Adorable airhead Judy Benjamin (Goldie Hawn, Oscar-nominated for her performance) is devastated when she's widowed on her wedding night in Private Benjamin. Sheltered and pampered by her loving Jewish family, Judy's whole reason for being has died along with her bridegroom. Despairing and intrigued by an ad for military service, Judy checks out a local army office where a charming but shameless recruiter promises her the world. Judy is just naive and self-pitying enough to believe him. She enlists and suddenly finds herself in basic training where she's clueless, helpless, and the immediate target of the diabolical Captain Doreen Lewis (Eileen Brennan, also nominated for an Academy Award). Fun and games ensue as Judy learns a lot about the army, her family, and, most of all, herself. And that's just the beginning. As the now smart, resourceful Private Benjamin defeats her inner nitwit on the "battlefield of life," opportunities abound, insightful decisions are made, and an authentic Judy emerges.