Anne Bancroft, the Oscar-winning actress best known for her iconic 1967 role in The Graduate, made a surprise return to major film at age 66 in 1997's GI Jane. After largely stepping away from cinema to focus on her marriage to director Mel Brooks, Bancroft was cast alongside Demi Moore in the Ridley Scott-directed blockbuster, and she was pleasantly surprised by the final product, telling the LA Times: "I was really surprised at how good a movie it was."

The film starred Moore as a pioneering female Navy SEAL, with Bancroft playing the manipulative US Senator who orchestrates her entry into the programme for political gain. It grossed $98 million on a budget of $50 million, though critics offered mixed reviews and Moore's career momentum was declining. Director Scott, however, regarded it fondly as the most pro-women film he had made at that point, considering it superior to his 1991 success Thelma and Louise.