky -- after purposely getting expelled, he takes lessons in 'badass cool' from a convict and enrolls at a new school. But can he keep up the ruse?

Disgraced ex-England football captain, Danny 'Mean Machine' Meehan, is thrown in jail for assaulting two police officers. He keeps his head down and has the opportunity to forget everything and change the lives of the prisoners. When these prisoners have the chance to put one over the evil guards during a prison football match, Danny takes the lead.

Jake Huard, from a shipbuilders family, promised his dying mother he'ld make it to Anapolis Naval Academy. Thanks to tenaciously bugging a Congressman, he's selected despite dubious grades. Once inside, Jake soon proves sub-standard academically. Constantly challenged to his limits, repeatedly made the 'over-cocky' reason for the entire class to suffer, Jake nearly quits, but after facing his utterly un-supportive father's gloating returns just in time. Stubborn Jake finds support withs mates as well as Senor Ali, his lover-to-be, and a discipline he may excel in: the 'brigade' boxing tournament, open to all ranks.

A veteran cop and an unstable detective become partners who must put their differences aside in order to bring down a heroin-smuggling ring run by ex-Special Forces.

A sheltered young high society woman joins the US Army on a whim and finds herself in a more difficult situation than she ever expected.

Bobby Boucher is a water boy for a struggling college football team. The coach discovers Boucher's hidden rage makes him a tackling machine whose bone-crushing power might vault his team into the playoffs.

When Andrew Sterling, a successful black urbanite writer, buys a vacation home on a resort in New England the police mistake him for a burglar. After surrounding his home with armed men, Chief Tolliver realizes his mistake and to avoid the bad publicity offers a thief in his jail, Amos Odell a deal.

When he suddenly finds himself without his long-standing blue-collar job, Larry Crowne enrolls at his local college to start over. There, he becomes part of an eclectic community of students and develops a crush on his teacher.

Luke Wilson plays a good-hearted ex-con who gets a job in a retirement hotel. Three elderly residents help him win back his girlfriend as he lends them a hand in fighting hotel corruption.

George Kuffs didn't finish high-school, just lost his job, and his college-age girlfriend is pregnant. To top it off, George's brother Brad is killed and George inherits Brad's "patrol special" privatized police district and all the problems that come with it.

An inept taekwondo instructor struggles with marital troubles and an unhealthy obsession with fellow taekwondo enthusiast Chuck "The Truck" Williams.

Former Marine Louanne Johnson lands a gig teaching in a pilot program for bright but underachieving teens at a notorious inner-city high school. After having a terrible first day, she decides she must throw decorum to the wind. When Johnson returns to the classroom, she does so armed with a no-nonsense attitude informed by her military training and a fearless determination to better the lives of her students -- no matter what the cost.

Georgia farm boy Will Stockdale is about to bust with pride. He’s been drafted. Will’s ready. But is Uncle Sam ready for Will?

A high school slacker who's rejected by every school he applies to opts to create his own institution of higher learning, the South Harmon Institute of Technology, on a rundown piece of property near his hometown.

Eddie is a New York limo driver and a fanatical follower of the New York Knicks professional basketball team. The team is struggling with a mediocre record when, in mid-season, "Wild Bill" Burgess, the new owner, as a public relations gimmick, stages an 'honorary coach' contest, which Eddie wins. The fans love it, so "Wild Bill" fires the coach and hires her. She takes the bunch of overpaid prima

Calvin Wheeler is a scheming 13-year-old boy with everything going for him, except for an original issue of his precious comic book collection. When a prized show-dog chases him down while skateboarding one day, his owner inadvertently convinces him to adopt and train a dog of his own. However the only one available, is an uncouth stray Labrador/St. Bernard-mix named Tyko from a local animal shelter, who proves to be more than anybody can handle.

When a presidential candidate dies unexpectedly in the middle of the campaign, the Democratic party unexpectedly picks a Washington, D.C. alderman as his replacement.

A hard-nosed, hard-living Marine gunnery sergeant clashes with his superiors and his ex-wife as he takes command of a spoiled recon platoon with a bad attitude.

A basketball star is booted out of the NBA when his on-court antics go too far, so he poses as a woman and joins the WUBA.

Two recently laid-off men in their 40s try to make it as interns at a successful Internet company where their managers are in their 20s.

Superstar rap mogul C-Note wants to join the Carolina Pines Golf & Country Club, but faces stiff opposition from the establishment's snooty members. C-Note forces the issue by purchasing the land adjacent to the golf course's 17th hole. As the club leaders search for a way to revoke his membership, C-Note realizes his family's honor and golf history are at stake, and digs in for the fight of his life.

A rock star general bent on winning the “impossible” war in Afghanistan takes us inside the complex machinery of modern war. Inspired by the true story of General Stanley McChrystal.

A new batch of recruits arrives at Police Academy, this time a group of civilian volunteers who have joined Commandant Lassard's new Citizens on Patrol program. Although the community relations project has strong governmental support, a disgusted Captain Harris is determined to see it fail.

A Jewish teenager sets three goals: lose his virginity, become a writer, and survive World War II.

On the streets they call cash dead presidents. And that's just what a Vietnam veteran is after when he returns home from the war only to find himself drawn into a life of crime. With the aid of his fellow vets he plans the ultimate heist -- a daring robbery of an armored car filled with unmarked U.S. currency!

As graduation nears for the class of 1955 at Angel Beach High, the gang once again faces off against their old enemy, Porky, who wants them to throw the school's championship basketball game since he has bet on the opposing team.

High schooler Jason has found his dream girl—the gorgeous Anastacia. There’s just one problem: she doesn’t know he exists. If he can win a spot on the school’s hottest dance crew, Jason might have a shot. But before he does, he’ll have to overcome his battle-ax of a mother, survive Anastacia’s gangsta brother, and pass the crew’s initiation—in this fresh, sexy, and outrageously funny comedy.

Unable to cope with his military father's sudden death in combat, quick-tempered teen, Conor, starts getting into serious trouble. During an intense lacrosse camp, his father's old friend challenges Conor to get his life on track and become a man.

A story of friendship between a young convict who is forced to work in a retirement home and a group of crazy old people. Together they organize their escape.

A group of young boys on the cusp of becoming teenagers embark on an epic quest to fix their broken drone before their parents get home.

After England's football (soccer) manager has a heart attack, Mike Bassett is hired as the new manager and promptly announces the team will win the World Cup.

When Ashtray moves to South Central L.A. to live with his father (who appears to be the same age he is) and grandmother (who likes to talk tough and smoke reefer), he falls in with his gang-banging cousin Loc Dog, who along with the requisite pistols and Uzi carries a thermo-nuclear warhead for self-defense. Will Ashtray be able to keep living the straight life?

Self-made millionaire Thornton Melon decides to get a better education and enrolls at his son Jason's college. While Jason tries to fit in with his fellow students, Thornton struggles to gain his son's respect, giving way to hilarious antics.

In college, attorney Molly Singer was the life of every party. Now, she's about to be fired because she can't leave her partying ways behind. Molly's boss, Brenda, tells Molly there's one way to save her job: re-enroll at her old alma mater, befriend Brenda's socially awkward son, Elliot, and take him from zero to campus hero.

Officer Carey Mahoney and his cohorts have finally graduated from the Police Academy and are about to hit the streets on their first assignment. Question is, are they ready to do battle with a band of graffiti-tagging terrorists? Time will tell, but don't sell short this cheerful band of doltish boys in blue.

A familiar-looking group of teenagers find themselves being stalked by a more-than-vaguely recognizable masked killer! As the victims begin to pile up and the laughs pile on, none of your favorite scary movies escape the razor-sharp satire of this outrageously funny parody!

When Danny O'Shea's daughter is cut from the Peewee football team just for being a girl, he decides to form his own team, composed of other ragtag players who were also cut. Can his team really learn enough to beat the elite team, coached by his brother, a former pro player?

Based on the true story of two young men, David Packouz and Efraim Diveroli, who won a $300 million contract from the Pentagon to arm America's allies in Afghanistan.

At Adams College, the jocks rule the school from their house on high, the Alpha Beta fraternity. So when a group of socially-challenged misfits try to go Greek, they're instantly rejected by every house on campus. Deciding to start their own fraternity to protect their outcast brothers, the campus nerds soon find themselves in a battle royale as the Alpha Betas try to crush their new rivals.

A sailor prone to violent outbursts is sent to a naval psychiatrist for help. Refusing at first to open up, the young man eventually breaks down and reveals a horrific childhood. Through the guidance of his doctor, he confronts his painful past and begins a quest to find the family he never knew.

At the behest of Roger Dorn -- the Minnesota Twins' silver-tongued new owner -- washed-up minor league hurler Gus Cantrell steps up to the plate to take over as skipper of the club's hapless farm team. But little does he know that Dorn has an ulterior motive to generate publicity with a grudge match between the big leaguers and their ragtag Triple A affiliate.

In a Japanese school, 5 adolescent geeks join the new sport teacher and take up the challenge to take part in the synchronised swimming competition, in-spite of the mockeries of the real sportsmen.

Darryl is a childlike man with a genius for inventing various gadgets out of junk. When he stumbles on a method to make his clothes bulletproof, he decides to use his skills to be the lowest budgeted superhero of all.

A spoof of buddy cop movies where two very different cops are forced to team up on a new reality based T.V. cop show.

Former SWAT leader David Hendrix and hard-partying movie star Brody Walker must cut their ride-along short when a police training facility is attacked by a team of mercenaries.

Maverick old-guard coach Jimmy McGinty is hired in the wake of a players' strike to help the Washington Sentinels advance to the playoffs. But that impossible dream hinges on whether his replacements can hunker down and do the job. So, McGinty dusts off his secret dossier of ex-players who never got a chance (or screwed up the one they were given) and knits together a bad-dream team of guys who just may give the Sentinels their title shot.

Bob McGraw is in his 12th year of college, goofing his way through life. Bob, Irwing, Gonzer and Max are the four losers forced and bribed to represent their university in an intercollegiate raft race. Forced and bribed into this role, they make some friends, the lovely Heather Merriweather, but mostly enemies, among others a whole team of marines, and preppy IVY-leaguers determined to win.

Will Montgomery, a U.S. Army Staff Sergeant who has returned home from Iraq, is assigned to the Army’s Casualty Notification service. Montgomery is partnered with Captain Tony Stone, to give notice to the families of fallen soldiers. The Sergeant is drawn to Olivia Pitterson, to whom he has delivered news of her husband’s death.

Jackie Moon is the owner, promoter, coach, and star player of the Flint Michigan Tropics of the American Basketball Association (ABA), the worst team in the league. In 1976 before the ABA collapses, the NBA plans to merge with the best teams of the ABA at the end of the season. Only the top four teams will make the move and the worst teams will fold. If the Tropics want to make it to the NBA, Jackie Moon must rally his team and start winning.

Animated character Fat Albert emerges from his TV universe into the real world, accompanied by his friends Rudy, Mushmouth, Old Weird Harold and Dumb Donald. Though the gang is flabbergasted by the modern world, they make new friends, and Albert attempts to help young Doris become popular. But things get complicated when Albert falls for her older sister, Lauri, and must turn to creator Bill Cosby for advice.

Andy, at the urging of his former mentor and Magic Camp owner Roy Preston, returns to the camp of his youth hoping to reignite his career. Instead, he finds inspiration in his ragtag bunch of rookie magicians.

A group of U.S. soldiers returning from Iraq struggle to integrate back into family and civilian life, while living with the memory of a war that threatens to destroy them long after they've left the battlefield.

Fitter Hu Jianlin was transferred to the headquarters by accident when the group was laying off employees. He is full of jokes because he is incompatible with the environment of the big factory. Human resources manager Ma Jie, who was caught up in the "wrong adjustment" incident, was forced to go around hiding it in order to keep his job. Is he able to keep his job after this mistake?

A Detroit cop reluctantly teams with his girlfriend's 11-year-old son to clear his name and take down the city's most ruthless criminal.

On his 50th birthday, a man who's been watching his weight, health and temper all his life suffers a heart attack. He's been doing everything he was told he should do and it still didn't help. He decides to turn the page and let loose.

A streetwise man flees South Central Los Angeles, heading to the suburbs and his lottery-winner uncle and cousin, to avoid a neighborhood thug with a grudge who has just escaped from prison.

In the hope of winning the woman of his dreams, Amanda, lovelorn meter-reader Roger Wadell enrolls in a secret confidence-building class. The course's title takes on much more meaning when he discovers that his egomaniacal professor Dr. P also wants the same woman. They begin a fierce rivalry that quickly spirals out of control, their pranks and insults get uglier as they try to prove who is the ultimate guy's guy.

Seeking to offer his son the satisfying summer camp experience that eluded him as a child, the operator of a neighborhood daycare center opens his own camp, only to face financial hardship and stiff competition from a rival camp.

Racist police officer Jack Moony has a vendetta against Napoleon Stone, a charismatic black lawyer who is sleeping with Jack's old flame Crystal Gerrity. Jack has a heart attack, but his life is saved when he receives Stone's heart, since Stone died mysteriously the same night as Jack was stricken. Stone is not completely gone, however, and as a ghost he is all too happy to give Jack advice on how he should do his job and live his life.

A misfit group of World War II American soldiers goes AWOL to rob a bank behind German lines.

