Sgt. Bilko

Sgt. Bilko is a comedy set at Fort Baxter, a United States Army base in Kansas where Sergeant Ernest Bilko runs a motor pool and, more profitably, a range of side operations. Betting, cards, lotteries and other schemes keep the place lively while his commanding officer, Colonel Hall, believes Bilko is occupied with an experimental hovercraft project. The arrangement is disrupted when Major Thorn arrives to inspect the base and investigate missing funds, a man with an old grudge against the sergeant.

The film was directed by Jonathan Lynn, its place in a run of comedies that includes Clue, My Cousin Vinny, The Distinguished Gentleman and Greedy before it, and The Whole Nine Yards afterwards. Andy Breckman wrote the screenplay, Brian Grazer produced, and Steve Martin plays Bilko, with Dan Aykroyd as Colonel Hall, Phil Hartman as Major Thorn, Glenne Headly as Rita Robbins, Daryl Mitchell as Wally Holbrook and Max Casella as Dino Paparelli, among a credited cast of 46.

Released on 29 March 1996 and running 90 minutes, the film was made for 39 million US dollars and took about 38 million worldwide. On IMDb it holds 5.9 out of 10 from 25,000 votes, matching a TMDB score of 5.9 from 406 votes, while a critics' rating stands at 4.8 out of 10 from 39 reviews, lower than the audience scores.